In the late fall of 1964, Marco van Basten was born in the small Dutch town of Utrecht. A small but nurturing land with vast meadows and lakes, Van Basten spent an innocent childhood here. Dutch sportsmanship took root in the young van Basten's heart, but his first sporting passion was gymnastics, not soccer. The small city of Utrecht has produced numerous gymnasts, and Van Basten also trained here, laying the foundation for his excellent flexibility on the field. However, van Basten didn't go on to gymnastics because he had a father who was also a soccer player, Joop. Jopp was a winger for Utrecht, and van Basten's interest in soccer grew as he watched his father's games from a young age. He says frankly, "I enjoy soccer, not deliberately, but just unconsciously, I became better at it. I aspire to be a professional player."
During his secondary school years, Jopp retired as a coach of his hometown amateur soccer club, giving him more time to spend with and coach his son.At the age of 15, van Basten joined the youth academy in Utrecht, starting his soccer career.During the 1981-1982 season, he joined the Dutch Eredivisie giants Ajax and quickly made his debut on 3 April 1982, scoring his first goal with a header in his professional career. first goal of his career with a header. The following season, van Basten showed amazing goal-scoring efficiency, scoring nine goals for Ajax and becoming a key player in the team's attacking line. 1983-1984 season, he won the first Golden Boot trophy of his career with 28 goals, and in the next three seasons, with an amazing figure of 90 goals, he created the Dutch League Golden Boot big four feats.
At the age of 23, van Basten had already become team captain, and in the 1986-1987 season, he led Ajax to end a 14-year European title drought. In the final of the Cup Winners' Cup, van Basten scored a header to win Ajax's first ever European Cup Winners' Cup, and five years later, Ajax won the final of the Confederations Cup, becoming the second team after Juventus to achieve the Grand Slam of Europe's three major cups (Champions' Cup, Cup Winners' Cup, and Confederations Cup). In his six years at Ajax, van Basten played 175 matches for the team, scoring 154 goals and helping the team win three Dutch League Championships, three Dutch Cups and one European Cup Winners' Cup. He himself won four Dutch Golden Boots, one Dutch Footballer of the Year and one European Golden Boot (37 goals in 1986), and in 1987, World Soccer Magazine named him the third best player in the world. The young talent from Utrecht is ready to fly on a wider stage.
