Boudewijn Zenden

PSV

As his career developed at PSV, Zenden made the left wing position his own, displacing Peter Hoekstra and finally becoming a firm member of the starting line-up after the departure of Dutch national team player Jan Wouters. Zenden was an important part of the PSV team that won the Eredivisie championship in 1996–97, where he also received the 1997 Dutch Talent of the Year award. After another season at PSV, in which he scored 12 goals in 23 games, he moved to Spanish club Barcelona in 1998.

Barcelona

At Barcelona, Zenden became part of a large contingent of Dutch players under Barcelona's Dutch coach Louis van Gaal. He found his first-team opportunities at Barcelona limited by the form of fellow Dutchman Marc Overmars, however, who played in Zenden's favoured left wing position for both club and country. Instead, Zenden was deployed as a left wing-back, a defensive role which he took on successfully, as he displaced Spanish international and local favourite Sergi. Zenden helped Barcelona win the 1998–99 La Liga championship, and in the 1999–2000 season, he scored his only three goals for the club. After Van Gaal's resignation as coach in 2000, however, first team appearances became more scarce for Zenden. At the end of the 2000–01 season, English club Chelsea bought him for £7.5 million.

Chelsea

Zenden scored nine minutes into his Chelsea debut against Newcastle United. In his two years at Chelsea, Zenden played in the 2002 FA Cup final, a 2–0…

Zenden made his debut for the Netherlands national team in a 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification match against San Marino on 30 April 1997. He was included in the starting formation and played the entire match as the Netherlands won 6–0. He was called up to represent the Netherlands at the 1998 World Cup finals in France, where Zenden started the tournament as a substitute. Coming on twice as a substitute, he was selected to start in the semi-final loss to Brazil. He was once more selected to play in the third-place playoff against Croatia, where he scored a goal after a solo run and a powerful long-range shot. After scoring, he attempted to celebrate with an acrobatic somersault, but failed, throwing himself head first to the ground. It was during the run-up to UEFA Euro 2000 that he gained acclaim, with the tournament itself providing the platform some of his finest performances. His raw pace and acceleration down the flank, coupled with his ability to function both as a wing-forward and as a wing-back made him a versatile player to have in the squad. His man of the match performance in a friendly against Germany at the turn of the millennium cemented his position in the national team – he set up the opening goal for Patrick Kluivert, then added his own name to the scoresheet with a thunderous volley from Ronald de Boer's corner, before nearly putting the gloss on the finish when he left the entire German defence for dead with his raw pace, beat the goalkeeper with his shot,…

On 22 November 2012, Zenden replaced Eddie Newton as ex-club Chelsea's new assistant manager when Rafael Benítez took over as manager.

Zenden was born in Maastricht, Limburg. His father Pierre Zenden is a former judoka who worked as a sports broadcaster for the public NOS broadcasting system from 1968 to 2005. Zenden played football and was also competitive in judo as a child. In 1985, Dutch club MVV Maastricht signed Zenden after watching him play for amateur club Leonidas. Two years later, he joined the youth academy of PSV. Zenden earned his judo black belt at age 14 and was three times judo champion of his home province of Limburg. Zenden has been a strict vegetarian since age 19.