Ronald de Boer

{{Infobox football biography

|name= Ronald de Boer

|image= Ronald de Boer 2.jpg

|caption= De Boer in 2012

|full_name= Ronaldus de Boer{{cite web |url=https://players.fcbarcelona.com/en/player/234-de-boer-ronald-ronaldus-ronald-boer |title=De Boer, Ronald |publisher=FC Barcelona |access-date=28 October 2024}}

|birth_date= {{birth date and age|1970|5|15|df=y}}

|birth_place= Hoorn, Netherlands

|height= 1.80 m{{cite web|title=Ronald de Boer - Player Profile - Eurosport|url=https://www.eurosport.com/football/ronald-de-boer_prs285/person.shtml|work=eurosport.com|access-date=14 October 2023}}

|position= Midfielder, winger

| youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 = VV De Zouaven

| youthyears2 = 1983–1988 | youthclubs2 = Ajax

| years1 = 1988–1991 | clubs1 = Ajax | caps1 = 52 | goals1 = 14

| years2 = 1991–1993 | clubs2 = Twente | caps2 = 49 | goals2 = 22

| years3 = 1993–1999 | clubs3 = Ajax | caps3 = 172 | goals3 = 36

| years4 = 1999–2000 | clubs4 = Barcelona | caps4 = 33 | goals4 = 1

| years5 = 2000–2004 | clubs5 = Rangers | caps5 = 91 | goals5 = 32

| years6 = 2004–2005 | clubs6 = Al-Rayyan | caps6 = 22 | goals6 = 3

| years7 = 2005–2008 | clubs7 = Al-Shamal | caps7 = 56 | goals7 = 8

| totalcaps = 475

| totalgoals = 116

| nationalyears1 = 1993–2003 | nationalteam1 = Netherlands | nationalcaps1 = 67 | nationalgoals1 = 13

| manageryears1 = 2010–2011 | managerclubs1 = Qatar Olympic (assistant)

| manageryears2 = 2010–2011 | managerclubs2 = Qatar U–23 (assistant)

| medaltemplates = {{Medal|Sport|Men's football}}

{{medal|Country|{{fb|NED}}}}

}}

Ronaldus de Boer ({{IPA|nl|ˈroːnɑl də ˈbuːr}};{{citation needed|date=October 2024}} born 15 May 1970) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a right or attacking midfielder or right winger. He played for the Netherlands national team as well as a host of professional clubs in Europe. He is the twin brother of Frank de Boer. The majority of his success as a football player was with Ajax. He works as the Ajax A1 assistant manager.

Club career

De Boer's first youth club was De Zouaven in Lutjebroek where he played before being selected for the Ajax youth programme in 1983. On the professional club level, De Boer played for Ajax (1988–91 and 1993–99), Twente (1991–93), Barcelona (1999–2000), Rangers (2000–04), Al-Rayyan (2004–05) and Al-Shamal (2005–08). In both Qatari clubs, he was reunited again with his brother Frank, his teammate at Ajax, Barcelona and Rangers.

In his first spell at Ajax from 1988 to 1991, he won the Eredivisie title in 1989–90 under manager Leo Beenhakker. After two seasons at Twente from 1991 to 1993, he returned to Ajax under manager Louis van Gaal, and had his most successful spell as a player, winning three consecutive Eredivisie titles in 1993–94, 1994–95 and 1995–96. He also won the 1995 UEFA Champions League, the 1995 Intercontinental Cup, and the 1995 UEFA Super Cup. He was also a runner-up of the 1996 UEFA Champions League, where Ajax lost on penalties to Juventus. When Louis van Gaal left Ajax for Barcelona in July 1997, Morten Olsen became the new Ajax manager, and De Boer won a fifth Eredivisie title in 1997–98 and also won the 1997–98 KNVB Cup.

There was then controversy soon after De Boer and his twin brother Frank signed a six-year contract extension with Ajax at the start 1998–99 season, when Ronald and Frank took successful legal action to have the contract voided. Ajax had agreed verbally that if a lucrative offer for one brother came by, he would be released provided the other stayed. Ajax, however, apparently backed down on that agreement after floating the club on the stock market and pledging to shareholders that it would hold both of the De Boers and build around them a team to recapture the UEFA Champions League.[https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/29/sports/29iht-soccer.t_14.html The De Boers tackle contract law] New York Times, 29 July 1998.

