Michael Reiziger

Michael Reiziger
Reiziger with Ajax in 2023
Personal information
Full name Michael John Reiziger
Date of birth (1973-05-03) 3 May 1973 (age 50)
Place of birth Amstelveen, Netherlands
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
Jong Ajax (assistant)
Youth career
Sint Martinus
1985–1990 Ajax
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1996 Ajax 83 (1)
1992–1993Volendam (loan) 10 (2)
1993–1994Groningen (loan) 34 (6)
1996–1997 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
2013–2014 Sparta Rotterdam (youth)
2014–2017 Sparta Rotterdam (assistant)
2017–2019 Jong Ajax
2017 Ajax (interim)
2019–2023 Ajax (assistant)
2023– Jong Ajax (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Michael John Reiziger (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈmɑikəl ˈɟɔn ˈrɛizəɣər], born 3 May 1973) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played mainly as a right back, currently assistant manager of Jong Ajax, the reserves team of AFC Ajax.

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 Milan, Middlesbrough and PSV Eindhoven.

Reiziger represented the Dutch 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, Reiziger started his career with hometown club AFC Ajax, making his first-team debut at the age of 17 then serving two consecutive loan spells, with FC Volendam and FC 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 FC 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.

In 2004, Reiziger moved to Middlesbrough on a Bosman transfer. He scored once in the league for Boro, against Aston Villa in December 2004. 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).

International

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

Reiziger made his debut for the Dutch 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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Personal life

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

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
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 0 1 0 49 0
1995–96 Eredivisie 26 1 0 0 9 0 4 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
Milan 1996–97 Serie A 10 0 4 0 3 0 1 0 18 0
Barcelona 1997–98 La Liga 29 0 4 0 6 0 3 0 42 0
1998–99 La Liga 26 0 0 0 5 0 2 0 33 0
1999–2000 La Liga 29 0 4 0 11 0 2 0 46 0
2000–01 La Liga 25 0 7 0 8 0 40 0
2001–02 La Liga 13 0 0 0 8 0 21 0
2002–03 La Liga 21 0 1 0 9 0 31 0
2003–04 La Liga 30 0 4 0 6 0 40 0
Total 173 0 20 0 53 0 7 0 253 0
Middlesbrough 2004–05 Premier League 18 1 1 0 6 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 0 20 0
2006–07 Eredivisie 11 1 2 0 3 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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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. ^ a b Appearances in Supercopa de España
  7. ^ Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Cup
  8. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Cup

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year

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

International goals

Scores and results list Reiziger's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 18 November 1998 Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen, Germany  Germany 1–0 1–1 Friendly

Honours

Player

Ajax

Barcelona

PSV

Manager

Jong Ajax


This page was last updated at 2023-08-15 11:26 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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