For other uses, see Boer (disambiguation)

Boers are a distinct group of the larger Afrikaner nation.^{[citation needed]}

Boer people

Paul Kruger, Andries Pretorius, Sarel Cilliers, and Petrus Jacobus Joubert
Total population
approx. 1.5 million.[1]
Languages
Afrikaans, South African English
Religion
Protestant (Afrikaner Calvinism, Reformed churches)
Related ethnic groups
Dutch, Flemish, Frisians; Germans, French, Scots, English; Cape Coloureds, Basters

Boer ( /ˈbʊər/, /ˈboʊ.ər/, or /ˈbɔər/; Afrikaans: [ˈbuːr]) is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for farmer, which came to denote the descendants of the Dutch-speaking settlers of the eastern Cape frontier^[2] in Southern Africa during the 18th century, as well as those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State, Transvaal (which are together known as the Boer Republics), and to a lesser extent Natal. Their primary motivations for leaving the Cape were to escape British rule and extract themselves from the constant border wars between the British imperial government and the native tribes on the eastern frontier.

History[link]

Origin[link]

Boer guerrillas during the Second Boer War

The Trekboers, as they were originally known, were mainly of Dutch origin and included Calvinists, Flemish and Frisian Calvinists, as well as French Huguenot^[3] and German and British protestants who first arrived in the Cape of Good Hope during the period of its administration (1652 – 1795) by the Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC). Lesser migrations of Scandinavians, Portuguese, Greeks, Italians, Spanish, Polish, Scots, English, Jews, Russians and Irish immigrants also contributed to this ethnic mix.

For more information on history before the Great Trek, see Afrikaner.

Great trek[link]

Those Trekboers who trekked into and occupied the eastern Cape were semi-nomadic. A significant number in the eastern Cape frontier later became Grensboere ("border farmers") who were the direct ancestors of the Voortrekkers. The Voortrekkers were those Boers (mainly from the eastern Cape) who left the Cape en masse in a series of large scale migrations later called the Great Trek beginning in 1835 as a result of British colonialism and constant border wars. When used in a historical context, the term Boer may refer to an inhabitant of the Boer Republics as well as those who were cultural Boers.

Anglo-Boer wars[link]

Though the Boers accepted British rule without resistance in 1877, they fought two wars in the late 19th century to defend their internationally recognized independent countries, the republics of the Transvaal (the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, or ZAR) and the Orange Free State (OFS), against the threat of annexation by the British Crown. This led the key figure in organizing the resistance, Paul Kruger, into conflict with the British.^[4]

Boer War diaspora[link]

After the second Anglo-Boer War, a Boer diaspora occurred. Starting in 1903, the largest group emigrated to the Patagonia region of Argentina. Another group emigrated to British-ruled Kenya, from where most returned to South Africa during the 1930s, while a third group under the leadership of General Ben Viljoen emigrated to Mexico and to New Mexico and Texas in south-western USA.

Boer Revolt[link]

Jopie Fourie executed by firing squad for treason

The Maritz Rebellion or the Boer Revolt or the Five Shilling Rebellion or the Third Boer War, occurred in South Africa in 1914 at the start of World War I, in which men who supported the re-creation of the old Boer republics rose up against the government of the Union of South Africa because they did not want to side with the British against Germany so soon after they had had a long bloody war with the British. Many Boers had German ancestry and many members of the government were themselves former Boer military leaders who had fought with the Maritz rebels against the British in the Second Boer War, which had ended only twelve years earlier. The rebellion was put down by Louis Botha and Jan Smuts, and the ringleaders received heavy fines and terms of imprisonment. A renowned Boer, Jopie Fourie, was executed for treason in 1914. He was convicted as a rebel when, as an officer in the Union Defence Force, he refused to take up arms with the British.

Characteristics[link]

Culture[link]

Trekboers crossing the Karoo.

