Ruud Gullit

Former professional Dutch footballer and manager, Ruud Gullit is a highly skilled midfielder and forward who has scored a total of 175 goals throughout his career. Having amassed a large amount of experience in teamwork, leadership and achieving peak performance, Ruud is an after-dinner speaker in high demand to attend a whole variety of corporate events and functions. With an undeniable passion for football from a young age, Gullit began his amateur career with ASV Meerboys and DWS. He was headhunted by the national Netherlands team and began representing them at under-17 level. By 1978, Ruud was signed to play professionally for HFC Haarlem.

He made a total of 91 appearances for his debut domestic team and scored a staggering 32 goals. Having made his professional debut at the age of 16, Gullit was the youngest player to have ever played in the highest league in Netherlands football, Eredivisie. Success within the football world came early to Ruud with him being named the best player in the Eerste Divisie in 1980. He continued to succeed as he was named the Dutch Footballer of the Year for the 1983-84 season whilst with Feyenoord and Footballer of the Year in 1986 whilst he was with PSV. When Ruud moved to play for Milan in 1987, he set the world record transfer fee of 18 million guilders.

He also scored an astounding 38 goals for the Italian team before moving to Sampdoria. At the pinnacle of his career, Gullit became part of the foreign revolution as he joined Italian legend Gianfranco Zola and signed for Chelsea in 1995. Ruud’s versatility and intelligence on the pitch meant that he made his international debut for the Netherlands on his 19th Birthday. He was a key player in the Netherland victory at the Euro 1988 as he managed to score with a skilful header in the final against the Soviet Union. Most recently, Gullit has endeavoured into a managerial career. He became the player-manager of Chelsea following Glenn Hoddle’s resignation in 1996 and managed to lead the squad to their first major victory in over 26 years at the 1997 FA Cup.

Having also gone into the media industry, Gullit has also gone on to become a pundit and commentator. He offered an analysis of the Euro 1996 for the BBC and covered the 2006 and 2010 World Cup for ITV and ESPN. He also joined the cast of BBC’s Match of the Day at the beginning of the 2014-15 season. Arguably one of the greatest players of all time, Ruud Gullit is considered a leader within his field. Regarded for his leadership, physical strength and techniques, Gullit is very quickly becoming the favourite sports speaker on our roster. With an abundance of teamwork tips and tricks, leadership support and sporting advice to offer, Ruud Gullit is a guaranteed hit for a whole variety of corporate, school and sporting events.