The fallout over the contract situation led to an increasing conflict between the De Boer twins and the Ajax hierarchy, with match results for Ajax suffering and manager Morten Olsen soon getting sacked. In January 1999, Frank and Ronald signed for Barcelona for £22 million, joining their former Ajax manager Louis van Gaal at the Camp Nou.{{cite news|url=http://www.trouw.nl/tr/nl/5009/Archief/archief/article/detail/2474024/1999/01/16/Ultiem-akkoord-Ajax-en-Barcelona.dhtml|title=Ultiem akkoord Ajax en Barcelona|date=16 January 1999|access-date=30 April 2014|language=nl|work=Trouw}}

While De Boer was impressive at Ajax during the 1990s and for the Netherlands up to and including the 1998 FIFA World Cup, his high-profile transfer to Barcelona in January 1999 marked what would be an unlikely bad patch for a prolific goal-scoring midfielder, as he managed to feature in only 33 La Liga games for the club and scored just one goal in La Liga. In the 2000–01 season, he opted to join the Dutch legion at Rangers under the manager Dick Advocaat.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/902752.stm |title=Rangers swoop for De Boer and Hartson |publisher=BBC |date=30 August 2000 |access-date=13 April 2020}} Among the Dutch internationals who at that time played for Rangers were Bert Konterman, Arthur Numan, Fernando Ricksen and Giovanni van Bronckhorst. De Boer made his debut in a Scottish League Cup tie against Aberdeen on 6 September 2000,{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/913607.stm |title=Rangers through after Dons scare |publisher=BBC |date=6 September 2000 |access-date=13 April 2020}} and scored his first goal for the club in a UEFA Champions League tie against Sturm Graz.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/922391.stm |title=Five-star show storms Graz |publisher=BBC |date=16 September 2000 |access-date=13 April 2020}} De Boer didn't win any silverware at the end of his first season at the club, but the following season (2001–02) Rangers won both the Scottish League Cup and the Scottish Cup,{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scottish_cup/1966673.stm |title=Rangers win Old Firm final |publisher=BBC |date=4 May 2002 |access-date=13 April 2020}} though De Boer missed the former final through injury.{{cite news |url=http://www.espnfc.com/scotland/news/2002/0318/20020318rfcslaurels.html |title=Rangers cannot afford to rest on their laurels |publisher=ESPN |date=18 March 2002 |access-date=13 April 2020}} The following season, 2002–03, brought even more success as De Boer helped Rangers win a domestic treble of league, Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_div_1/2853133.stm |title=Rangers retain CIS Cup |publisher=BBC |date=16 March 2003 |access-date=13 April 2020}}{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/2932016.stm |title=Rangers win to clinch title |publisher=BBC |date=25 May 2003 |access-date=13 April 2020}}{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_div_1/2946904.stm |title=Rangers complete Treble |publisher=BBC |date=31 May 2003 |access-date=13 April 2020}} In total he spent four seasons with the club before joining Al-Rayyan after the 2003–04 season.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/3705699.stm |title=De Boer to leave Rangers |publisher=BBC |date=11 May 2004 |access-date=13 April 2020}}

De Boer recovered from surgery on a neck injury and decided not to play in Al-Shamal's last two games of the 2006–07 season. On 19 March 2008, De Boer canceled his contract with Qatari outfit Al-Shamal and retired.

International career

File:Ronald de Boer.jpg

De Boer won 67 caps and scored 13 goals for the Netherlands national team. He played for the Netherlands in the 1994 and the 1998 World Cups, where he played in six matches and scored two goals. He missed a penalty in the penalty shootout against Brazil in the 1998 semi-finals. De Boer also played in Euro 1996 and Euro 2000.

In the Dutch national team, De Boer was used in various positions, including right-half, centre forward and attacking midfielder. In his early Ajax years, De Boer played either centre forward or attacking midfielder. In later years, he shifted to right midfield.

