Fernando Ricksen
{{Short description|Dutch footballer (1976–2019)}}
{{Redirect|Ricksen|the American actress|Lucille Ricksen}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Fernando Ricksen
| image = FerRic.JPG
| caption = Ricksen playing for Zenit Saint Petersburg in 2007
| birth_date = {{birth date|1976|7|27|df=y}}
| birth_place = Hoensbroek, Netherlands
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2019|09|18|1976|7|27|df=y}}
| death_place = Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Scotland
| height = 1.75 m
| position = Central midfielder, right-back
| youthyears1 = 1980–1986
| youthclubs1 = EHC
| youthyears2 = 1986–1988
| youthclubs2 = RKONS
| youthyears3 = 1988–1992
| youthclubs3 = Roda JC
| youthyears4 = 1992–1994
| youthclubs4 = Fortuna Sittard
| years1 = 1994–1997
| clubs1 = Fortuna Sittard
| caps1 = 94
| goals1 = 5
| years2 = 1997–2000
| clubs2 = AZ
| caps2 = 92
| goals2 = 12
| years3 = 2000–2006
| clubs3 = Rangers
| caps3 = 182
| goals3 = 13
| years4 = 2006
| clubs4 = → Zenit Saint Petersburg (loan)
| caps4 = 14
| goals4 = 2
| years5 = 2007–2009
| clubs5 = Zenit Saint Petersburg
| caps5 = 22
| goals5 = 0
| years6 = 2010–2013
| clubs6 = Fortuna Sittard
| caps6 = 48
| goals6 = 1
| totalcaps = 452
| totalgoals = 33
| nationalyears1 = 2000–2003
| nationalteam1 = Netherlands
| nationalcaps1 = 12
| nationalgoals1 = 0
}}
Fernando Jacob Hubertina Henrika Ricksen (27 July 1976 – 18 September 2019) was a Dutch professional footballer who played as a right back and central midfielder. After winning Eerste Divisie titles with Fortuna Sittard and AZ, he joined Rangers for £3.75 million in 2000. In six years with the club from Glasgow, he won two Scottish Premier League titles, two Scottish Cups and three Scottish League Cups. He left in 2006 for Zenit Saint Petersburg, initially on loan, and won honours including the UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup in 2008. He was dismissed by Zenit in 2009, and spent the final years of his career back at Fortuna Sittard. Internationally, he earned 12 caps for the Netherlands between 2000 and 2003.
Ricksen was elected to Rangers's Hall of Fame in 2014. He suffered from motor neurone disease and died from the disease on 18 September 2019, aged 43.
Club career
=Rangers=
Ricksen, formerly of Fortuna Sittard, joined Rangers in 2000 from Dutch team AZ Alkmaar for a transfer fee of £3.75 million.
Ricksen endured a difficult start to his Rangers career, culminating in him being substituted after a torrid 21 minutes in a 6–2 defeat to Celtic. On his second trip to Celtic Park six months later, he was sent off before half-time in another defeat. He had been dropped for the two intervening derbies.{{cite news|url=http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/competitions/premiership/he-s-behind-you-1-1394103|title=He's behind you|work=scotsman.com|date=16 May 2004|access-date=31 October 2015}}
In November 2000 Ricksen became the first player in Scottish football to be banned retrospectively on television evidence.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/scottish-premier/2994925/Ricksen-banned-for-video-nasty.html|title=Ricksen banned for video nasty|date=18 December 2000|access-date=21 April 2017|publisher=The Daily Telegraph}} His Kung Fu-style kick on Darren Young had been missed by the referee but caught on camera, leading to a five-game ban. Ricksen subsequently used his personal website to suggest Young required "straightening out."{{cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-9987729.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160108043323/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-9987729.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 January 2016|title=A relaxed Ricksen puts his Celtic troubles behind him|work=highbeam.com|access-date=31 October 2015}}
2003–04 proved to be a failed season for Rangers, with the departure of several players from the treble-winning season, including Barry Ferguson and Lorenzo Amoruso. Ricksen, however, proved to be an important member of the Rangers team which finished second, playing 42 games, despite several injuries and disciplinary problems throughout the season. In October 2003 Ricksen pushed then Rangers chairman John McClelland into a swimming pool before a match against Panathinaikos in Athens. The same week he was banned from the Netherlands national team for smashing a hotel door down after a night out.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/3180952.stm|title=BBC SPORT - Football - My Club - Rangers - McLeish warns troubled Ricksen|work=bbc.co.uk|date=10 October 2003 |access-date=31 October 2015}} After the events Rangers banned Ricksen from talking to the media and manager McLeish said "We would rather have Fernando on the back pages and we have told him that."
