Michael Reiziger

Michael John Reiziger (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈmɑikəl dʑɔn ˈrɛizəɣər]; born 3 May 1973) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played mainly as a right back. Reiziger currently manages the Netherlands U21 team.

Michael Reiziger

Reiziger with Ajax as assistant coach in 2023
Personal information
Full name	Michael John Reiziger
Date of birth	(1973-05-03) 3 May 1973 (age 52)
Place of birth	Amstelveen, Netherlands
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Netherlands U21 (Head Coach)
Youth career
	Sint Martinus
1985–1990	Ajax
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1990–1996	Ajax	83	(1)
1992–1993	→ Volendam (loan)	10	(2)
1993–1994	→ Groningen (loan)	34	(6)
1996–1997	A.C. Milan	10	(0)
1997–2004	Barcelona	173	(0)
2004–2005	Middlesbrough	22	(1)
2005–2007	PSV	24	(1)
Total		356	(11)
International career
1994–2004	Netherlands	72	(1)
Managerial career
2017–2019	Jong Ajax
2017	Ajax (interim)
2023–	Netherlands U21
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

After making a name for himself at Ajax, with whom he won one Champions League, he went on to represent four teams in as many countries, notably Barcelona, for which he played 249 official games in seven years, as well as spells at A.C. Milan, Middlesbrough and PSV Eindhoven.

Reiziger represented the Netherlands national team for a full decade, competing at three European Championships and the 1998 World Cup and finishing fourth in the latter tournament.

Playing career

Club

Born in Amstelveen, North Holland to Surinamese parents,^[1] Reiziger started his career with hometown club Ajax, making his first-team debut at the age of 17 then serving two consecutive loan spells, with Volendam and Groningen; with the latter, in the 1993–94 season, he scored a career-best six goals while operating also as a midfielder.

Upon his return to Ajax, Reiziger established himself as a renowned defensive element, helping the side to, among other conquests, the 1994–95 edition of the UEFA Champions League. In 1996, he signed for A.C. Milan, but after a season marred by injury, he departed for Barcelona where he spent the following seven years, arriving at the same time as compatriot and former Ajax boss Louis van Gaal; though not an undisputed starter, he nonetheless featured heavily for the Catalans, making more than 200 overall appearances and helping to back-to-back La Liga titles.^[2]

In 2004, Reiziger moved to Middlesbrough on a Bosman transfer. He scored once in the league for Boro, against Aston Villa in December 2004.^[3] After another campaign plagued by physical problems, he left and returned to the Netherlands to see out his career at PSV Eindhoven (in his second year he won the Eredivisie, and was also reunited with Ajax, Barça and national teammate Patrick Kluivert, although the two rarely ever played).^[4]

International

Reiziger (wearing No. 2) in the Dutch wall, facing a free kick against Sweden at Euro 2004

Reiziger made his debut for the Netherlands national team on 12 October 1994, against Norway. He played for his country at the UEFA Euro 1996, 1998 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2000 and Euro 2004, retiring from international play after the latter.^[5]

Shortly after signing for PSV, Reiziger said he would consider playing for the Netherlands again if the opportunity arose, but he was never recalled again, totalling 72 appearances in ten years.^[6]

Coaching career

After retiring, Reiziger settled in Barcelona. He later went on to coach Sparta Rotterdam at youth level and, subsequently and successively, acted as assistant to Gert Kruys and Alex Pastoor.^[7]

On 20 June 2017, Reiziger returned to Ajax as manager of the reserves who competed in the Eerste Divisie, replacing Marcel Keizer.^[8][9] In his first season in charge he led the squad to the league title, but they were ineligible for promotion.^[10] He also acted as interim for the first team during one match after the dismissal of Keizer,^[11] defeating Willem II 3–1 at home.^[12]

After Reiziger's contract expired, he was replaced by Mitchell van der Gaag at the helm of Ajax B. He was then offered a position as assistant coach of the first team, which he accepted.^[13]

Personal life

Reiziger's son, Gabriël (born 2005), also came through the Ajax youth system.^[14]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^{[citation needed]}

Club	Season	League			National cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Ajax	1990–91	Eredivisie	1	0	–		–		–		1	0
	1991–92	Eredivisie	1	0	–		–		–		1	0
	1992–93	Eredivisie	1	0	–		–		–		1	0
	1994–95	Eredivisie	34	0	3	0	11[a]	0	1[b]	0	49	0
	1995–96	Eredivisie	26	1	0	0	9[a]	0	4[c]	0	39	1
	Total		63	1	3	0	20	0	5	0	91	1
Volendam (loan)	1992–93	Eredivisie	10	2	1	1	–		–		11	3
Groningen (loan)	1993–94	Eredivisie	34	6		0	–		–		34	6
A.C. Milan	1996–97	Serie A	10	0	4	0	3[a]	0	1[d]	0	18	0
Barcelona	1997–98	La Liga	29	0	4	0	6[a]	0	3[e]	0	42	0
	1998–99	La Liga	26	0	0	0	5[a]	0	2[f]	0	33	0
	1999–2000	La Liga	29	0	4	0	11[a]	0	2[f]	0	46	0
	2000–01	La Liga	25	0	7	0	8[g]	0	–		40	0
	2001–02	La Liga	13	0	0	0	8[a]	0	–		21	0
	2002–03	La Liga	21	0	1	0	9[a]	0	–		31	0
	2003–04	La Liga	30	0	4	0	6[h]	0	–		40	0
	Total		173	0	20	0	53	0	7	0	253	0
Middlesbrough	2004–05	Premier League	18	1	1	0	6[h]	0	0	0	25	1
	2005–06	Premier League	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
	Total		22	1	1	0	6	0	0	0	29	1
PSV	2005–06	Eredivisie	13	0	0	0	7[a]	0	–		20	0
	2006–07	Eredivisie	11	1	2	0	3[a]	0	0	0	11	1
	Total		24	1	2	0	10	0	0	0	36	1
Career total			337	11	31	1	92	0	13	0	473	12

1. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
2. Appearance in Dutch Supercup
3. One appearance in Dutch Supercup, two appearances in UEFA Super Cup, one appearance in Intercontinental Cup
4. Appearance in Supercoppa Italiana
5. Two appearances in Supercopa de España, one appearance in UEFA Super Cup
6. Appearances in Supercopa de España
7. Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Cup
8. Appearances in UEFA Cup

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[15]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Netherlands	1994	1	0
	1995	5	0
	1996	9	0
	1997	7	0
	1998	11	1
	1999	5	0
	2000	8	0
	2001	5	0
	2002	6	0
	2003	8	0
	2004	7	0
Total		72	1

Score and result list the Netherlands' goal tally first, score column indicates score after Reiziger's goal.

International goal scored by Michael Reiziger

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	18 November 1998	Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen, Germany	Germany	1–0	1–1	Friendly[15]

Honours

Player

Ajax

• Eredivisie: 1994–95, 1995–96
• KNVB Cup: 1992–93
• Dutch Supercup: 1994, 1995
• UEFA Champions League: 1994–95
• UEFA Cup: 1991–92
• UEFA Super Cup: 1995
• Intercontinental Cup: 1995

Barcelona

• La Liga: 1997–98, 1998–99
• Copa del Rey: 1997–98
• UEFA Super Cup: 1997

PSV

• Eredivisie: 2005–06, 2006–07

Manager

Jong Ajax

• Eerste Divisie: 2017–18^[10]