Boudewijn Zenden

Boudewijn Zenden
Personal information
Full name	Boudewijn Zenden
Date of birth	August 15, 1976 (1976-08-15) (age 33)
Place of birth	Maastricht, Netherlands
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Playing position	Left-winger / central midfielder
Club information
Current club	Marseille
Number	10
Youth clubs
1985–1987 1987–1993	MVV PSV Eindhoven
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1993–1998 1998–2001 2001–2004 2003–2004 2004–2005 2005–2007 2007–	PSV Eindhoven FC Barcelona Chelsea → Middlesbrough (loan) Middlesbrough Liverpool Marseille	109 (32) 064 0(2) 043 0(4) 031 0(4) 036 0(5) 023 0(2) 034 0(4)
National team2
1997–2004	Netherlands	054 0(7)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1:42, 9 August 2008 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 13 March 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Boudewijn "Bolo" Zenden () (born August 15, 1976 in Maastricht) is a Dutch footballer who plays most often as a midfielder. Zenden is currently playing for Marseille. He has earned 54 caps and scored 7 goals for the Dutch national team, and he represented his country in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2000 and Euro 2004 tournaments.

Prior to joining Marseille, Zenden played for PSV Eindhoven (1994-98), Barcelona (1998-2001), Chelsea (2001-03), Middlesbrough (2003-05) and Liverpool (2005-07). He started his career out as a winger, playing on the left, however he has also played as a left-wingback and a central midfielder during his career.

Youth

Zenden's father Pierre Zenden is a former judoka, who worked as a sports broadcaster for the public NOS broadcasting system from 1968 to 2005.^[1] Zenden played football and was also competitive in judo as a child. In 1985 Dutch club MVV Maastricht signed Zenden after watching him play for amateur club Leonidas. Two years later Zenden joined the youth academy of PSV Eindhoven.^[2]

He earned his judo black belt by the age of 14^[3] and was three times judo champion of his home province of Limburg.^[4] However, at the age of 16 he chose to pursue a career in football.

Club career

PSV

As his career developed at PSV Eindhoven, Zenden made the left wing position his own, displacing Peter Hoekstra and finally becoming a firm member of the starting line-up after the departure of Dutch national team player Jan Wouters. Zenden was an important part of the PSV team that won the Dutch Eredivisie league championship in 1997, and he received the 1997 "Dutch Talent of the Year" award.^[2] After another season at PSV, in which he scored 12 goals in 23 games, he moved to Spanish club Barcelona in 1998.

Barcelona

At Barcelona he became part of a large contingent of Dutch players under Barcelona's Dutch coach Louis van Gaal. He found his first-team opportunities at Barcelona limited by the form of fellow Dutchman Marc Overmars, who played in Zenden's favoured left wing position for both club and country. Instead, Zenden was deployed as a left wingback, a defensive role which he took on successfully, as he displaced Spanish international and local favourite Sergi Barjuán.^[5] He helped Barcelona win the 1998-99 La Liga championship, and in the 1999-2000 season, he scored his only three goals for the club. However, after Van Gaal's resignation as coach in 2000, first team appearances became more scarce for Zenden. At the end of the 2000-2001 season, English club Chelsea bought him for £7.5 million.^[6]

Chelsea

In his three years at Chelsea, Zenden played in the 2002 FA Cup final, a 2-0 defeat by Arsenal, however he struggled to maintain a constant place in the starting line-up mainly due to persistent injuries. ^[7]

Middlesbrough

He was loaned out to Middlesbrough for the 2003-2004 season. Here he found playing success, as he scored the winning goal in the 2004 League Cup final against Bolton Wanderers to secure Middlesbrough their first major trophy in club history. When his contract with Chelsea expired in the summer 2004, he moved to Middlesbrough on a free transfer, signing a one-year contract for the 2004-2005 season.^[8] He was deployed in a central midfield position, where he played 36 of 38 league games, scoring 5 goals in the process, and was voted the Middlesbrough fans' 2005 Player of the Year.^[9] However, it would be his last for Middlesbrough, as he left in the summer of 2005 when his contract ran out.

Liverpool

Zenden joined newly crowned UEFA Champions League champions Liverpool on July 4, 2005. He started his Liverpool career being used regularly as a left midfielder, and was in the starting line-up as Liverpool won the 2005 European Super Cup. He suffered a serious cruciate ligament injury in his right knee in December 2005,^[10] which ruled him out for the rest of the season.^[9] He recovered for the start of the 2006-2007 season, and was part of the Liverpool team that won the 2006 Community Shield. After the departure of German central midfielder Dietmar Hamann in the summer 2006, Liverpool manager Rafa Benítez indicated that he saw Zenden as an option in the central midfield.^[11]

Zenden suffered a further knee injury playing against Manchester City on November 25th, 2006, and has recovered since undergoing surgery.^[12]

Zenden played in both legs of Liverpool's Champions League semi-final against Chelsea, scoring Liverpool's first penalty in the penalty shootout at the end of the second leg, which Liverpool won 4-1.

Marseille

On May 24 2007, it was announced by Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez that Zenden's contract would not be renewed and that he was allowed to talk to other clubs ^[13], and on July 6, 2007, Zenden signed a 2 year contract with Olympique de Marseille.

