Marc Overmars (ˈmɑrk ˈoːvərˌmɑrs) (born 29 March 1973 in
EmstEmst is a town of 3,000 inhabitants, located in the municipality of Epe in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. It is the birthplace of soccer player Marc Overmars. Emst is located in the forest area of Veluwe. More info:...
,
GelderlandGelderland is the largest province of the Netherlands, located in the central eastern part of the country. The capital city is Arnhem. The two other major cities, Nijmegen and Apeldoorn have more inhabitants. Other major regional centers in Gelderland are Ede, Doetinchem, Zutphen, Tiel, Wijchen,...
) is a retired Dutch footballer. He is best known as a right-footed left winger, although he is able to use both his feet with equal precision and power. Known for his speed, Overmars'
nicknameA nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
s included "the Roadrunner" or its famous sound "meep-meep".
Club career
Overmars first joined a small Dutch club called SV Epe, before joining
Go Ahead EaglesThe Go Ahead Eagles are a football club from Deventer, Netherlands, currently playing in the Eerste Divisie. The club's home stadium is De Adelaarshorst. To date, the club has won the national championship four times...
in 1990 at the age of 17. A year later,
Willem IIWillem II , also known as Willem II Tilburg, is a football club based in Tilburg, North Brabant, Netherlands. The team was founded on 12 August 1896 as Tilburgia...
bought him from Go Ahead Eagles for £200,000, and a year later he signed for Ajax.
Overmars became famous with Ajax under
Louis van GaalAloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal OON is a Dutch football manager formerly in charge of Ajax, Netherlands, Barcelona, AZ and Bayern Munich...
. He was a member of the Ajax team that won the
European CupThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
in 1995 against
MilanAssociazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
. However, in early 1996, he suffered a serious injury, which kept him out of Euro 1996. Having returned to action in the
1996-97 seasonThe 1996/1997 season in Dutch football was the 41st professional season in the Eredivisie, with PSV Eindhoven winning the title and Roda JC claiming the Dutch National Cup.-Johan Cruijff-schaal:-Eredivisie:*Champions League : PSV Eindhoven...
, Overmars was signed by
Arsène WengerArsène Wenger, OBE is a French association football manager and former player, who has managed English Premier League side Arsenal since 1996...
's
ArsenalArsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
in the summer of 1997 for £5.5 million.
He scored many vital goals for Arsenal, including one in the
1998 FA Cup FinalThe 1998 FA Cup Final was contested by Arsenal and Newcastle United at Wembley. Arsenal won 2–0, with goals by Marc Overmars and Nicolas Anelka to complete their second league and cup double....
and another in a 1–0 victory over
Manchester UnitedManchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
at
Old TraffordOld Trafford is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 75,811, Old Trafford is the second-largest football stadium in England after Wembley, the third-largest in the United Kingdom and the eleventh-largest in Europe...
, which helped Arsenal to secure
the DoubleThe Double is a term in association football which refers to winning a country's top tier division and its primary cup competition in the same season...
in his
first season thereThe 1997-1998 season was the 118th season of competitive football in England.-Premier League:Arsenal overhauled Manchester United's lead during the final weeks of the season to win the Premiership title...
. However, the next two seasons were trophyless, as Arsenal were pipped to the Premier League title by a single point and suffered an
FA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
semi-final replay defeat (both times by Manchester United) in the
1998-99 season-Premier League:Manchester United overcame close competition from Arsenal, Aston Villa and Chelsea to win their fifth Premiership title in seven seasons thanks to the comeback of Roy Keane after his long-term injury and a transfer raid totalling nearly £30 million which netted Aston Villa striker...
, and were on the losing side to
GalatasarayGalatasaray Spor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club based in Istanbul, most notable for its football section, also known as Galatasaray S.K.. It also fields teams in Athletics, Basketball, Wheelchair basketball, Volleyball, Water polo, Swimming, Rowing, Sailing, Judo, Bridge, Equestrian, Handball,...
of
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
in the
UEFA CupThe UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
final a year later, also finishing runners-up to Manchester United in the league for the second season running - this time by an 18-point margin.
In the summer of 2000, he moved to
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and joined
BarcelonaFutbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
, for £25 million (€40.6 million), making Overmars the most expensive Dutch player of all time. It also made him the most expensive player to be sold by a British club and the most expensive to be signed by a Spanish club.
This transfer was the first in the history of football to be announced via the player's personal website. Despite a difficult first season at his new club, Overmars was still an impressive performer, registering eight goals in 31 appearances. He was a regular feature of Barcelona's 2001–02
Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
campaign as they reached the semi-finals before bowing out to fierce rivals
Real MadridReal Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
, but failed to inspire Barcelona to any trophy success.
After retiring as a player on doctor's advice through injury on 26 July 2004, Overmars joined his first professional football club,
Go Ahead EaglesThe Go Ahead Eagles are a football club from Deventer, Netherlands, currently playing in the Eerste Divisie. The club's home stadium is De Adelaarshorst. To date, the club has won the national championship four times...
, as the technical manager.
