Who are the best Dutch players ever? Your answer probably depends on your age.
Out of nowhere, the Dutch became one of the biggest forces in football in the 1970s, getting to the final of the 1974 World Cup, where they were beaten by West Germany. They were here to say, however, winning the Euros in the 80s, inspiring with Ajax winning a Champions League in the 90s and lighting up football ever since: so here are our picks for the greatest Oranje stars of all time.
Every Previous WINNER Of The Euros!
How best Dutch players ever were decided by FourFourTwo's expert panel
Just as with some of our other lists of the best players ever – including lists on the best-ever Frenchmen and greatest-ever Brazilians – we consulted experts from around the world. Including, of course, the Netherlands.
We ranked these players according to not just their legacy but their overall ability as a player. We wanted to be unbiased on whether they were blessed to have been a part of a golden generation or not, judging purely on their impact as a player, though of course, what they achieved with the national side, naturally, matters.
And we wanted to include players who had achieved at both club and international level. Some players, after all, achieved a lot as a player at club level without being able to replicate it on the international stage.
Here's what we ended up with. Do you agree? Let us know @FourFourTwo.
The full list
10. Virgil van Dijk
One of the best centre-backs in the world for around a decade, Van Dijk has always been criticised in his native Netherlands for his performances for the Oranje. The superstar transformed Liverpool when he arrived in defence, so why hasn't he done the same for the Dutch?
He may have played just two international tournaments for his country but VVD has won everything worth winning at club level with the Reds. His aura is now iconic: with speed, strength and technical supremacy, he's the perfect modern centre-back – and one of the best defenders ever in the Premier League.
9. Arjen Robben
Robben was unstoppable in his prime, when infuriated opposition defences knew fine well that the Dutch winger would cut inside from the right wing and shoot on his lethal left foot, but were unable to do much about it.
The winger’s list of accolades is mightily impressive; he scored the winner in the 2013 Champions League final for Bayern Munich – one of 20 trophies he won in Bavaria – and lifted league titles with PSV, Chelsea and Real Madrid too. More importantly for these purposes, Robben was instrumental in the Netherlands reach the World Cup final in 2010 and third place four years later, with his performances in Brazil earning him third place in the tournament's individual accolades.
8. Frank Rijkaard
The classy midfielder was a key part of one of the greatest club teams European football has ever produced, Arrigo Sacchi’s all-conquering Milan of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, where he won two consecutive European Cups in a Dutch-flavoured side featuring his international team-mates Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten.
Rijkaard was also crucial to the Netherlands’ only major international honour when they won Euro 1988, earning a place in the Team of the Tournament. In an international career spanning 14 calendar years, Rijkaard made 73 appearances for his country in total and was influential on later generations of ball-playing defensive midfielders.
7. Robin van Persie
When it comes to Robin van Persie, the iconic image is of the striker flinging himself like a salmon at a cross in the Netherlands' opening game of the 2014 World Cup. That was one of a half-century of goals that he'd net for his country, becoming their all-time record scorer.
It was one that was typical of him, too. Arguably no one in football history has ever hit a football better first time, as Van Persie proved at Arsenal and Manchester United en route to making his name as one of the greatest Premier League strikers ever. A true icon of the modern game and one of the greats in of that Dutch side.
6. Johan Neeskens
Neeskens was one of the stars of a Dutch side that is widely considered one of the best – if not the best – international teams to never win a major honour. The former Ajax and Barcelona midfielder scored the opening goal in the 1974 World Cup final, but it was one of two finals in a row that the Netherlands would lose, to West Germany and Argentina respectively.
Nevertheless, Neeskens enjoyed a hugely successful career, winning domestic and European titles at club level, and he’s remembered as one of the best in his position of all time, and one of the earliest box-to-box midfielders. FourFourTwo interviewed the legend in 2024, just months before his death – and he claimed that his side's legacy was “beauty”.
5. Ronald Koeman
The bane of England in their doomed 1994 World Cup qualification attempt, Koeman made it has business to be a pain in the backside both on and off the ball throughout his playing career, carving out a reputation as one of the best attack-minded defenders in the dying days of the sweeper role.