In March 2004 Ricksen was again banned by the SFA video review panel. He had elbowed Derek Riordan in a CIS Cup defeat to Hibernian, resulting in a four-game ban and a £10,000 fine from his club.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/3485465.stm|title=BBC SPORT - Football - My Club - Rangers - Ricksen gets four-game ban|work=bbc.co.uk|date=16 March 2004 |access-date=31 October 2015}}
The highlight of Ricksen's career at Rangers came in the 2004–05 season seeing him jointly win the SPFA player of the year award after scoring nine goals from midfield in his 40 appearances for the club, helping Rangers to a league and league cup double.
It remained unclear whether Ricksen would be seen as a key member of the Rangers team under new manager Paul Le Guen for the 2006–07 season. An alcohol-fueled incident involving a passenger on Rangers' outbound flight to their pre-season camp in South Africa, led to Ricksen being sent home by Le Guen, who later described his behaviour as "inappropriate and unacceptable for the way in which I have asked my players to conduct themselves."{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/5164284.stm|title=BBC SPORT - Football - My Club - Rangers - Ricksen fears for Rangers future|work=bbc.co.uk|date=10 July 2006 |access-date=31 October 2015}}
On 30 March 2014, Ricksen was inducted into the Rangers Hall of Fame along with Lee McCulloch and Nacho Novo.{{cite web|url=http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/6649-fame-awards-for-trio|title=Fame Awards For Trio|work=Rangers Football Club, Official Website|access-date=31 October 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924123619/http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/6649-fame-awards-for-trio|archive-date=24 September 2015}}
=Zenit Saint Petersburg=
File:Fernando Ricksen.jpg in 2007]]
Ricksen moved on loan to Zenit Saint Petersburg on a season long loan on 9 August 2006, the Russian club's manager being Dick Advocaat, who signed Ricksen for Rangers. Two weeks later he returned to Ibrox in a friendly between Rangers and Zenit and was booed after injuring Chris Burke with what was described as a reckless tackle.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/5280480.stm|title=BBC SPORT - Football - My Club - Rangers - Burke crocked by Ricksen tackle|work=bbc.co.uk|date=23 August 2006 |access-date=31 October 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/tm_objectid=17616377&method=full&siteid=66633-name_page.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930015125/http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/tm_objectid%3D17616377%26method%3Dfull%26siteid%3D66633-name_page.html|title=The Daily Record - SPORT - SCOTTISH FOOTBALL - RICK'S BACK ON THE BOOS|archive-date=30 September 2007|work=dailyrecord.co.uk|access-date=31 October 2015|url-status=dead}} Weeks later, Ricksen engaged in an on-field fist-fight with Zenit captain Vladislav Radimov.{{cite web|url=http://www.wsc.co.uk/content/view/506/29/|title=When Saturday Comes - Fernando Ricksen|author=WSC 244 Jun 07|work=wsc.co.uk|access-date=31 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120524065527/http://www.wsc.co.uk/content/view/506/29/|archive-date=24 May 2012|url-status=dead}}
On 28 November 2006, Zenit Saint Petersburg announced that they bought out Ricksen's transfer from Rangers. Despite this, Ricksen again fought with Radimov during a match in January 2007. Ricksen was an unused substitute in the 2008 UEFA Cup Final, in which Zenit triumphed over Rangers. In January 2009, after two and a half years in Russia, Ricksen was demoted to Zenit's reserve side, having previously refused to leave the club. On 28 August 2009, FC Zenit terminated his contract because of Ricksen's constant disciplinary misbehaviours.[https://web.archive.org/web/20090829200027/http://www.fc-zenit.ru/info/details.phtml?id=7232 Official FC Zenit St. Petersburg website (Russian)]
=Return to Sittard=
After being without a club for more than a year, on 2 December 2010 Ricksen agreed to rejoin his childhood team Fortuna Sittard, involved in their battle to escape relegation from the Eerste Divisie, signing a contract till the end of the season.{{cite web|url=http://www.voetbalprimeur.nl/nieuws/184583/ricksen-maakt-vrijdag-rentree-bij-fortuna|title=Ricksen maakt vrijdag rentree bij Fortuna|work=voetbalprimeur.nl|access-date=31 October 2015}}