On 26 July 2008, Overmars played in the testimonial match of
Jaap StamJakob "Jaap" Stam is a retired Dutch football player who was twice voted best defender in the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League. He played for several European clubs like PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, S.S. Lazio, A.C. Milan and AFC Ajax before retiring in October 2007...
, where he played for a team of former Dutch internationals. During the match, Overmars outplayed Ajax defender
George OgararuGheorghe Ogăraru, , is a Romanian footballer currently playing for FC Sion. His position on the pitch is right defender.-Steaua Bucureşti:...
. His performance led to several invitations from Eagles coach Andries Ulderink to make a comeback in football. On 10 August 2008, four years after hanging up his boots, Overmars made a shock announcement that he would come out of retirement to play again for the
Go Ahead EaglesThe Go Ahead Eagles are a football club from Deventer, Netherlands, currently playing in the Eerste Divisie. The club's home stadium is De Adelaarshorst. To date, the club has won the national championship four times...
for the 2008–09 season. His right knee that caused him to end his career, still gave Overmars some worries. Therefore, Overmars did not play as many minutes or attend as many training sessions as the rest of the squad. After the end of the 2008–09 season, Overmars announced his retirement again.
International career
On 24 February 1993, he made his debut in the Dutch national team against
TurkeyThe Turkey national football team represents Turkey in association football and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Turkey. They are affiliated with UEFA...
. By the
1994 World CupThe 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...
, Overmars was a regular in the Dutch national team.
In the
1998 World CupThe 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
, he was a regular fixture for
HollandThe Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...
where he assisted his nation to a semi-final showdown with
BrazilThe Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...
. Overmars was one of the best Dutch players in the tournament but suffered an injury in the 2nd round game against
Yugoslavia (now Serbia)The Serbia national football team represents Serbia in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia, the governing body for football in Serbia. Serbia's home ground is Stadion Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade and their last head coach was Vladimir Petrović...
. This ruled him out of the next match, which was against
ArgentinaThe Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...
. However, he did enter late into the game as a substitute. He made an immediate impact by providing an inch perfect cross that almost led to a goal for the Netherlands. Overmars' injury became even worse after this game and he had to sit out the entire following match against Brazil. The Netherlands lost this match on
penaltiesA penalty shoot-out, referred to as kicks from the penalty mark in the Laws of the Game, is the FIFA official term for a method used in association football to decide which team progresses to the next stage of a tournament following a tied game...
. Overmars was fit again to play in the Netherlands final match, which was the 3rd/4th play-off game against
CroatiaThe Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country, and has been managed since 2006 by former player Slaven Bilić...
, but the Dutch lost 2–1.
In all, Overmars played 86 games for the
Dutch national teamThe Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...
, scoring 17 goals. Overmars was the youngest player to reach 50
capsIn sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...
with the Dutch national team. His final match was the Netherlands' loss to
PortugalThe Portugal national football team represents Portugal in association football and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation, the governing body for football in Portugal. Portugal's home ground is Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, and their head coach is Paulo Bento...
in the semifinals of the 2004 European Championships.
Post-playing career
After his retirement he started working as a director for his first team,
DeventerDeventer is a municipality and city in the Salland region of the Dutch province of Overijssel. Deventer is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, but also has a small part of its territory on the west bank. In 2005 the municipality of Bathmen Deventer is a municipality and city in...
side
Go Ahead EaglesThe Go Ahead Eagles are a football club from Deventer, Netherlands, currently playing in the Eerste Divisie. The club's home stadium is De Adelaarshorst. To date, the club has won the national championship four times...
.
Personal life
Overmars is married to Chantal Van Woensel, with whom he has two sons: Frenkie and Nick; he lives in
Epe' is a municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands.The town has 15,593 inhabitants, whilst the municipality as a whole has a population of 32,989....
,
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. Overmars is best friends with
Dennis BergkampDennis Nicolaas Bergkamp , is a former Dutch professional footballer who is currently the assistant manager to Frank de Boer at Ajax. At club level he played for Ajax, Internazionale, and Arsenal, and also represented the Netherlands at international level...
, with whom he played at Arsenal.
Ajax
- Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
: 1993-94, 1994–95, 1995–96
- KNVB Cup
The KNVB Cup is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association since 1899. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside of the Netherlands, it is often referred to as the Dutch Cup...
: 1992-93
- Johan Cruijff Shield: 1993, 1994
- UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
: 1995
- European Super Cup
The UEFA Super Cup is an annual football game between the reigning champions of the two cup competitions organized by UEFA: the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League...
: 1995
- Intercontinental Cup
The European/South American Cup, commonly referred to as the World Club Championship, Intercontinental Cup or Toyota Cup, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested between the winners of the European Cup and the South American Copa Libertadores...
: 1995The 1995 Intercontinental Cup was a football match played on November 28, 1995 between Ajax, winners of the 1994-95 European Cup, and Grêmio, winners of the 1995 Copa Libertadores. The match was played at the National Stadium in Tokyo...
