Rinus Michels

Rinus Michels

Michels in 1984
Personal information
Full name	Marinus Jacobus Hendricus Michels
Date of birth	(1928-02-09)9 February 1928
Place of birth	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Date of death	3 March 2005(2005-03-03) (aged 77)
Place of death	Aalst, Belgium
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
1940–1946	Ajax
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1945–1958	Ajax	264	(122)
International career
1950–1954	Netherlands	5	(0)
Managerial career
1953–1954	Asser Boys
1960–1964	JOS
1964–1965	A.F.C.
1965–1971	Ajax
1971–1974	Barcelona
1974	Netherlands
1975–1976	Ajax
1976–1978	Barcelona
1979–1980	Los Angeles Aztecs
1980–1983	1. FC Köln
1984–1985	Netherlands
1986–1988	Netherlands
1988–1989	Bayer Leverkusen
1990–1992	Netherlands
Medal record Men's football Representing  Netherlands (as manager) FIFA World Cup Runner-up 1974 UEFA European Championship Winner 1988
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Marinus Jacobus Hendricus "Rinus" Michels (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈrinʏs ˈmɪxəls] ^ⓘ; 9 February 1928 – 3 March 2005) was a Dutch football player and coach.^[1][2] He played his entire career for Ajax, which he later managed, and played for and later managed the Netherlands national team for four spells. Throughout his career, he played as a forward. He is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time.^[1][3][4]

Michels became most notable for his coaching achievements; he won the European Cup with Ajax and the Spanish league with Barcelona, and had four tenures as coach of the Netherlands national team, who he led to reach the final of the 1974 FIFA World Cup and to win the 1988 UEFA European Championship.^[1]

He is credited with the invention of a major football playing style and set of tactics known as "Total Football" in the 1970s.^[1] He was named Coach of the Century by FIFA in 1999,^[1] in 2007 the greatest post-war football coach by The Times^[3] and in 2019 the greatest coach in the history of football by France Football.^[5]