The desire to wander, known as trekgees, was a notable characteristic of the Boers. It figured prominently in the late 17th century when the Trekboers began to inhabit the northern and eastern Cape frontiers, again during the Great Trek when the Voortrekkers left the eastern Cape en masse, as well as after the major republics were established during the Thirstland Trek.^[5] When one such trekker was asked why he has emigrated he explained, "a drifting spirit was in our hearts, and we ourselves could not understand it. We just sold our farms and set out north-westwards to find a new home."^[5] A rustic characteristic and tradition was developed quite early on as Boer society was born on the frontiers of white settlement and on the outskirts of civilization.^[2]

The Boers had cut their ties to Europe as they emerged from the Trekboer group.^[6]

The separation and declaration of the republics was made out of necessity, rather than a personal choice. The Dutch was unwilling to protect the people they abandoned at the Cape of good hope.

The Boer quest for independence manifested in a tradition of declaring republics, which predates the arrival of the British; when the British arrived, Boer republics had already been declared and were in rebellion from the VOC (Dutch East India Company).^[7]

The Boers of the frontier were known for their independent spirit, resourcefulness, hardiness, and self-sufficiency, whose political notions verged on anarchy but had begun to be influenced by republicanism.^[7] Most of the men were also skilled with the use of guns as they would hunt and also were able to protect their families with them.

Nationalism[link]

Boer family, 1886

The Boer nation is well known for their strong nationalistic characteristics. Their nationalism was born of hundreds of years of fighting against imperialism, a continuing struggle for independence battling mainly British expansion into central South Africa, as well as the harsh African climate, a strong sense of nationhood. As with any other ethnic group that has come from troubled land to troubled land, many of them see it as their duty to educate future generations on their people's past.^{[citation needed]}

Calvinism[link]

The Boer nation is mainly descended from Dutch, German and French Huguenots, who migrated to South Africa during the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries. The Boer nation has revealed a distinct Calvinist culture and the majority of Boers today are still members of a Reformed Church. The Nederduits Hervormde Kerk was the national Church of the South African Republic (1852–1902). Also note the "Orange" in Orange Free State (1854–1902) was named after the Protestant House of Orange in the Netherlands.

The Calvinist influence remains in that some fundamental Calvinist doctrines such as unconditional predestination and divine providence remains present in much of Boer culture, who see their role in society as abiding by the national laws and accepting calamity and hardship as part of their Christian duty.^[8]

A small number of Boers may also be members of Baptist, Pentecostal or Lutheran Churches.

Modern usage[link]

During recent times, mainly during the apartheid reform and post-1994 eras, many more white Afrikaans-speaking people, mainly with "conservative" political views and of Trekboer and Voortrekker descent, have preferred to be called "Boers" or Boere-Afrikaners, rather than "Afrikaners".^[9] They feel that there were many people of Voortrekker descent who were not co-opted or assimilated into what they see as the Cape-based Afrikaner identity which began emerging after the Second Anglo-Boer War and the subsequent establishment of the Union of South Africa in 1910. Certain Boer nationalists have asserted that they do not consider themselves a right-wing element of the political spectrum.^[10]

They contend that the Boers of the South African Republic (ZAR) and Orange Free State republics were recognized as a separate people or cultural group under international law by the Sand River Convention (which created the South African Republic in 1852),^[11] the Bloemfontein Convention (which created the Orange Free State Republic in 1854), the Pretoria Convention (which re-established the independence of the South African Republic 1881), the London Convention (which granted the full independence to the South African Republic in 1884) and the Vereeniging Peace Treaty, which formally ended the Second Anglo-Boer War on 31 May 1902. Others contend, however, that these treaties dealt only with agreements between governmental entities and do not imply the recognition of a Boer cultural identity per se.