Career statistics
|-
|1990-91||
Go Ahead EaglesThe Go Ahead Eagles are a football club from Deventer, Netherlands, currently playing in the Eerste Divisie. The club's home stadium is De Adelaarshorst. To date, the club has won the national championship four times...
||
Eerste DivisieThe Eerste Divisie is the second-highest division of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via a promotion/relegation system. It is also known as the Jupiler League due to sponsorship, which is the same name as the top league in Belgium...
||11||1||||||||||||||11||1
|-
|
1991-92The 1991-92 season of the Dutch Eredivisie was contested by 18 teams. PSV won the title.-League standings:-Promotion/relegation:The number 16 of the Eredivisie would play against relegation against the runners-up of the promotion/relegation play-offs of the Eerste Divisie...
||
Willem II TilburgWillem II , also known as Willem II Tilburg, is a football club based in Tilburg, North Brabant, Netherlands. The team was founded on 12 August 1896 as Tilburgia...
||
EredivisieThe Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
||31||1||||||||||||||31||1
|-
|
1992-93The Dutch Eredivisie in the 1992/1993 season was contested by 18 teams. Feyenoord won the championship.-League standings:1 Winners KNVB Cup. 2 Fortuna Sittard and FC Den Bosch both relegated after losing their promotion/relegation play-offs....
||rowspan="5"|Ajax||rowspan="5"|
EredivisieThe Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
||34||3||||||||||||||34||3
|-
|
1993-94The Dutch Eredivisie in the 1993/1994 season was contested by 18 teams. Ajax won the championship.-League standings:1 Winners KNVB Cup. 2 RKC remained in the Eredivisie after winning promotion/relegation play-offs. VVV lost theirs and relegated...
||34||12||||||||||||||34||12
|-
|
1994-95The Dutch Eredivisie in the 1994/1995 season was contested by 18 teams. Ajax won the championship. Starting this season, clubs qualifying for the Intertoto Cup can play for a spot in the UEFA Cup.-League standings:1 Winners KNVB Cup....
||27||8||||||||||||||27||8
|-
|
1995-96The Dutch Eredivisie in the 1995/1996 season was contested by 18 teams. Ajax won the championship. From this season onwards a match win was rewarded with 3 points instead of 2.-League standings:1 Winners KNVB Cup...
||15||11||||||||||||||15||11
|-
|
1996-97The Dutch Eredivisie in the 1996/1997 season was contested by 18 teams. PSV won the championship.-League standings:1 Winners KNVB Cup. 2 RKC and NEC both remained in the eredivisie after winning promotion/relegation play-offs.-Relegation play-offs:...
||25||2||||||||||||||25||2
|-
|
1997-98The FA Premier League 1997-98 season saw Arsenal lift their first league title since 1991, and also become only the second team to win the 'double' of the FA Cup and league title twice...
||rowspan="3"|
ArsenalArsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
||rowspan="3"|Premier League||32||12||||2||||2||||||32||16
|-
|
1998-99The 1998–99 FA Premier League season was the seventh season of the Premier League, the top division of English football, since its establishment in 1992. The season will always be remembered as the one in which Manchester United won a unique treble of the league title, the FA Cup and the European Cup...
||37||6||||3||||||||1||37||10
|-
|1999-00||31||7||||1||||||||5||31||13
|-
|2000-01||rowspan="4"|
BarcelonaFutbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
||rowspan="4"|
La LigaThe Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
||31||8||5||0||colspan="2"|-||9||0||45||8
|-
|2001-02||20||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||10||1||31||1
|-
|2002-03||26||6||0||0||colspan="2"|-||6||1||32||7
|-
|2003-04||20||1||2||2||colspan="2"|-||7||0||29||3
|-
|
2008-09Eerste Divisie 2008–09 began in August 2008 and concluded in May 2009, with the promotion playoffs. Sixteen clubs were remained in the Eerste Divisie, whilst Excelsior and VVV-Venlo were relegated from the Eredivisie 2007-08...
||
Go Ahead EaglesThe Go Ahead Eagles are a football club from Deventer, Netherlands, currently playing in the Eerste Divisie. The club's home stadium is De Adelaarshorst. To date, the club has won the national championship four times...
||
Eerste DivisieThe Eerste Divisie is the second-highest division of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via a promotion/relegation system. It is also known as the Jupiler League due to sponsorship, which is the same name as the top league in Belgium...
||24||0||||||||||||||24||0
201||38||||||||||||||||
100||25||||||||||||||||
97||15||8||2||0||0||32||2||137||19
398||78||||||||||||||||
|-
|1993||7||1
|-
|1994||14||1
|-
|1995||8||4
|-
|1996||2||0
|-
|1997||4||0
|-
|1998||14||4
|-
|1999||3||0
|-
|2000||10||4
|-
|2001||8||1
|-
|2002||2||0
|-
|2003||8||1
|-
|2004||6||1
|-
!Total||86||17
|}
In popular culture
- Gavin and Stacey: In the final episode of Series One, a couple at the wedding attempts to revitalize their marriage by experimenting with role-playing. In their scenario, the husband pretends to be Marc Overmars.
External links