Pierre van Hooijdonk

Pierre van Hooijdonk

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.