The supporters of these views feel that the Afrikaner designation (or label) was used from the 1930s onwards as a means of unifying (politically at least) the white Afrikaans speakers of the Western Cape with those of Trekboer and Voortrekker descent (whose ancestors began migrating eastward during the late 17th century and throughout the 18th century and later northward during the Great Trek of the 1830s) in the north of South Africa, where the Boer Republics were established.^[9]

Since the Anglo-Boer war the term "Boervolk" was rarely used in the 20th century by the various regimes because of this attempt to assimilate the Boervolk with the Afrikaners. A portion of those who are the descendants of the Boerevolk have reasserted this designation.^[9]

The supporters of the "Boer" designation view the term "Afrikaner" as an artificial political label which usurped their history and culture, turning "Boer" achievements into "Afrikaner" achievements. They feel that the Western-Cape based Afrikaners — whose ancestors did not trek eastwards or northwards — took advantage of the republican Boers' destitution following the Anglo-Boer War and later attempted to assimilate the Boers into a new politically based cultural label as "Afrikaners".^[12][13][14]

In contemporary South Africa and due to Broederbond propaganda, Boer and Afrikaner have been used interchangeably despite the fact that the Boers are the smaller segment within the Afrikaner designation as the Afrikaners of Cape Dutch origin are larger. Afrikaner directly translated means "African" and subsequently refers to all Afrikaans speaking people in Africa who have their origins in the Cape Colony founded by Jan Van Riebeeck. Boer is the specific ethnic group within the larger Afrikaans speaking population.^{[citation needed]}

Politics[link]

• Democratic Alliance (South Africa)
• Freedom Front Plus
• Herstigte Nasionale Party

Education[link]

The BCVO (Movement for Christian-National Education) is a federation of 47 Calvinist private schools, primarily in the Free State and the Transvaal, committed to educating Boer children from grade 0 through to 12.^[15]

Media[link]

Some local Radio stations promote the ideals of the people identifying with Boer/Afrikaner people, like Radio Rosestad (in Bloemfontein), Overvaal Stereo and Radio Pretoria.

Territories[link]

Two territorial areas are being developed as settlement exclusively for Boer/Afrikaners, Orania in the Northern Cape and Kleinfontein near Pretoria.

Notable Boers[link]

Voortrekker leaders

• Sarel Cilliers
• Andries Hendrik Potgieter
• Andries Pretorius
• Piet Retief

Great trek

• Racheltjie de Beer
• Dirkie Uys

Participants in the Second Anglo-Boer War

• Koos de la Rey, general and regarded as being one of the great military leaders of the Second Anglo-Boer War.
• Danie Theron, soldier
• Christiaan Rudolf de Wet, general
• Siener van Rensburg, considered a prophet by some.

Politicians

• Louis Botha, first prime minister of South Africa (1910–19) and former Boer general
• Petrus Jacobus Joubert, general and cabinet member of the Transvaal Republic
• Paul Kruger, president of the Transvaal Republic
• Eugene Terre'Blanche, founder of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging

Spies

• Fritz Joubert Duquesne, a Boer Captain known as the Black Panther, served in the Second Boer War. Captured in Mozambique, he escaped prison in Portugal and returned to South Africa as a British officer. In 1901, he was caught planning to sabotage strategic British installations in Cape Town and sentenced to life in prison; however, he escaped and was re-captured several times again throughout his life. In World War I, Duquesne spied for Germany, earning the Iron Cross for allegedly sinking the HMS Hampshire thereby killing Lord Kitchener in 1916. He also served as a Nazi spy in the United States and, in 1941, he was caught by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the largest espionage case in U.S. history: The Duquesne Spy Ring.

See also[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

•  "Boer". New International Encyclopedia. 1905. 

Media related to Boers at Wikimedia Commons

When Louis Met... is a series of documentary films made by BAFTA award-winning film-maker Louis Theroux. The series was originally aired on BBC2 from 2000 to 2002.

In the series, Theroux accompanied a different British celebrity in each programme as they went about their day-to-day business, interviewing them about their lives and experiences as he did so. His episode about the DJ and charity fund-raiser Sir Jimmy Savile (When Louis Met...Jimmy) was voted one of the top fifty documentaries of all time in a survey by Britain's Channel Four. In another episode ("When Louis Met...The Hamiltons"), the disgraced Tory MP Neil Hamilton and his wife Christine were arrested following false allegations of indecent assault during the course of filming.