International career
Ricksen earned the first of 12 caps for the Netherlands on 15 November 2000, playing two minutes as a substitute for Paul Bosvelt in a 3–2 friendly win over Spain at the Estadio Olimpico de la Cartuja in Seville. His final cap was on 30 April 2003, a 1–1 home draw with Portugal in another friendly.{{cite web |title=Fernando Ricksen - International Appearances |url=https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/ricksen-intl.html |website=RSSSF |access-date=18 September 2019}}
In June 2003, after a UEFA Euro 2004 qualifier away to Belarus, Ricksen got drunk and kicked down two hotel room doors. He was subsequently ostracised by manager Dick Advocaat and did not play for the Netherlands again.{{cite news |last1=Livie |first1=Alex |title=Ricksen wants to help Oranje |url=https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11788/2277103/ricksen-wants-to-help-oranje |access-date=18 September 2019 |publisher=Sky Sports}}{{cite news |last1=van Leeuwen |first1=Gerrit |title=Ricksen no nearer Dutch recall |url=https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11788/2277131/ricksen-no-nearer-dutch-recall |access-date=18 September 2019 |publisher=Sky Sports}}
Personal life
File:Zenit-PSV (7).jpg match in 2015]]
On 25 December 2000, Ricksen was the subject of a report to the procurator fiscal after an incident when his car crashed into a lamppost in the early hours of the morning.{{cite web|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/rangers-player-faces-drink-drive-charge-1.204613|title=Rangers player faces drink-drive charge|work=Herald Scotland|access-date=31 October 2015}} Ricksen denied charges of drink-driving, careless driving, committing a breach of the peace by shouting and swearing, and conducting himself in a disorderly manner.{{cite web|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/rangers-star-banned-for-drink-driving-1.125217|title=Rangers star banned for drink-driving|work=Herald Scotland|access-date=31 October 2015}} At a trial in February 2003 Ricksen was found to have been twice over the limit and was convicted of drunk-driving, receiving a £500 fine and a 12-month driving ban. He was acquitted of the other charges.
In October 2003, Ricksen was fined £7,000 after being convicted of a breach of the peace and assault in relation to a drunken late-night house party he held the previous November.{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1443721/News-in-brief.html|title=News in brief|date=10 October 2003|work=Telegraph.co.uk|access-date=31 October 2015}} Having initially denied the charges, in court Ricksen admitted conducting himself in a disorderly manner, causing a breach of the peace, repeatedly igniting fireworks, shouting and swearing and then threatening and assaulting a neighbour who had complained.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3177826.stm|title=BBC NEWS - UK - Scotland - Ricksen appeal after fireworks fine|work=bbc.co.uk|date=9 October 2003 |access-date=31 October 2015}} During the 2004–05 football season, Ricksen abstained from alcohol.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/5170370.stm|title=BBC SPORT - Football - My Club - Rangers - Troubled Ricksen consults clinic|work=bbc.co.uk|date=11 July 2006 |access-date=31 October 2015}} In July 2006 Ricksen checked himself into the Sporting Chance Clinic for residential treatment relating to alcohol abuse and anger management.{{cite web|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/scotland/article3919498.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204143700/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/scotland/article3919498.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 December 2008|title=Login|work=The Times|access-date=31 October 2015}} For the previous six months he had been receiving out-patient treatment from the clinic.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/5171020.stm|title=BBC SPORT - Football - My Club - Rangers - Ricksen praised for taking action|work=bbc.co.uk|date=11 July 2006 |access-date=31 October 2015}}
