Totally Extra: The very talented Mr Rijkaard
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Who was Frank Rijkaard and why is he considered a world‑class all‑rounder?
The Athletic FC.
totally extra today a frank chat about a legend of the game frank reichardt engine of maybe the greatest club side ever perhaps two of them man who actually won something with netherlands winner of a world manager of the year award too only to then walk away from football top rated celebrated except for when he expectorated frank reichardt in today's totally extra
Thursday, the 17th of September. And on today's Totally Extra, what a stellar lineup. Duncan Alexander. Hello, James. Hi, Duncan. And his athletic cohort, Michael Cox. Hi, James. Nice to see you, Michael. I haven't seen you since that World Cup thing. Yeah, I remember it well. And joining us from Paris, football writer extraordinaire, Simon Cooper. Simon, thank you for being with us. It's a pleasure. Nice to see you. Well, see you too. And what a great time for you to be joining the Totally Football Show to discuss football. Frank Reichardt, Simon, of course, celebrated writer of so many great books, many of which concern or touch on Dutch football, football against the enemy, Soccernomics, the football men, lots of others.
World Cup Fever is your latest work. Simon, how's that going?
It was quite an eventful World Cup, as you'll recall. So I think we had the foresight to bring it out just before the Trump World Cup.
Have you added a chapter since?
I have. It's ready to go. It will be out at some point soon.
All right then. Perhaps for Christmas, I'm hoping anyway. Well, Frank Reichardt is the subject for today's show. A man who left his mark and then left, curiously enough. Simon, I think, may have spoken to him since his disappearance from the stage, but we'll touch on that later on. Michael, I'm going to ask you, you're picking a World XI, an all-time World XI. Is Frank Reichardt in it?
He's probably not in an all-time World XI, but I think if you had to pick one player to fill every position in a World XI... Would that not be the same thing? No, because I think my point is that Rijkaard could play in any position. So you could have 10 Frank Rijkaards
and I think you'd
have a solid back four and a creative midfield and you'd probably have someone to score goals up front. He probably wasn't the best player in any individual position, but... But yeah, as an all-rounder, relative to the players he played with in that era, I mean, he was incredible. He could do everything. He could score goals. He was creative. He could dribble. He had physical power. I think you look at a lot of players from his period and think, could they adapt to today's game? Now it's so quick. Well, I think he was often the quickest player on the pitch as well as being one of the most intelligent players on the pitch. So yeah, he was an extraordinary player. And unlike a lot of players who covered every blade of grass and all that, he had tactical discipline and intelligence and obviously carried that into his coaching career.
Right, his coaching
career, which is something I find particularly enigmatic. We'll touch on that later on. But Simon, you grew up in the Netherlands. How is he viewed there? Is he in the pantheon of all-timers?
I think so. I mean, the thing is, he is not an egomaniac, quite the opposite. And of course, that's a rare quality among great players, which also feeds into what Michael's saying, that he could play in every position, because he did when they asked him. So Euro ACAs, which is the one time the Netherlands wins a prize, they say, look, we need a centre-back. And he says, sure. And he plays the role brilliantly. But he could have played in any other position. So he'd never really claimed to be in the pantheon. It doesn't particularly interest him, I think. And his disappearance from football, you know, when he could easily have done what coaches do and kept on finding a new job somewhere, shows that he didn't really need it emotionally at all.
So he's viewed with great affection. I think also he's one of the most mature and psychologically astute people that I've ever seen in football, which, as you know, is not overrun with mature and psychologically astute people.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Who was Frank Rijkaard and why is he considered a world‑class all‑rounder?
0:02–6:51
2
What made the Euro 1988 Dutch team so special and what role did Rijkaard play?
6:51–13:15
3
How did Rijkaard’s time at AC Milan shape his reputation as a champion defender?
13:15–20:13
4
Why did Rijkaard return to Ajax and what impact did he have on the club’s success?
20:13–27:10
5
How did Rijkaard transition from player to manager and revive Barcelona’s fortunes?
27:10–35:48
6
What was Rijkaard’s influence on a young Lionel Messi and the Barcelona midfield?
35:48–42:01
7
What was the answer to Duncan’s Dutch quiz question about the first Premier League Dutch players?
42:01–49:36
8
What happened to Frank Rijkaard after his stint in Saudi Arabia and why did he fade from the spotlight?
49:36–55:48
Speakers
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