Michael Reiziger

Club

Born in Amstelveen, North Holland, to Surinamese parents, Reiziger started his career with hometown club Ajax, making his first-team debut at the age of 17 then serving two consecutive loan spells, with Volendam and Groningen; with the latter, in the 1993–94 season, he scored a career-best six goals while operating also as a midfielder. Upon his return to Ajax, Reiziger established himself as a renowned defensive element, helping the side to, among other conquests, the 1994–95 edition of the UEFA Champions League. In 1996, he signed for A.C. Milan, but after a season marred by injury, he departed for Barcelona where he spent the following seven years, arriving at the same time as compatriot and former Ajax boss Louis van Gaal; though not an undisputed starter, he nonetheless featured heavily for the Catalans, making more than 200 overall appearances and helping to back-to-back La Liga titles. In 2004, Reiziger moved to Middlesbrough on a Bosman transfer. He scored once in the league for Boro, against Aston Villa in December 2004. After another campaign plagued by physical problems, he left and returned to the Netherlands to see out his career at PSV Eindhoven (in his second year he won the Eredivisie, and was also reunited with Ajax, Barça and national teammate Patrick Kluivert, although the two rarely ever played).

International

Reiziger made his debut for the Netherlands national team on 12 October 1994, against Norway. He played for his country at…

After retiring, Reiziger settled in Barcelona. He later went on to coach Sparta Rotterdam at youth level and, subsequently and successively, acted as assistant to Gert Kruys and Alex Pastoor. On 20 June 2017, Reiziger returned to Ajax as manager of the reserves who competed in the Eerste Divisie, replacing Marcel Keizer. In his first season in charge he led the squad to the league title, but they were ineligible for promotion. He also acted as interim for the first team during one match after the dismissal of Keizer, defeating Willem II 3–1 at home. He was the assistant coach of Ajax’ first team, from 2019 until 2023.Since 2023 he is the manager of Netherlands under 21 team.

Club

International

Score and result list the Netherlands' goal tally first, score column indicates score after Reiziger's goal.

Reiziger's son, Gabriël (born 2005), also came through the Ajax youth system. He plays in 2026 for PEC Zwolle, with his contract expiring in June, 2028.