Danny Blind

Danny Blind
Personal information
Full name Dirk Franciscus Blind
Date of birth (1961-08-01) 1 August 1961
Place of birth Oost-Souburg, Netherlands
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)[1]
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current team
 Netherlands (head coach)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1979–1986 Sparta 165 (18)
1986–1999 Ajax 372 (27)
Total 537 (45)
National team
1986–1996 Netherlands 42 (1)
Teams managed
2005–2006 Ajax
2009–2011 Ajax (assistant coach)
2012–2015 Netherlands (assistant coach)
2015– Netherlands

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Dirk Franciscus "Danny" Blind (Dutch pronunciation: [dɪrk frɑnˈsɪskəz ˈdɛni blɪnt];[2] born 1 August 1961) is a Dutch retired international football player and current coach. He played as a defender for Sparta, Ajax and the Dutch national team. He currently works as head coach of the Netherlands national team, succeeding Guus Hiddink on 1 August 2015, after Hiddink's contract was terminated.[3]

Blind was born in Oost-Souburg, Netherlands. He is one of the two Dutch players, together with Arnold Mühren, to have won all UEFA club competitions.

Playing career

Club career

Blind made his professional football debut on 29 August 1979 with Sparta. He stayed under contract with Sparta for seven seasons. In July 1986 he transferred to Ajax, attracted there by manager Johan Cruijff. However, Blind's signing was much to the chagrin of Ajax superstar Marco van Basten, who was upset that his manager had brought in a relatively unknown, defensive player from a fairly small club like Sparta, instead of splashing out on a big-money, big-name transfer.[4] With Ajax he amassed an amazing trophy list, winning all three European trophies (UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1987, the UEFA Cup in 1992 and the UEFA Champions League in 1995). He secured the Intercontinental Cup, in 1995 against Brazil's Grêmio, by scoring the winning penalty in the penalty shoot-out.

He was again a penalty hero when he converted twice against Real Zaragoza in the European Super Cup Final of 1995, which Ajax won 5–1 over the two legs. The two penalties Blind converted were in the 65th and 69th minutes of the second leg.

Domestically, with Ajax, he won five Dutch Eredivisie Championships and four national cups. He retired on 16 May 1999.

Blind was known for being a solid, dependable defender and a leader on the field. However, he was also a technically gifted and cultured player who could pass and strike the ball well for a non-attacking player. Whilst famous for being a centre back, Blind started his career as a right full-back.

International career

Blind gained 42 caps for the Netherlands over a 10-year period, scoring once against Greece in a UEFA Euro 1992 qualifier. He made his debut in 1986 against Scotland but was not capped at all in 1987 or 1988,[5] an absence which meant he missed being a part of the triumphant UEFA Euro 1988 side. He did however appear at the 1990 and 1994 World Cups and the 1992 and 1996 European Championships, after the latter of which he retired.

Management career

Blind was head coach at Ajax from 14 March 2005 (appointed as successor to Ronald Koeman) until 10 May 2006, after only 422 days in charge. He led Ajax to victory in the Gatorade Cup and the Johan Cruyff Shield.

In 2007–08, he became football director at his old club, Sparta. On 15 May 2008 he returned to Ajax, to become the new football director in Amsterdam but switched roles when Martin Jol joined the club to assistant-trainer. Moving to the position of technical director for Ajax at the beginning of the 2011–12 season, on 9 February 2012, it was announced that Blind would retire from his duties as Technical Director at Ajax, concluding a heated dispute surrounding the club's board of directors.[6]

On 1 July 2015, he was named Guus Hiddink's successor as a coach of the Netherlands national team. He then failed to make the Dutch qualify for the Euro 2016 and he put his 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign at stake.[7]

Personal life

Blind is the father of professional footballer Daley Blind, who plays for Manchester United.[8]

Career statistics

[9] [10]

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Netherlands League KNVB Cup League Cup Europe Total
1979–80Sparta RotterdamEredivisie13020----150
1980–8110000----100
1981–8210220----122
1982–8334310----353
1983–8434530--60435
1984–8530340----343
1985–8634510--40395
1986–87Ajax29450--70414
1987–8831010--81401
1988–8930230----332
1989–9034040----380
1990–9134230----372
1991–9230231--121454
1992–9328450--80414
1993–9430143--60404
1994–9534530--100495
1995–9631310--80403
1996–9716000--50210
1997–9826141--70372
1998–9919320--30243
Total Ajax 37227385--84249434
Career total 53745515--94268254

Honours

AFC Ajax

As player[11]
As manager[11]

Individual

Managerial statistics

As of match played 13 November 2016
Team From To Record
GWDLWin %
Netherlands July 2015 Present 17 8 3 6 47.06
Total 17 8 3 6 47.06

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Danny Blind". IMDb.com.
  2. ↑ Franciscus in isolation: [frɑnˈsɪskəs].
  3. ↑ Blind replaces Hiddink as Netherlands coach UEFA, 1 july 2015
  4. ↑ Danny Blind returns to Ajax World Cup Blog, 7 May 2008
  5. ↑ "Danny Blind - International Appearances". rsssf.com. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  6. ↑ Ajax board including Johan Cruyff and Edgar Davids step down en masse The Guardian, 9 February 2012
  7. ↑ "Danny Blind succeeds Guus Hiddink as Netherlands coach". BBC Sport. 1 July 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  8. ↑ "Ajax sign Daly Blind". Ajax.nl. AFC Ajax. 29 March 2007. Retrieved 11 December 2008.
  9. ↑ Danny Blind Level-K
  10. ↑ Dirk Franciscus Blind "Danny Blind" World-Soccer.org
  11. 1 2 "Danny Blind - Career Honours". Soccerway.
  12. ↑ "Blind wint Gouden Schoen". Ajax Life.
  13. ↑ "Toyota Cup - Most Valuable Player of the Match Award". Retrieved 2014-08-30.
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