International career

Zenden made his debut for the Dutch national team in a 1998 World Cup qualification match against San Marino on April 30, 1997. He was included in the starting formation, and played the entire game as the Netherlands won 6-0.^[14] He was called up to represent the Netherlands at the 1998 World Cup in France, where Zenden started the tournament as a substitute. Coming on twice as a substitute, he was selected to start in the semi-final loss to Brazil. He was once more selected to play in the 3rd placing playoff against Croatia, where he scored a goal after a solo run and a powerful long-range shot.^[15] After scoring, he attempted to celebrate with an acrobatic somersault, but failed, throwing himself head first to the ground.^[2]

It was during the run-up to Euro 2000 that he gained acclaim, with the tournament itself providing the platform some of his finest performances. His raw pace and acceleration down the flank, coupled with his ability to function both as a wing-forward and as a wing-back made him a versatile player to have in the squad. His man-of-the-match performance in a friendly against Germany at the turn of the millennium cemented his position in the national team -- he set up the opening goal for Patrick Kluivert, then added his own name to the scoresheet with a thunderous volley from Ronald de Boer's corner, before nearly putting the gloss on the finish when he left the entire German defence for dead with his raw pace, beat the goalkeeper with his shot, only for it to rebound off the upright.

Zenden played in all five Dutch matches at Euro 2000. Carrying his pre-tournament form into the big event, Zenden grabbed a goal against Denmark and the winner against France to help the Netherlands finish top of Group D. The Dutch annihilated the Yugoslavians 6-1 in the quarter-final; Zenden once again put in a stellar performance, including the assist for what turned out to be Kluivert's hat-trick goal. He started the semi-final against Italy, but he was substituted in a game that would see the Dutch be eliminated on penalties. Zenden was named in the UEFA Team of the Tournament, along with compatriots Patrick Kluivert (top goalscorer), Frank de Boer, and Edgar Davids.

Zenden featured again in Euro 2004 (Euro 2004), though he only played in the first match against Germany and as a substitute in the semi-final defeat to Portugal. Following the tournament, Zenden, like other experienced players including Clarence Seedorf and Edgar Davids, found himself excluded from the national squad selection by new Dutch national team coach Marco van Basten. Since September 2004, Zenden has not been called up, and the injury he suffered in December 2005 put paid to any chance he might have had of playing in the 2006 World Cup.

Career statistics

Club performance

International goals

Scores and results list the Netherlands' goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	1998-07-11	Paris, France	Croatia	1-1	1-2	1998 World Cup
2	1999-10-09	Amsterdam, Netherlands	Brazil	2-0	2-2	Friendly match
3	2000-02-23	Amsterdam, Netherlands	Germany	2-1	2-1	Friendly match
4	2000-06-16	Rotterdam, Netherlands	Denmark	3-0	3-0	Euro 2000
5	2000-06-21	Amsterdam, Netherlands	France	3-2	3-2	Euro 2000
6	2001-09-05	Eindhoven, Netherlands	Estonia	1-0	5-0	2002 World Cup qual.
7	2004-04-28	Eindhoven, Netherlands	Greece	2-0	4-0	Friendly match

Honours

PSV Eindhoven

• 1995–96 Dutch Cup
• 1996–97 Dutch League Championship

Barcelona

• 1998–99 Spanish League Championship

Middlesbrough

• 2003–04 League Cup

Liverpool

• 2005–06 European Super Cup
• 2006–07 Community Shield
• 2006–07 UEFA Champions League - Runner-up

References

External links

• Boudewijn Zenden career stats at Soccerbase
• (Dutch) Dutch national team profile
• Profile at 4thegame.com
• Photos and stats at sporting-heroes.net
• Profile at premierleague.com
• Boudewijn Zenden profile and stats at Wereld van Oranje (Dutch)

Netherlands squad – 1998 FIFA World Cup Fourth Place 1 van der Sar • 2 Reiziger • 3 Stam • 4 F. de Boer • 5 Numan • 6 Jonk • 7 R. de Boer • 8 Bergkamp • 9 Kluivert • 10 Seedorf • 11 Cocu • 12 Zenden • 13 Ooijer • 14 Overmars • 15 Bogarde • 16 Davids • 17 van Hooijdonk • 18 de Goey • 19 van Bronckhorst • 20 Winter • 21 Hasselbaink • 22 Hesp • Coach: Hiddink

Netherlands squad – UEFA Euro 2000 semi-finalists 1 Van der Sar • 2 Reiziger • 3 Stam • 4 F. de Boer • 5 Zenden • 6 Seedorf • 7 Cocu • 8 Davids • 9 Kluivert • 10 Bergkamp • 11 Overmars • 12 Van Bronckhorst • 13 Konterman • 14 Van Vossen • 15 Bosvelt • 16 R. de Boer • 17 Van Hooijdonk • 18 De Goey • 19 Numan • 20 Winter • 21 Makaay • 22 Westerveld • Coach: Rijkaard

Netherlands squad – UEFA Euro 2004 semi-finalists 1 van der Sar • 2 Reiziger • 3 Stam • 4 Bouma • 5 van Bronckhorst • 6 Cocu • 7 van der Meyde • 8 Davids • 9 Kluivert • 10 van Nistelrooy • 11 van der Vaart • 12 Makaay • 13 Westerveld • 14 Sneijder • 15 F. de Boer • 16 Overmars • 17 van Hooijdonk • 18 Heitinga • 19 Robben • 20 Seedorf • 21 Bosvelt • 22 Zenden • 23 Waterreus • Coach: Advocaat

Awards
Preceded by Jon Dahl Tomasson	Dutch Football Talent of the Year 1997	Succeeded by Mark van Bommel