The show did not return for a third series, Theroux admitted that he had difficulty in finding people to appear.^[1]

Episodes[link]

Series One (2000 - 2001)[link]

Series Two (2002)[link]

Awards[link]

Winner - 2002 BAFTA TV Award - Richard Dimbleby Award for the Best Presenter (Factual, Features and News) - For the "When Louis Met..." series of films.

Nominated - 2002 Flaherty Documentary Award - For "When Louis Met...The Hamiltons"

"When Louis Met... Jimmy" was voted number 50 in Channel 4's 2005 poll of the 50 greatest documentaries.

DVD releases[link]

When Louis Met... has been released on PAL DVD in a number of best-of sets. Originally, Vol.1/Vol.2 and Vol.3/Vol.4 were released as two disc sets, before being split. Later the 4 volumes were released as a limited edition box set.

• The Best of Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: Porn
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: Survivalists
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: Gangsta Rap
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: UFOs
  • DVD Bonus: When Louis Met...Jimmy
  • DVD Bonus: In-Vision Commentary by Louis & Sir Jimmy Savile OBE

• The Best of Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends Volume II
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: Swingers
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: South Africa
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: Wrestling
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: Hypnosis
  • DVD Bonus: When Louis Met...The Hamiltons
  • DVD Bonus: In-Vision Commentary by Louis and the Hamiltons

• The Best of Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends Volume I
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: Porn
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: Survivalists
  • DVD Bonus: In-Vision Commentary by Louis and Jimmy Taped in Jimmy's Penthouse

• The Best of Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends Volume II
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: Wrestling
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: Hypnosis
  • DVD Bonus: When Louis Met...The Hamiltons
  • DVD Bonus: In-Vision Commentary by Louis and the Hamiltons

• The Best of Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends Volume III
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: Swingers
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: South Africa
  • DVD Bonus: In-Vision Commentary by Louis and the Hamiltons

• The Best of Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends Volume IV
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: Gangsta Rap
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: UFOs
  • DVD Bonus: When Louis Met...Jimmy
  • DVD Bonus: In-Vision Commentary by Louis and Jimmy Taped in Jimmy's Penthouse

• The Best of Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends Volume I, II, III & IV
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: Porn
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: Survivalists
  • DVD Bonus: In-Vision Commentary by Louis and Jimmy Taped in Jimmy's Penthouse
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: Wrestling
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: Hypnosis
  • DVD Bonus: When Louis Met...The Hamiltons
  • DVD Bonus: In-Vision Commentary by Louis and the Hamiltons
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: Swingers
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: South Africa
  • DVD Bonus: In-Vision Commentary by Louis and the Hamiltons
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: Gangsta Rap
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: UFOs
  • DVD Bonus: When Louis Met...Jimmy
  • DVD Bonus: In-Vision Commentary by Louis and Jimmy Taped in Jimmy's Penthouse

• Louis Theroux: The Collection
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: Porn
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: Head for the Hills aka Survivalists
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: Swingers
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: Black Nationalism
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: Wrestling
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: South Africa
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: Thai Brides
  • Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: Gangsta Rap
  • When Louis Met...Jimmy
  • When Louis Met...Paul and Debbie
  • When Louis Met...The Hamiltons
  • When Louis Met...Ann Widdecombe
  • When Louis Met...Chris Eubank
  • Louis and the Brothel
  • Louis and the Nazis
  • TV Nation: New Klan
  • TV Nation: Millennium
  • TV Nation: Jerusalem Syndrome
  • TV Nation: Cops for Christ

See also[link]

• List of Louis Theroux Documentaries

References[link]

External links[link]

• When Louis Met Jimmy at the Internet Movie Database
• When Louis Met Paul and Debbie at the Internet Movie Database
• When Louis Met the Hamiltons at the Internet Movie Database
• When Louis Met Ann Widdecombe at the Internet Movie Database
• When Louis Met Chris Eubank at the Internet Movie Database
• When Louis Met Keith Harris and Orville at the Internet Movie Database

