Fossils

"The vision of a champion is someone bent over drenched in sweat, to a point of exhaustion, when no one else is watching." Anson Dorrance. Have you ever got up in the morning or afternoon what ever is your thing and just don't have the will to just carry on. Or have you said, what is the point of plugging away at a task that seems remedial? It is the constant dedication to a task that breeds a champion. I admit I tend not to win very often in most situations and I do get discourage and those days full of remedial tasks I have had my fair share. I would so like to be a winner one day but even if I don't I will know I gave it that old 110%. That quote when you think about it applies to every successful althelete/person you can think of. We never see the hours put in or the investments banked or even the long faces when hurt or disappointed. To master a skill is to forsake all others, it's risky. A risk legends in all sports have taken with great results. In my series Fossils, yes you may be old and possibly forgotten and a shell of your former self but the hours you have put in can never be taken, hours that saw you hardly able to stand for this I will acknowledge. Sure you may have conquered the world but I will not salute that I will salute the strides you took to get there. I will never just see the end product.

Name: Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard

Nickname: The Llama (LOL I will explain)

D/O/H: 09/30/1962 (age 46)

Place of Hatching: Amsterdam, Netherlands

Position: Midfielder/Defender (Center Midfielder/Center Back)

Prefered Claw: Right

Height: 6'3 ft/inches

National Team: The Netherlands

Caps: 73

Club Teams: Ajax Amsterdam (1980-87), Sporting Club de Portugal (Sporing Lisbon) (1987-88), Real Zaragoza (1987-88) (loan), AC Milan (1988-1993), Ajax Amsterdam (1993-95)

Glory: Ajax Amsterdam (Dutch League- 1982/1983/1994/1995), (Dutch Super Cup- 1993/1994), (KNVB Cup- 1983/1986/1987), (UEFA Cup Winner's Cup- 1987), (UEFA Champions League- 1995), AC Milan (Serie A- 1992/1993), (Supercoppa- 1988/1992), (European Cup- 1989/1990), (Intercontinental Cup-1989/1990), The Netherlands (European Championship 1988)

Decomposition: 1995

If you have not guess it by now I am on a Dutch theme right now evident by my last two entries. I stated my bias in the first installment and have talked up the Dutch more times than Geert Wilders, you know what to do there google if you please. What I have not done is talk up the Dutch as a footballing force. I have not said how creative and how wonderful they are and no I won't say like I laways do that I don't know what to say because now I really do. No country on this earth can rival the quality of footballers this nation and its dependencies and former dependencies can produce. You have your Brazils and your Spains and Argentinas all which have had their Golden Generation. The key word being generation. The defintion of that word is as follows." A body of living beings constituting a single step in the line of descent from an ancestor." That word single is important. The Dutch have generations of superstars while the fore mention nations have only one Golden generation. Controversial very much so but this only sures up my Dutch bias. To win my great Dutch debate and show why the Dutch are the best I shall showcase one of the big guns another stupid cliche but who cares. I will deliver my TKO and not even Dutch windmills can bring the wind back into your sails.

I will only highlight this man's playing career and not his managerial one that is for another time look out for that one. Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard was born on the 30th of September 1962 in the Dutch capital of Amsterdam. Born to a Dutch mother and a Surinamese father Frank. Little did he know would start he very unique trend of Surinamese-Dutch footballer that is common in the national team even to this day. Frank started his footballing career at Ajax Amsterdam and made his debut for the legendary side in the season of 1980 against weirdly name Dutch club Go Head Eagles. Success of the instant variety was obtained by the young Dutchman. Playing either in the center of the defensive or midfield was no difference to youngster. His first campaign with the club was nothing less than magical he won three Dutch league titles first in 1981 followed by the titles in 1982 and in 1984. Not to make the league titles feel lonely he also added three KNVB Cups as well in the seasons of 1983,1986 and 1987. Frank also threw in a European Cup in 1989 for good measure. What is a distrbing trend among Dutch players is their temperment. Rijkaard's docile facade was merely that, the Dutchman had a legendary bust up with then Ajax coach Johan Cruijff. Rijkaard vowed never to play under him, a vow well kept and Rijkaard left the club. Sporting Lisbon was a new challenege for the young Dutchman a mecca in Western football. It was a pity he never played for the Portuguese aristocrats. After that little bust up with Mr. Cruijff I guess the clubs got a bit tardy in registration. There you have it not a game played because of laziness on someone's part. With no football in Portugal to be had a trek across the Iberian Peninsula to Spain and to Zaragoza was the action for Rijkaard. On loan at Real Zaragoza Rijkaard hardly step ground on the pitch just playing 11 times. The season of 1987/88 was a bit of a weird one for the maestro, ousted from Ajax, being shunned away in Lisbon and a murky spell in Spain but in 1988 Rijkaard would begin to cement his legacy. The Dutchman moved to the San Siro in the same year and that marked a five year rampage of Italy. Frank made 142 appearances for the Rosseneri and hitting that net all but 16 times. Titles?, why of course. Serie A titles two of them 1992 and 1993 to be exact. Supercoppas that would make two first of which coming in 1988 and the second 1992. Another duo this time the European Cup in 1989 and 1990. He likes two a lot he also gained two Intercontinental cups with his time with Milan and if not winning the European Cup was not enough he had to super size it and win the European Super Cup twice. That is silly because you put "super," in front the cup it is automatically great I would use the term LOL (Laugh Out Loud) but I'm not on web chat. With basically the whole of Europe robbed of silver by Rijkaard and his cohorts at Milan it was time to plunder Holland one more time before time before struck with chronic knee athritis. To finish his days as a player he returned to the stable that which housed him Ajax welcomed home their prodigal son. More titles anyone? might as well nothing better to do. Rijkaard won the Champions League on the final day of his playing career. Against who? Milan very anticlimatic that is. At least he has more silver than five star kitchen.

Now internationally "The Llama," has been more of a success than most of his compatriots he actually won something and he won the European championship in 1988 but this is not where my story lies. Yes we know he is a wonderful player but I am hear to disect his behaviour which is down right spitty. That out little nickname the Llama was bestoed upon him by the German press after the Dutchman got into an incident with West Germany's Rudi Voller in the 1990 World Cup. The Dutchman spat at the German multiple times hence the nickname Llama. That is nasty and he has dropped a lot of brownie points from me but he being Dutch I can't stay mad at him. He made his debut for the Netherlands in 1981 racking up 73 caps and netting ten times and there is of course that Euro 88 title.

The man is a legend. Looking at the dates I have provided for your reading pleasure one can clearly see that I would not have been able to have lasting memories of watching him take the field. Actually the only thing I can recall is Rijkaard in an Ajax shirt hugging a team mate from behind. Gay?, yes it is but I was like seven so it does not count. Thank goodness for youtube for making up the swagger for me. From what I have read watched and heard he seems to be the greatest thing since free internet pornography or if religious a reading from your holy text read by your favourite patron saint. Look at what he has done as a player and look now what he has done as a coach but that my children is for another time. Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard a god amongst men. UP THE ORANJE.

Reptile