Pierre van Hooijdonk

Pierre van Hooijdonk
Van Hooijdonk in 2014
Personal information
Full name Pierre van Hooijdonk[1]
Date of birth (1969-11-29) 29 November 1969 (age 54)[2]
Place of birth Steenbergen, Netherlands
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[2]
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1991 RBC Roosendaal 69 (33)
1991–1995 NAC Breda 115 (81)
1995–1997 Celtic 69 (44)
1997–1999 Nottingham Forest 71 (36)
1999–2000 Vitesse 29 (25)
2000–2001 Benfica 30 (19)
2001–2003 Feyenoord 61 (52)
2003–2005 Fenerbahçe 53 (32)
2005–2006 NAC Breda 17 (5)
2006–2007 Feyenoord 37 (8)
Total 551 (335)
International career
1994–2004 Netherlands 46 (14)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Netherlands
UEFA European Championship
Bronze medal – third place 2000
Bronze medal – third place 2004
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Pierre van Hooijdonk (Dutch pronunciation: [piˈjɛr vɑn ˈɦoːidɔŋk];[citation needed] born 29 November 1969) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a striker. He had spells with clubs across Europe where he was a prolific goal scorer. Van Hooijdonk was capped 46 times for the Netherlands national team, for which he scored 14 goals and played in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2000 and Euro 2004. Noted for his bending free kicks, he is regarded by some as one of the greatest free kick specialists of all time.[3][4][5]

  1. ^ "Pierre van Hooijdonk". Turkish Football Federation. Archived from the original on 1 April 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Pierre van Hooijdonk: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  3. ^ Rice, Simon (11 September 2009). "The Ten Best Free-Kick Specialists: Pierre Van Hooijdonk". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 14 September 2009. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  4. ^ Woo, Jonathan (3 May 2011). "World Football: Ranking the Top 10 Long Free Kick Specialists of All-Time". Bleacher Report. Turner Broadcasting System. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  5. ^ Kyle, Gregor (17 January 2019). "The art of the free-kick, with former Celtic star Pierre van Hooijdonk". Football Scotland. Glasgow: Reach Scotland. Retrieved 23 February 2020. Van Hooijdonk stands alongside Sinisa Mihajlovic, Andrea Pirlo and Juninho Pernambucano as one of the all-time great free-kick takers, ...