When it comes time to reflect on Euro 2016, it is fair to say few of its greatest moments will have been provided by forwards. Predatory figures such as Poland’s Robert Lewandowski, Germany’s Thomas Muller and Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic, all used to stealing the world’s attention when the competition burns red hot on UEFA Champions League nights, have been cast into the shadows.
With the notable exception of France superstar Antoine Griezmann, the defining performers have instead been the likes of irrepressible playmaker Dimitri Payet, indomitable Italy centre-back Leonardo Bonucci and revitalised Wales centre midfielder Aaron Ramsey.
One striker who was hardly ever out of the spotlight during his playing days was Patrick Kluivert. The Netherlands great stands as the competition’s joint third-highest goalscorer on six goals, his hat-trick during the record 6-1 routing of Yugoslavia on home soil during the Euro 2000 quarter-finals one of its grandest individual displays.
The 40-year-old now stands on the verge of a new chapter. The final steps on a carefully-planned path to senior management are about to be undertaken with a one-season stint at Ajax A1 (Under-19s).
The beIN Sports pundit cannot wait to get started, with the added bonus provided by the chance to guide his prodigious son Justin.
He told Sport360: “It is the last stage for the youth before they become professional and I think I can influence them to become great. I am looking forward to coaching my son Justin, but also the other players.
Patrick Kluivert has sealed his return to Ajax as a youth coach. pic.twitter.com/pFIcnj82ec
— Dutch Football (@football_oranje) May 6, 2016
“I hope I have a lot of success, then in the year after get a good club to coach.
“I hope this is my final step. My ambition is to be a coach of a nice club and to have my vision of football towards other players. My other former team-mates are doing well elsewhere in the world and I am looking forward to achieving the same things.”
Amid spells at Ajax, AC Milan and Barcelona, Kluivert appeared at three Euros from 1996-2004. He struck five times during the 2000 tournament as Italy knocked the heartbroken hosts out on penalties in the last-four, while as a teenager he was part of a famously fractious squad which imploded amid rampant internal recriminations in 1996.
With sights now firmly set on establishing himself as a coach, the 40-year-old believes the lessons learned from the rancorous experience in England stands him in good stead.
He says: “It was a difficult situation at that time. I hope I don’t have any issues like that. As a coach, you do not want to have discussions like that in your team – it is not good.”
Since retiring as a player in 2008 after injuries curtailed his peripatetic final years at Newcastle United, Valencia, PSV Eindhoven and Lille, Kluivert has been serving a lengthy coaching apprenticeship.
Assistant posts at AZ Alkmaar, NEC Nijmegen and the Netherlands, plus a spot in charge of FC Twente’s youth, led to a rewarding spell with Curacao. A 7-0 win against U.S. Virgin Islands saw him sign off last month with progression to the third round of Caribbean Cup qualifying.
A glaring lack of opportunity for black bosses is clear in top-flight European football, with none hired in England, Germany, Spain or Italy. Kluivert hopes he will be granted an “honest opportunity”, irregardless of race.
He says: “That is a difficult issue. I am not a man who wants to talk about the racial problem. But, I want my honest opportunity. That is one thing that is more important to me rather than talking about why there are not many black coaches in the world.”
Either side of a disappointing one-season spell at Milan in 1997/98, Kluivert scored 50 goals in 97 appearances for hometown club Ajax after his 1994 debut and 120 goals in 255 games for Barca from 1998-2004. He also registered 40 times in 79 games for Netherlands, for whom he was top scorer until overtaken by Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Robin van Persie.
Despite all this achievement, a winning effort 21 years ago in the Champions League final against all-conquering Milan stands out.
He says: “I have a lot of favourite goals, but one which is so vital to me came in 1995 in the Champions League final for Ajax. This is the moment my football career really changed.”
A notable omission from Euro 2016 has been the nation Kluivert represented with distinction. A tumultuous qualifying campaign saw the side which finished third at World Cup 2014 fail to proceed, with minnows Iceland one of three nations to edge them out.
The Netherlands are rebuilding under coach Danny Blind, Kluivert’s ex-Ajax and Oranje team-mate.
The 40-year-old challenges emerging AZ striker Vincent Janssen to keep progressing after a breakthrough season and fire his country back to the top table.
Kluivert says: “It is difficult to watch (Euro 2016) as you see how some countries have played, and Holland really should have been in this competition. They now need new players to form a long-term team.
“Vincent Janssen had a very good project. I am wondering how he can do next year as well, one year doing well is not enough.”
As Kluivert prepares to begin his European coaching career, his mentor’s appears to have reached an unsatisfactory end. Louis van Gaal gave him his bow at Ajax, brought him to Barca and put him on his Dutch staff.
He was sacked by Manchester United in May after lifting the FA Cup because of a failure to make the Champions League. Kluivert wants people to look at the “wider picture” when judging the 64-year-old’s legacy.
He says: “Louis van Gaal picked me when I was 17 and also brought me from AC Milan to Barcelona in 1998. He really inspired me.
“People really need to look at the wider picture. It is a pity his spell ended like this at Manchester United.”
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