It worked. Where Koeman went, trophies followed. A versatile operator capable of playing in defence or midfield, and scoring a boatload of goals along the way, the Dutchman won the European Cup with PSV before scoring the winner for Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona ‘Dream Team’ when they beat Sampdoria to secure European glory.
Koeman’s legendary legacy is also down to his contribution to the national team; he was named in Team of the Tournament when the Netherlands won Euro 1988, scoring a penalty to help knock out hosts West Germany in the semi-finals.
4. Dennis Bergkamp
Argentina, Newcastle, the hat-trick against Leicester. A goal catalogue to rival anyone to ever kick a ball, Dennis Bergkamp is simply one of the greatest players in history – and he might be the most intelligent striker to have ever done it. The non-flying Dutchman broke through at Ajax in the late 80s and secured a move to Inter Milan, before becoming one of Arsenal's greatest-ever players in a decade-long spell in which he won two Doubles and an unbeaten title.
Bergkamp was defter than anyone else. The forward could take a ball out of the air with the softest touch and would supply others with pinpoint accuracy: he had an eye for the ridiculous when it came to finding a way to win but most importantly for a Premier League player of the 90s, he could battle, too.
Thierry Henry frequently calls him the best player he ever shared a pitch with. High praise from a man who played with Zinedine Zidane and Lionel Messi…
3. Ruud Gullit
Gullit’s distinctive dreadlocks could be seen all over the pitch, from defence to midfield to attack, and the 1987 Ballon d’Or winner possessed levels of versatility and elegance that few, if any, players have matched before or since. Starting as a sweeper at Feyenoord, Gullit then became a midfield playmaker, before playing wide in a front three or as a trequartista at AC Milan.
Imagine having that in Football Manager. Gullit's genius for space was such that his Chelsea teammates could not keep up with him when Glenn Hoddle initially tried him out in a sweeper role following his trailblazing move in 1995, quickly moving him into midfield for the good of the team.
A double European champion with the Italian side, he was also the first and only Dutch captain to lift a major honour, scoring in a 2-0 win over the Soviet Union in the final of Euro 1988.
2. Marco van Basten
Van Basten’s list of achievements is nothing short of remarkable: 301 goals, three European Cups, 11 domestic trophies, one European Championship and three Ballon d’Ors.
Given the weight of that haul, it’s amazing to think that Van Basten could have achieved even more were it not for injury cruelly ending his career at the age of 28. There's a generation of fans who still insist he would now feature strongly in the running for the world's greatest ever centre-forward if he hadn't had to stop so young.
A pure centre-forward with an unstoppable instinct for goals, he was dangerous with either foot and capable of finding the net from almost anywhere – as his most famous strike, the ludicrous angled volley in the triumphant Euro 1988 final, demonstrated emphatically.
1. Johan Cruyff
Well, obviously. We could run this feature in another 50 years and we suspect Johan Cruyff would still be sitting top of the list. His ability and influence simply cannot be overstated.
Cruyff was more than just a footballer; the Dutch great was a visionary whose ideas helped change the game. The Amsterdam native helped dream up the fluid, modern 'Total Football' concept along with coach Rinus Michels, and it brought staggering success as Cruyff won 18 major honours, including three consecutive European Cups, with Ajax between 1971 and 1973, as well as three Ballon d’Ors.
He went on to revolutionise Barcelona too, helping the Catalans end a 14-year wait for a La Liga title, while he was the figurehead of arguably the greatest national team never to win a World Cup – the Netherlands team of 1974.
Keep in mind that before Cruyff burst onto the scene, the Dutch had not so much as qualified for a major tournament since 1938. With Cruyff leading the way, however, they immediately reached the World Cup final; an incredible and rapid ascent that will probably never be repeated. Cruyff, of course, was named player of the tournament, despite ultimately losing to Germany in the final.
Cruyff's influence would extend well beyond his playing career: the exploits of Cruyff and co are credited with inspiring the next generation of Dutch superstars to Euro 1988 glory, while his managerial career and philosophy on the game was just as influential: he had a profound effect on a young Pep Guardiola at Barcelona.
Quite simply, Johan Cruyff will forever be one of the greatest ever to step onto a football pitch.