Ricksen's daughter Isabella was born in 2011. In 2014 Ricksen married Veronika, who is Russian.{{Cite news|last=James|first=Stuart|date=1 March 2019|title=Fernando Ricksen: 'I like living too much, I'm not ready to go'|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/mar/01/fernando-ricksen-rangers-netherlands-motor-neurone-disease|access-date=1 May 2020|issn=0261-3077}} A documentary titled Fernando Ricksen: Hard Times{{Cite web|url=http://www.skysports.com/watch/news/9829826/fernando-ricksen-hard-times|title=Fernando Ricksen: Hard Times}} was aired on Sky Sports 1 on 3 May 2015. Ricksen was Catholic but later revealed his wish to convert to Orthodoxy.[https://matchtv.ru/football/rfpl/matchtvnews_NI764847_Veronika_Riksen_Zabolev_Fernando_khotel_prinat_pravoslavije_No_nam_otkazali Вероника Риксен: «Заболев, Фернандо хотел принять православие. Но нам отказали»]
Ricksen wrote an autobiography, Fighting Spirit, which was published in 2014.{{cite news |last1=James |first1=Stuart |title=Fernando Ricksen: 'I like living too much, I'm not ready to go' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/mar/01/fernando-ricksen-rangers-netherlands-motor-neurone-disease |access-date=18 September 2019 |work=The Guardian |date=1 March 2019}}
Illness and death
On 30 October 2013, Ricksen revealed that he was terminally ill and had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (motor neurone disease).{{Cite web|url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/former-rangers-star-fernando-ricksen-2658197|title=Former Rangers star Fernando Ricksen breaks down in tears as he reveals he has Motor Neurone Disease|last=English|first=Paul|date=30 October 2013|website=Daily Record|access-date=25 September 2019}} He set up a charity that raised over £1 million for research into the condition.
Ricksen died on 18 September 2019 in St Andrew's Hospice in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Scotland, aged 43.{{cite news |title=Ricksen succumbs to motor neurone disease |url=https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/0255-0e99f16e5852-66c44b757bfc-1000--ricksen-succumbs-to-motor-neurone-disease/ |access-date=18 September 2019 |publisher=UEFA |date=18 September 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/fernando-ricksen/|title=Fernando Ricksen|publisher=Rangers F.C. official site|date=18 September 2019|access-date=18 September 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49740638 |title=Fernando Ricksen: Ex-Rangers player dies aged 43 after motor neurone disease battle |publisher=BBC Sport |date=18 September 2019 |access-date=18 September 2019}} His funeral was held at Wellington Church in Glasgow on 25 September, attended by dignitaries of Celtic and Rangers, after which he was cremated at Linn crematorium, in a private ceremony.{{cite news |title=Fans applaud as ex-Rangers player Ricksen's coffin passes Ibrox |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-49813989 |access-date=25 September 2019 |work=BBC News |date=25 September 2019}}
Honours
Fortuna Sittard
AZ
Rangers
- Scottish Premier League: 2002–03, 2004–05
- Scottish Cup: 2001–02, 2002–03
- Scottish League Cup: 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05
Zenit Saint Petersburg
Individual
- PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year: 2004–05
- Rangers F.C. Hall of Fame: inducted in 2014
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090909080145/http://www.fc-zenit.ru/eng/personInfo.phtml?id=274 |date=9 September 2009 |title=Profile at the official FC Zenit St. Petersburg website }}
- {{Soccerbase}}
- {{NFT player|4644}}
- {{Wereld van Oranje|1127}}
{{SPFA Players' Player of the Year}}
{{Rangers F.C. Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ricksen, Fernando}}
Category:Footballers from Heerlen
Category:Dutch men's footballers
Category:Men's association football central defenders
Category:Men's association football midfielders
Category:EHC Hoensbroek players
Category:Fortuna Sittard players
Category:FC Zenit Saint Petersburg players
Category:Eerste Divisie players
Category:Scottish Premier League players
Category:Russian Premier League players
Category:UEFA Europa League–winning players
Category:Netherlands men's under-21 international footballers
Category:Netherlands men's international footballers
Category:Dutch expatriate men's footballers
Category:Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Scotland
Category:Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Russia
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Russia
Category:Dutch Roman Catholics