05:04 These big foreign names appeared in the Eredivisie, just like Yılmaz

He will play next season with Burak Yılmaz in Fortuna Sittard, a big foreign name in the Eredivisie. He’s not the first. These top eight players have also appeared unexpectedly (sometimes only on paper) in the Netherlands.

Helmut Rahn (1960-1963, SC Enschede)

SC Enschede brings with Helmut Rahn the maker of the “Bern miracle” in 1960. Thanks to the two goals from the winger, West Germany brings dead favorite Hungary to its knees in the 1954 World Cup final: 3-2. Libraries have been written about this competition, which was a sporting success as a symbol of the German revival after World War II.

At the time, Rahn was the tall man at Rot-Weiss Essen, which he exchanged for 1st FC Köln in 1959. A year later he switched to SC Enschede and the striker has not yet promised 100,000 guilders. The Enschede club is aware that they need flavors from outside the region to compete for the title. However, SC Enschede will not become a national champion, although Rahn is off to a good start with a total of 39 Eredivisie goals in three seasons. In fact, the legend, who died in 2003 at the age of 73, is the most prolific German in Eredivisie history, until Lennart Thy dethroned him last season.

Helmut Rahn in action against West Germany and France in 1958.

Rodion Camataru (1990-1993, SC Heerenveen)

One of the best strikers in Romania, one of the best football countries in Europe in the 80s. In 1987, Rodion Camataru was nominated for the Golden Ball selection, the prize for the best football player in Europe. He finishes 21st.

Three years later, 32-year-old Camaturu presents himself beautifully in Heerenveen and manages to seduce the international 75 times (21 goals) in Heerenveen. Camataru remained loyal to Heerenveen until 1993, despite being relegated from the Eredivisie in 1991. He became a fan favorite by scoring 23 goals, and his last achievement was a 6-2 defeat to Ajax in the KNVB Cup final.

Rodion Camataru played for sc Heerenveen for three years.

Michael Laudrup (1997-1998, Ajax)

In the early 1990s, Michael Laudrup was recognized as one of the best players in the world. He is one of the stars of trainer Johan Cruijff’s ‘Dream Team’ in FC Barcelona, ​​​​which won the European Cup I in 1992. The Danish playmaker also won numerous awards with Juventus and rival Real Madrid, then surprisingly scored 1. He signed a one-year contract with Ajax in 1997.

These are the last days of 33-year-old Laudrup, but they are invaluable for the team from Amsterdam, who under his compatriot and coach Morten Olsen became champions by force majeure and conquered the KNVB Cup. Laudrup scored 11 goals in 21 Eredivisie matches, then reached the quarter-finals with Denmark at the World Cup in France and retired.

With eleven goals, Michael Laudrup was cheering his teammates after a goal against Willem II.

Brian Laudrup (Ajax, 1999-2000)

A year after his brother’s departure, Brian Laudrup also presents himself at Ajax. The elegant Danish attacker, who became European champion with his country in 1992, managed to bring him to Amsterdam, the team’s coach, years later with Jan Wouters, who played briefly with Bayern Munich in the early 1990s.

Laudrup, then in his thirties, has experience with bigger clubs such as AC Milan, Glasgow Rangers and Chelsea. Ajax is also a big name, but around the turn of the century they are also a club in decline. While the record champion in the Eredivisie finished fifth, Laudrup consistently showed his class in the 31st league game. In the summer of 2000, after scoring thirteen goals, he saw his contract terminated and retired.

Brian Laudrup, like his brother Michael, will end his career at Ajax.

Samuel Kuffour (2008, Ajax)

One of Africa’s best defenders at the turn of the century and one of the main forces behind Bayern Munich. The highlight was winning the Champions League with the German club in 2001. Samuel Kuffour then played for AS Roma and Livorno, after which the Ghanaian was signed by Ajax in mid-season 2007/2008 as the successor of former Jaap Stam. Kuffour was 31 at the time, but looks much older on the pitch.

Many Ghanaian sports reporters who travel to Amsterdam in the wake of their national hero see Kuffour play only 34 minutes in half a season, in which he makes a bad impression and wears the yellow. It turned out to be the last 34 minutes of Kuffour’s career.

Ajax’s Samuel Kuffour is no longer the shadow of Bayern Munich’s best defender.

Martin Ødegaard (2017-2019, sc Heerenveen and Vitesse)

Sixteen-year-old Martin Ødegaard is considered the greatest talent in the world. He has clubs to choose from in January 2015 and will probably be the biggest club: Real Madrid. A few months later, against Getafe, the Norwegian became the youngest Real Madrid debutant in La Liga history at 16 years and 157 days.

Ødegaard replaces Cristiano Ronaldo in what should have been the symbolic birth of a new Real star. But this isn’t it. It turned out to be Real’s only game at the Bernabeu against the increasingly unhappy Ødegaard. Looking for playtime, the young star wants to be hired and chooses Heerenveen for the winter of 2017, wonderful. There he thrives in shelter and then becomes one of the pioneers of the Eredivisie at Speed. For example, in 2021 Ødegaard will return to a large club in a large football country with another intermediate phase in Real Sociedad. Arsenal will be a regular base, which he won in his first season.

Martin Ødegaard plays one and a half season for Heerenveen and a year for Vitesse.

Keisuke Honda (2019, Speed)

In September 2019, Keisuke Honda tweeted that he wanted to play for Manchester United. Free if needed. The British record champion left the request unanswered, after which the 33-year-old Japanese signed with Vitesse in November. Honda was placed on the intercession of head coach Leonid Slutsky, who had previously taken the coach under his wing at CSKA Moscow.

Honda was an absolute sensation at the VVV-Venlo a decade ago, but did not exactly go down as a Vitesse icon. The future star player has only appeared in four competition matches and is already announcing that he will leave Arnhem just before Christmas. At that point, Slutsky had already kept the loan for himself and waived his contract. Since then, Honda has entered into whirlwind marriages of succession with Botafogo, Portimonense, Neftçi and Suduva. Honda will outlast Cambodia’s national team coach, a position several World Cup participants have held since 2018.

Keisuke Honda is a hero in VVV-Venlo but not impressive in Vitesse.

Mario Gotze (2020-2022, PSV)

In 2020, transfer news enthusiasts get two Deadline Days for the price of one. The market closes in most countries on October 5, but Dutch clubs receive an extra day from the KNVB to make their purchases. After a day of too much inactivity, busy football editorial teams can suddenly get to work in the evening: Mario Gotze spotted in Eindhoven. PSV quickly formalized the transfer.

For a footballer who struggled with injuries before his transfer to the Eredivisie, Götze played no fewer than 77 official games for PSV in two seasons. Former striker of Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich scored 18 goals. In Götze’s breakthrough years, he often shines with dribbling and smash hits, while enabling others to play better in Eindhoven. The 2014 world champion with the Johan Cruijff Scale and the KNVB Cup broke his record at PSV, which he left for Eintracht Frankfurt last season.

Joy for Mario Götze after winning the KNVB cup final against Ajax.