| Marc Overmars (born
March 29,
1973 in
Emst) is a former
Dutch
football player. He was best known as a left-footed winger. Known for his
great speed and blitzes into enemy territory, Overmars' nicknames included "the
Roadrunner" or simply "meep-meep." In all, Overmars played 87 games for the
Dutch national team, scoring 17 goals. His final match was the Netherlands'
loss to
Portugal in the semifinals of the
2004 European Championships.
Overmars first joined a small Dutch club called
SV Epe before joining
Go Ahead Eagles.
Willem II Tilburg later bought him from Go Ahead Eagles for ₤200 000 and
during the 1991/1992
season,
AFC
Ajax Amsterdam bought him. In 1993, he made his debut in the Dutch national
team against
Turkey.
Marc Overmars became famous with Ajax under
Louis van Gaal. He was the member of the Ajax team that won the
European Cup in
1995 against
A.C. Milan
of Italy. Soon
after 1995, he left Ajax for
Arsenal
F.C. of England. It was at the
London club
that his talents were demonstrated with utmost skill, scoring vital goals and
assisting compatriot footballer,
Dennis Bergkamp, on many goalscoring opportunities. In the
World Cup 1998, he was a regular fixture for
Holland where he assisted his nation to qualify for the ultimate showdown
with
Brazil. In the summer of 2000, he moved to
Spain and joined
FC
Barcelona. Barcelona paid Arsenal ₤25 million for Overmars' service.
Unfortunately for the former Arsenal star, he failed to inspire FC Barcelona
to any sort of domestic or
European trophy
success although the
Catalan
team did regularly feature in the
UEFA Champions League. Nevertheless in what would prove to be his swansong
year in the Euro 2004 tournament in
Portugal,
he was one of the best Dutch players in the tournament although the title was
never meant for his team.
On July
26th, 2004, he
announced his retirement from football due to injuries.
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