- published: 26 Jul 2016
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Patrick Stephan Kluivert ([ˈpɛtrɪk ˈklœy̯vərt]; born 1 July 1976) is a football coach and a former Dutch football player. As a player, he played as a striker for Ajax, Milan, FC Barcelona, Newcastle United, Valencia, PSV Eindhoven, and Lille.
He began his coaching career as an assistant coach for AZ and then NEC, having had a brief coaching stint in Australia with the Brisbane Roar, before coaching Jong FC Twente to a national title in the Dutch reserves league. He was the assistant manager to Louis van Gaal, for the Netherlands national football team, in their third-place finish at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Part of Ajax's Golden Generation of the 1990s, aged 18, Kluivert scored the winner in the 1995 UEFA Champions League Final. He spent six years with Spanish club Barcelona where he formed a successful partnership with Rivaldo, and won the 1998 and 1999 Spanish La Liga championship and the 1998 Copa del Rey.
Kluivert played for the Dutch national team from 1994 to 2004, and with 40 goals from 79 appearances was their highest goalscorer until surpassed by Robin van Persie in 2013. He was selected for three European Championships and the 1998 FIFA World Cup, and was the joint top scorer at Euro 2000 where he scored 5 times. In 2004, he was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers chosen by Pelé as part of FIFA's centenary observances.