De Boer was never officially captain of the Dutch national team or Ajax, but he has worn the captain's armband on several occasions for both club teams and the national team when the first-choice captain was not playing. In most teams, this was his brother Frank, with whom he has played side by side for most of his career.

Managerial career

De Boer is Ajax A1 assistant manager.

Media

De Boer featured in EA Sports' FIFA video game series; he was on the cover for the International edition of FIFA 96, alongside Jason McAteer.{{cite web|title=International FIFA 13 Covers|url=http://www.fifauteam.com/international-fifa-13-covers/|website=www.fifauteam.com|access-date=18 March 2015|date=24 August 2012}}

Career statistics

=Club=

rowspan="2"\|Club !rowspan="2"\|Season !colspan="3"\|League !colspan="2"\|National cup !colspan="2"\|League cup !colspan="2"\|Continental !colspan="2"\|Other !colspan="2"\|Total
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" \|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
rowspan="5"\|Ajax \|1987–88 \|Eredivisie \|1	1	0	0	colspan="2"\|–					1	1
1988–89 \|Eredivisie \|17	5	1	0	colspan="2"\|–					18	5
1989–90 \|Eredivisie \|20	7	3	0	colspan="2"\|–	2	0			25	7
1990–91 \|Eredivisie \|14	1	3	0	colspan="2"\|–					17	1
colspan="2"\|Total !52	14	7	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	61	14
rowspan="3"\|Twente \|1991–92 \|Eredivisie \|33	11	1	0	colspan="2"\|–					34	11
1992–93 \|Eredivisie \|16	11	2	0	colspan="2"\|–					18	11
colspan="2"\|Total !49	22	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	52	22
rowspan="8"\|Ajax \|1992–93 \|Eredivisie \|15	5	3	0	colspan="2"\|–					18	5
1993–94 \|Eredivisie \|28	5	4	2	colspan="2"\|–	6	2	1	0	39	9
1994–95{{cite web \|title=Ronald de Boer » Club matches \|url=https://www.worldfootball.net/player_summary/ronald-de-boer/2/ \|website=worldfootball.net \|access-date=2 November 2022}} \|Eredivisie \|25	5	3	4	colspan="2"\|–	10	2	1{{efn\|name=jcs\|Appearance in Johan Cruyff Shield}}	0	39	11
1995–96 \|Eredivisie \|31	7	1	1	colspan="2"\|–	11	1	3{{efn\|One appearance in Intercontinental Cup, one appearance in UEFA Super Cup, one appearance and one goal in Johan Cruyff Shield}}	1	46	10
1996–97 \|Eredivisie \|28	5	1	0	colspan="2"\|–	10	1	1{{efn\|name=jcs}}	0	40	6
1997–98 \|Eredivisie \|31	7	4	0	colspan="2"\|–	8	0	colspan="2"\|–	43	7
1998–99 \|Eredivisie \|15	2	1	0	colspan="2"\|–	6	0			22	2
colspan="2"\|Total !173	36	17	7	0	0	51	6	6	1	247	50
rowspan="3"\|Barcelona \|1998–99{{BDFutbol\|2396}} \|La Liga \|13	0	4	1	colspan="2"\|–					17	1
1999–2000 \|La Liga \|20	1	6	0	colspan="2"\|–	11	0	1{{efn\|Appearance in Supercopa de España}}	1	38	2
colspan="2"\|Total !33	1	10	1	0	0	11	0	1	1	55	3
rowspan="5"\|Rangers \|2000–01{{Soccerbase season\|779\|2000}} \|Scottish Premier League \|17	6	1	0	1	0	7	1	colspan="2"\|–	26	7
2001–02{{Soccerbase season\|779\|2001}} \|Scottish Premier League \|25	8	4	0	3	0	7	2	colspan="2"\|–	39	10
2002–03{{Soccerbase season\|779\|2002}} \|Scottish Premier League \|33	16	5	1	3	1	2	2	colspan="2"\|–	43	20
2003–04{{Soccerbase season\|779\|2003}} \|Scottish Premier League \|16	2	2	1	1	0	2	0	colspan="2"\|–	21	3
colspan="2"\|Total !91	32	12	2	8	1	18	5	0	0	129	40
Al-Rayyan \|2004–05{{NFT\|4645\|accessdate=}} \|Qatar Stars League \|22	3							colspan="2"\|–	22	3
rowspan="4"\|Al-Shamal \|2005–06 \|Qatar Stars League \|17	5							colspan="2"\|–	22	3
2006–07 \|Qatar Stars League \|24	3							colspan="2"\|–	22	3
2007–08 \|Qatar Stars League \|15	0							colspan="2"\|–	22	3
colspan="2"\|Total !56	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	56	8
colspan="3"\|Career total !476	116	49	10	8	1	82	11	7	2	622	140