Louis Theroux
Louis Theroux, 2009
Born	Louis Sebastian Theroux (1970-05-20) 20 May 1970 (age 42) Singapore
Residence	Harlesden, London, United Kingdom
Citizenship	British, American[1]
Education	Modern history (1st)
Alma mater	Magdalen College, Oxford
Occupation	Broadcaster
Known for	Documentaries Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends When Louis Met…
Religion	None (atheist)
Partner	Nancy Strang[2]
Children	2[2]
Parents	Paul Theroux, Anne Castle
Relatives	Marcel Theroux (brother) Alexander Theroux (uncle) Justin Theroux (cousin)
Website
www.louistheroux.com

Louis Sebastian Theroux (/θəˈruː/ LOO-ee thə-ROO;^[3] born 20 May 1970) is an English broadcaster best known for his documentaries in the television series Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends, his BBC2 Specials and When Louis Met.... His career started off in journalism and bears influences of notable writers in his family such as his father, Paul Theroux and brother Marcel Theroux. He currently works with the BBC producing his documentaries and popular TV series.

Early life and career[link]

Theroux is the youngest son of the American travel writer and novelist Paul Theroux (who is of French-Canadian and Italian descent).^[4] His mother, Anne Castle, was Paul's first, British, wife. His elder brother is the writer and television presenter Marcel Theroux.^[2] He is the cousin of American actor Justin Theroux. He moved to the UK when he was four, and was brought up in London.

Theroux was educated for a couple of years at Allfarthing Primary School then moved to Westminster School (where he was a friend and contemporary of the comedians Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish). Another of his contemporaries was Liberal Democrat politician, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg with whom he travelled to America.^[5] He then went to Magdalen College, Oxford where he gained a first class degree in modern history and was noted for his film reviews for the Grapevine magazine.

His first journalism job was at Metro Silicon Valley, an alternative free weekly newspaper in San Jose, California. In 1992 he was hired as a writer for Spy magazine. He was also working as a correspondent on Michael Moore's TV Nation series, for which he provided segments on off-beat cultural subjects, including Avon ladies in the Amazon, the Jerusalem syndrome, and the attempts by the Ku Klux Klan to rebrand itself as a civil rights group for white people. When TV Nation ended he was signed to a development deal by the BBC, out of which came Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends. He has guest-written for a number of publications including Hip-Hop Connection and he continues to write for The Idler.

Documentaries[link]

[edit] Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends

In Weird Weekends (1998–2000), Theroux followed marginal, mostly American subcultures like survivalists, Black nationalists, White supremacists and porn stars, often by living among or close to the people involved. Often, his documentary method subtly exposed the contradictions or farcical elements of some seriously held beliefs. Theroux himself describes the aim of the series as

Despite much call for a complete DVD set of Weird Weekends only selected episodes have ever been available for purchase.

[edit] When Louis Met...

In When Louis Met... (2000–02), Theroux accompanied a different British celebrity in each programme as they went about their day-to-day business, interviewing them about their lives and experiences as he did so. His episode about the DJ and charity fundraiser Sir Jimmy Savile When Louis Met Jimmy was voted one of the top fifty documentaries of all time in a survey by Britain's Channel 4. In When Louis Met the Hamiltons, the disgraced Tory MP Neil Hamilton and his wife Christine were arrested following false allegations of indecent assault during the course of filming. In When Louis Met Max Clifford, Max Clifford tried to set Louis up. However, it backfired when Max Clifford was caught lying, as the crew was still recording his live microphone during a conversation. After this celebrity series concluded, a retrospective was aired, called Life with Louis. He was meant to do a similar programme with Michael Jackson before Martin Bashir completed his documentary for ITV, but it was cancelled.^{[citation needed]}

Selected episodes of When Louis Met... were included as bonus content on a Best-Of collection of Weird Weekends. The entire series has never been released on DVD.

