In 2008, he was a victim of fraud, losing £2,000,000 to a scam involving a fake investment.
He had a successful spell at Celtic F.C., where he made a significant impact as a striker.
Van Hooijdonk also played for Fenerbahçe Istanbul, furthering his career across Europe.
Biography
Early Life
Pierre van Hooijdonk was born in 1969 in Steenbergen, Netherlands. He grew up in the small village of Welberg, where he developed a passion for football, particularly for his favorite team, NAC Breda. His early life was marked by challenges, including the absence of his Moroccan biological father, who left before his birth. At the age of 11, Van Hooijdonk joined the youth squad of SC Welberg and later impressed scouts during a trial at NAC Breda, leading to his signing with the club. Initially playing as a right midfielder, he transitioned to a striker after being cut from NAC's academy at 14, eventually making his way to the first team.
Career
Van Hooijdonk's professional career began at RBC Roosendaal, where he made his debut in the 1988-89 season. He quickly became a key player, scoring 27 goals in 37 matches during his second season. His impressive performance caught the attention of NAC Breda, where he returned in 1991 and helped the team gain promotion to the Eredivisie. After a successful stint at NAC, he moved to Celtic F.C. in 1995, where he continued to excel as a prolific goal scorer. Over the years, he played for several clubs, including Nottingham Forest, S.L. Benfica, Feyenoord Rotterdam, and Fenerbahçe Istanbul, amassing a total of 81 goals in 115 appearances for NAC alone.
Internationally, Van Hooijdonk represented the Netherlands national team from 1994 to 2004, earning 46 caps and scoring 14 goals. He participated in major tournaments such as the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000 and 2004, becoming known for his exceptional free-kick abilities, which have led some to regard him as one of the greatest free-kick specialists of all time.
Personal Life
Outside of football, Van Hooijdonk has faced personal challenges, including a significant financial loss due to a fraudulent investment in a non-existent Chinese textile company. He has a son, Sydney, who followed in his footsteps by debuting for NAC Breda in 2018. Despite the ups and downs, Van Hooijdonk's legacy as a talented striker and a notable figure in Dutch football remains intact.
Collected from open sources (3) · facts link to sources · AI-processed
Gallery
Career & Clubs
Club
International
Scores and results list Netherlands' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each van Hooijdonk goal.
Early career
As RBC Roosendaal were in financial trouble, they were obliged to have youth players feature within their senior teams. In the 1988–89 season, Van Hooijdonk made his debut for RBC as a substitute. While playing as a sub for the club, he soon scored three goals. With the club's main striker suffering from an injury, Van Hooijdonk played almost the majority of the season's second half, scoring six goals in 32 matches. He signed his first professional contract with RBC soon thereafter. Van Hooijdonk made a greater impression in the following season, becoming a key player for the team, scoring 27 times in 37 matches. Several teams went on to show interest in him, such as NAC Breda. Van Hooijdonk didn't hesitate in signing a contract with NAC and rejoined his boyhood club. NAC paid 400,000 guilders for the transfer of Van Hooijdonk. In returning to NAC, he was both positive in his outlook and determined to illustrate his quality. Van Hooijdonk succeeded at such, going on to help the team win promotion to the Eredivisie in 1993. During his time at the club, he got his first call-up in December 1994 to play for the Netherlands. During the rest of that season, he set a scoring streak in 11 consecutive Eredivisie matches. Within the 1994–95 winter break, Celtic made a deal with NAC, which saw Van Hooijdonk join up with the Scottish outfit at once. Altogether he scored 81 goals in 115 appearances for NAC.
Celtic
Van Hooijdonk made his Celtic debut on 11…
- Club
- RBC Roosendaal (1989–1991)
- Club
- SBV Vitesse (1999–2000)
- Club
- NAC Breda (1991–1995)
- Club
- Celtic F.C. (1995–1997)
- Club
- Fenerbahçe Istanbul (2003–2005)
- Club
- Feyenoord Rotterdam (2001–2003)
- Club
- S.L. Benfica (2000–2001)
- Club
- Nottingham Forest F.C. (1997–1999)
- Club
- NAC Breda (2005–2006)
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- Feyenoord Rotterdam (2006–2007)
- Club
- Netherlands national association football team (1994–2004)
- League
- Premier League
- National team
- Netherlands
Personal
Van Hooijdonk has a son, Sydney, who made his debut for NAC Breda in 2018. It was reported in May 2008 that van Hooijdonk had been a victim of fraud and had lost £2,000,000 to a scam, which involved him investing in a Chinese textile company that did not exist.
Van Hooijdonk was born in Steenbergen. His Moroccan biological father left Van Hooijdonk's mother before his birth. He grew up in Welberg (nl), a small village near Steenbergen. His favourite team was NAC Breda whose game he followed wholeheartedly. At 11 years old, while playing with local team SC Welberg's youth squad, he took part in a trial on the NAC open day, impressed their scouts and joined the club. At that time he played mainly as a right midfielder; when he was 14, he was cut from NAC's academy and he went into amateur football with VV Steenbergen. He then switched his position to become a striker, and ascended to the club's first team.
Clubs
Played together with
Aaron RamseyNottingham Forest F.C. · 2010–2011- Abdelkrim El HadriouiS.L. Benfica · 1997–1998
Abdenasser El KhayatiNAC Breda · 2010–2012
Abdoulaye BaFenerbahçe Istanbul · 2015–2016
Abdullah ErcanFenerbahçe Istanbul · 1999–2003
Abe LenstraNetherlands national association football team · 1940–1959- Abel XavierS.L. Benfica · 1993–1995
Abiola DaudaSBV Vitesse · 2014–2016- Abubakari YakubuSBV Vitesse · 2004–2005
- Abubakari YakubuSBV Vitesse · 2005–2009
Adam MaherNetherlands national association football team · 2012
Adam MatthewsCeltic F.C. · 2011–2015
Archive
Passport
Identifiers & aliases
Pierre van Hooijdonk is a Dutch former professional 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 Netherlands national team, for which he scored 14 goals and played in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2000 and Euro 2004. Noted for his bending free kicks, he is regarded by some as one of the greatest free kick specialists of all time.
Opinions of fans — not verified facts.
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