=International=

National team	Year	Apps
class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" \|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year{{Cite web \| url=https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/rdeboer-intl.html \| title=Ronald de Boer - International Appearances}}
rowspan="11"\|Netherlands \|1993	4	3
1994	11	3
1995	7	0
1996	10	3
1997	4	0
1998	13	3
1999	7	0
2000	7	1
2001	1	0
2002	2	0
2003	1	0
colspan="2"\|Total	67	13

International goals

:Scores and results list Netherlands' goal tally first{{cite web |url=https://voetbalstats.nl/spelernedxi.php?persid=44 |title=Statistics |publisher=Voetbalstats.nl |date=28 June 2013 |access-date=1 July 2024}}

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
class="wikitable sortable"
1.	24 March 1993	Stadion Galgenwaard, Utrecht, Netherlands	{{fb\|SMR\|1862}}	{{center\|4–0}}	{{center\|6–0}}	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.	22 September 1993	Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, Bologna, Italy	{{fb\|SMR\|1862}}	{{center\|4–0}}	{{center\|7–0}}	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.	17 November 1993	Stadion Miejski, Poznań, Poland	{{fb\|POL}}	{{center\|3–1}}	{{center\|3–1}}	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
4.	rowspan=2\|7 September 1994	rowspan=2\|Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg	rowspan=2\|{{fb\|LUX}}	{{center\|2–0}}	rowspan=2\|{{center\|4–0}}	rowspan=2\|UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
5.	{{center\|3–0}}
6.	14 December 1994	De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands	{{fb\|LUX}}	{{center\|4–0}}	{{center\|5–0}}	UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
7.	31 August 1996	Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands	{{fb\|BRA}}	{{center\|1–1}}	{{center\|2–2}}	Friendly
8.	5 October 1996	Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff, Wales	{{fb\|WAL}}	{{center\|3–1}}	{{center\|3–1}}	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
9.	9 November 1996	Philips Stadion, Eindhoven, Netherlands	{{fb\|WAL}}	{{center\|2–0}}	{{center\|7–1}}	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
10.	21 February 1998	Pro Player Stadium, Miami Gardens, United States	{{fb\|USA}}	{{center\|1–0}}	{{center\|2–0}}	Friendly
11.	20 June 1998	Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, France	{{fb\|KOR}}	{{center\|5–0}}	{{center\|5–0}}	1998 FIFA World Cup
12.	25 June 1998	Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne, France	{{fb\|MEX}}	{{center\|2–0}}	{{center\|2–2}}	1998 FIFA World Cup
13.	16 June 2000	De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands	{{fb\|DEN}}	{{center\|2–0}}	{{center\|3–0}}	UEFA Euro 2000

Honours

Ajax

Eredivisie: 1989–90, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1997–98
KNVB Cup: 1997–98
Johan Cruyff Shield: 1993, 1994, 1995
UEFA Champions League: 1994–95
UEFA Super Cup: 1995
Intercontinental Cup: 1995

Barcelona

La Liga: 1998–99

Rangers

Al Rayyan

Emir of Qatar Cup: 2005

Individual

Dutch Footballer of the Year: 1994, 1996
Ballon d'Or: 1996 (28th),{{cite web | url = https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/europa-poy96.html | title = European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or") 1996 | date = 26 March 2005 | access-date = 24 October 2016 | first = Pierrend | website = RSSSF | last = José Luis}} 1998 (21st){{cite web | url = https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/europa-poy98.html | title = European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or") 1998 | date = 26 March 2005 | access-date = 24 October 2016 | first = Pierrend | website = RSSSF | last = José Luis}}