BBC Two specials[link]

In these special programmes, beginning in 2003, Theroux returned to American themes, working at feature-length, this time with a more natural tone. In March 2006, he signed a new deal with the BBC to make 10 films over the course of three years.^[6] Subjects for the specials include criminal gangs in Lagos, Neo-Nazis in America, ultra-Zionists in Israel and child psychiatry. A 2007 special, The Most Hated Family in America, received strong critical praise from the international media.

Books[link]

His first book, The Call of the Weird: Travels in American Subcultures, was published in Britain in 2005. In this book, Theroux returns to America to find out what has happened in the lives of some of the people he featured in his television programmes since he last saw them.^[2]

Personal life[link]

He lives in the London district of Harlesden with his partner, Nancy Strang, a TV director, and his two sons.^[2][7]

Awards and nominations[link]

1996 Emmy Awards[link]

Nominated: Outstanding Informational Series for TV Nation, the Michael Moore series to which he contributed.

British Academy Television Awards 2001[link]

Won: Richard Dimbleby Award for the Best Presenter (Factual, Features and News) for Weird Weekends

2002 Royal Television Society[link]

Nominated: Best Presenter for When Louis Met…

British Academy Television Awards 2002[link]

• Won: Richard Dimbleby Award for the Best Presenter (Factual, Features and News) for When Louis Met…
• Nominated: Flaherty Documentary Award for When Louis Met the Hamiltons

Journalists John Safran and Harmon Leon cite him^{[citation needed]} as an "important influence".

See also[link]

• List of TV Nation episodes

References[link]

External links[link]

• Theroux's website
• Louis Theroux at BBC Programmes
• Louis Theroux at the Internet Movie Database
• In Conversation with Louis Theroux at BAFTA - 19 February 2010
• Something weird about Louis Interview by Gyles Brandreth and published by the Telegraph (11 December 2001)
• When Amazon Met Louis Interview with Amazon.com
• Weird & wonderful Interview by Jeremy Taylor for bmi Voyager Magazine (November 2007)
• Masterclass with Louis Theroux Recorded at Docville Filmfestival (May 4th 2012)

Frank de Boer

Personal information
Full name	Franciscus de Boer
Date of birth	(1970-05-15) 15 May 1970 (age 42)
Place of birth	Hoorn, Netherlands
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Playing position	Defender
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1988–1999	Ajax	328	(30)
1999–2003	Barcelona	144	(5)
2003	Galatasaray	15	(1)
2004	Glasgow Rangers	15	(2)
2004–2005	Al-Rayyan	16	(5)
2005–2006	Al-Shamal	1	(0)
	Total	519	(43)
National team‡
1988–2004	Netherlands	112	(13)
Teams managed
2008–2010	Ajax (youth)
2008–2010	Netherlands (assistant manager)
2010	Ajax (caretaker)
2011–	Ajax
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 May 2009. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 December 2006

Franciscus "Frank" de Boer (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈfrɑn.sɪs.kʏs ˈfrɑŋk də ˈbur]) (born 15 May 1970 in Hoorn, Noord-Holland) is a Dutch former professional footballer, and the younger twin brother of Ronald de Boer. Since 6 December 2010 he is the Manager of AFC Ajax.

Club career[link]

De Boer began his career as a left back at Ajax before switching to centre back, a position he made his own for many years in the national team. He won both the UEFA Cup and Champions League while at Ajax. However, after signing a 6-year contract extension with Ajax for the 1998–99 season, he and his twin brother Ronald took successful legal action to have it voided. Ajax had agreed orally that if a lucrative offer for one brother came by, he would be released provided the other stayed. However Ajax apparently backed down on that agreement after floating the club on the stock market and pledging to shareholders that it would hold both of the de Boers and build around them a team to recapture the UEFA Champions League.^[2]

Both de Boers then joined FC Barcelona for 22 million pounds. However, they were unable to repeat his earlier triumphs and Frank suffered the ignominy of testing positive for the banned substance nandrolone. De Boer was suspended but he was reinstated after a successful appeal.^[3]

De Boer (right) with Lorenzo Ebecilio.

