Phillip Cocu

Cocu was born in Eindhoven, but he and his family moved to Zevenaar when he was three years old after his father switched jobs. He started playing youth football at the local amateur club DCS when he was six. Even though youth players normally were not allowed to play until they were seven, the team made an exception for Cocu. He played for DCS until he was picked up by De Graafschap's youth academy. After a short period, he moved to AFC '34 in 1986. A year later, his talent was again noticed by a professional club and in June 1987, Cocu joined the AZ youth ranks.

Early years

Cocu began in the AZ reserve squad but was soon added to the first team. He made his professional debut on 22 January 1989, when assistant coach Hugo Hovenkamp (replacing the bedridden manager Hans Eijkenbroek) brought him on in an Eerste Divisie match against NEC. The 18-year-old played as left winger at the time. Cocu scored his first goal two weeks later in a cup match against Fortuna Sittard, followed up by his first league goal in March against SVV. He would go on and score four goals in his first season. In the 1989-90 season, he appeared in nearly every league match. After the competition ended, Cocu was sold to the newly promoted Vitesse for €272,000. Cocu played only eight matches in his first Vitesse season after he suffered a broken fibula. He had a more productive second season, playing most matches and scoring three times. He netted his first Vitesse goal in August 1991 in a match against ADO Den Haag. In Arnhem, Cocu changed from being a left winger to a central midfielder. Coach Herbert Neumann envisioned a leading central role for Cocu in 1991 and placed him on the midfield position. In 1992, Cocu played his first European match when Vitesse faced Derry City. After Vitesse defeated Derry City, they beat Belgian side Mechelen in the following round. The away match was decided by a long-range effort from Cocu (1–0). Vitesse was eventually knocked out by Real Madrid. In the Eredivisie, the team finished in fourth place. Cocu also played all…

Cocu was close to his international debut in 1994. Coach Dick Advocaat listed him on the 25-man provisional squad for the 1994 World Cup due to his performances at Vitesse, but he eventually did not make the team. His international debut came at age 25 in early 1996 in an exhibition match against Germany, handed to him by Guus Hiddink. Cocu scored his first international goal against the Republic of Ireland in June. Cocu was called up for Euro 1996 by Hiddink. He appeared as a substitute in two group stage matches and was included in the first team for the quarter-final defeat against France. Two years later, the Dutch team qualified for the 1998 World Cup, with Cocu having secured his place as a first-team member. He appeared in all World Cup matches, while scoring in the group stage matches against South Korea and Mexico. In the semi-final against Brazil, the match went to a penalty shoot-out. Cocu took the third Dutch penalty, but his attempt was saved by Cláudio Taffarel. The Netherlands eventually lost the shoot-out (4–2) and missed out on the final. Cocu and the Netherlands were present at Euro 2000 after automatically qualifying as a host. The Dutch side, with Cocu in all fixtures, won all group matches and the quarter-final against Yugoslavia. Still, Cocu and the team were again eliminated after a penalty shoot-out in the semi-finals, this time against Italy. The Netherlands and Cocu failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup in a qualification group with Portugal and…

Cocu played as a defender, midfielder and forward, later noting that he never played as a full-back on the right or as a goalkeeper.