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Pierre Van Hooijdonk

Pierre van Hooijdonk
Van Hooijdonk 2012 (2).jpg
Van Hooijdonk in 2012
Personal information
Full name Petrus Ferdinandus Johannes van Hooijdonk
Date of birth (1969-11-29) 29 November 1969 (age 47)
Place of birth Steenbergen, Netherlands
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Playing position Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1991 RBC Roosendaal 69 (33)
1991–1995 NAC Breda 115 (81)
1995–1997 Celtic 69 (44)
1997–1999 Nottingham Forest 71 (36)
1999–2000 Vitesse Arnhem 29 (25)
2000–2001 Benfica 30 (19)
2001–2003 Feyenoord 61 (52)
2003–2005 Fenerbahçe 53 (32)
2005–2006 NAC Breda 17 (5)
2006–2007 Feyenoord 37 (8)
Total 551 (335)
National team
1994–2004 Netherlands 46 (14)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.



* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Petrus Ferdinandus Johannes "Pierre" van Hooijdonk (Dutch pronunciation: [piˈjɛr vɑn ˈɦoːi̯dɔŋk]; born 29 November 1969) is a retired Dutch international footballer who played as a striker. He had spells with clubs across Europe where he was a prolific goal scorer. Van Hooijdonk was capped 46 times for the Dutch national team, scoring 14 goals, and played in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2000 and Euro 2004. He was noted for his spectacular free kicks.

Van Hooijdonk was born in Steenbergen. His Moroccan biological father left Van Hooijdonk's mother before his birth. He grew up in a small village nearby Steenbergen named Welberg. While playing in one of SC Welberg's youth squads Van Hooijdonk became familiar with football. His favourite team was NAC Breda and he was already watching their games at a young age. When he was 11 years old he took part in a talent pool on the open day of the team and he impressed the NAC scouts. He was asked to join NAC, which he did and played mainly as a right midfielder. When he was 14 he was told he was not good enough for NAC and he switched to amateur side. Here he switched to the striker position and he would play five years for the team, of which the last two seasons in their first team.

As RBC were facing financial trouble in these days they were forced to use youth players faster than other teams and in the 1988–89 season Van Hooijdonk was brought in as a substitute for a few times and soon scored three goals, which resulted in more appearances throughout the season. Because RBC's main striker suffered from an injury Van Hooijdonk played almost the whole second half of the season, scoring a total of six goals in 32 matches. He signed his first professional contract and his final breakthrough came in the following season in which he became a key player for the team, scoring 27 times in 37 matches. Several teams showed interest and NAC Breda was one of the teams. Van Hooijdonk did not hesitate and signed a contract at the team he supported as a child.


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Wikipedia

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