He briefly moved to Galatasaray in the summer of 2003 before joining Rangers in January 2004. He scored a header at 87th minutes against Aberdeen to save his team from losing in the away game. Later on, he scored his second but also his last goal in a 4:0 home win against Dundee United. He made a total of 17 appearances for Rangers, scoring two goals. He left Rangers in 2004 after Euro 2004 along with twin brother Ronald (his teammate at Ajax, Barcelona and Rangers) to play the rest of his football career in Qatar with Al-Rayyan.

De Boer announced his retirement from football in April 2006.

International career[link]

Having represented his national team 112 times,^[4] he was the most capped player in the history of the Netherlands national team, until Edwin van der Sar surpassed him. de Boer made his debut for the Netherlands in September 1990 against Italy.

De Boer also played for the Netherlands in the 1994 and 1998 World Cups, Euro 92, Euro 2000 and Euro 2004, but missed Euro 96 through injury. He is well-remembered for the arching 60-yard pass which allowed Dennis Bergkamp to score the last-minute goal that knocked out Argentina in the quarter-finals of the 1998 World Cup.^[5][6][7] During Euro 2000, hosted in his home country and Belgium, de Boer reached another semi-final with the Dutch team. de Boer missed an important penalty kick in the penalty shootout in the semi-finals, which led to defeat against Italy. He also missed a penalty during the match.^[8]

He ended his international career after an injury forced him to be replaced in a quarter-final game with Sweden at Euro 2004.^[9] The injury ruled him out from the semi-final match against Portugal, which the Netherlands lost 1–2.^[10][11]

Managing career[link]

De Boer with the Dutch national team following the 2010 World Cup.

Since 2007 de Boer has taken up a coaching role at his former club Ajax where he is in charge of the club's youth sector. During the 2010 World Cup, he was the assistant of the Netherlands national football team, with retired player Phillip Cocu.^[12]

On 6 December 2010, after the resignation of Martin Jol, de Boer was appointed caretaker manager of Ajax until the winter break. His first game in charge was a UEFA Champions League match against AC Milan at the San Siro, a game they won 2-0 through goals from Demy de Zeeuw and Toby Alderweireld.^[13]

He then went on to help Ajax become champions of the Eredivisie for the 2010/2011 season in a 3-1 home victory over FC Twente, the champions of the previous year, on the final matchday. Making the first year of his professional coaching career a golden one. "I couldn't have wished for a more beautiful birthday present," said Frank de Boer, as the club's 30th championship was won on his 41st birthday.^[14] In one and a half year at the helm of Ajax, Frank de Boer already won 2 championships, his 7th in total, when including the 5 he already won as a player. ^[15] According to reports, De Boer was offered the chance to interview for the Liverpool FC job but turned it down to remain with Ajax. "I am honoured by the request [from Liverpool] but I have only just started with Ajax," he said.^[16]

Managerial statistics[link]

As of 26 March 2012.

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	L	D	Win %
Ajax		6 December 2010[13]	Present	&1000000000000007100000071	&1000000000000004600000046	&1000000000000001100000011	&1000000000000001400000014	&1000000000000006479000064.79

Honours[link]

Player[link]

Ajax

• Eredivisie: 5
  • 1989–90, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1997–98
• KNVB Cup: 2
  • 1992–93, 1997–98
• Johan Cruijff Shield: 3
  • 1993, 1994, 1995
• UEFA Champions League: 1
  • 1995
• UEFA Cup: 1
  • 1992
• UEFA Super Cup: 1
  • 1995
• Intercontinental Cup: 1
  • 1995

FC Barcelona

• La Liga: 1
  • 1998–99

Al Rayyan Sports Club

• Qatar Stars League 1st runner up : 1
  • 2004-05

Manager[link]

Ajax

• Eredivisie: 2
  • 2010–11, 2011–12

Career statistics[link]

^[17]