Boudewijn Zenden Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Boudewijn Zenden

Zenden playing for Liverpool in 2005

Personal information

Full name

Boudewijn Zenden

Date of birth

15 August 1976 (age 49)

Place of birth

Maastricht, Netherlands

Height

1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)

Position(s)

Midfielder

Youth career

1985–1987

MVV

1987–1993

PSV

Senior career*

Years

Team

Apps

(Gls)

1993–1998

PSV

112

(32)

1998–2001

Barcelona

(2)

2001–2004

Chelsea

(4)

2003–2004

→ Middlesbrough (loan)

(4)

2004–2005

Middlesbrough

(5)

2005–2007

Liverpool

(2)

2007–2009

Marseille

(6)

2009–2011

Sunderland

(4)

Total

410

(59)

International career

1997–2004

Netherlands

(7)

Managerial career

2012–2013

Chelsea (assistant manager)

2013–2015

Jong PSV (assistant manager)

Medal record


Men's football
Representing Netherlands
UEFA European Championship
Bronze	2000 Belgium-Netherlands
Bronze	2004 Portugal

*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Boudewijn Zenden (born 15 August 1976), also known by his nickname Bolo, is a Dutch former professional footballer. He played as a left winger or an attacking midfielder.

Zenden was a talented player known for his speed. In 1997, he was named the Dutch Football Talent of the Year. He played for famous clubs in the Netherlands, Spain, England, and France, including PSV, Barcelona, and Liverpool. For the Netherlands, he played 54 games and scored seven goals. He represented his country at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and two UEFA European Championships.

Early Life and Skills
Club Career
International Career
After Playing
Career Statistics
- Club
- International
Honours
See also

Early Life and Skills

Zenden was born in Maastricht, Netherlands. His father, Pierre Zenden, was a judoka (a judo expert) and a sports reporter. As a child, Zenden was talented in both football and judo. He started playing football for the club MVV Maastricht in 1985. Two years later, he joined the youth program at the top Dutch club PSV.

Besides football, Zenden was also a skilled judo fighter. He earned his black belt at age 14. He was also the judo champion of his home province of Limburg three times. Since he was 19, Zenden has been a strict vegetarian.

Club Career

PSV Eindhoven

At PSV, Zenden became the team's main left winger. He was a key player when PSV won the Dutch league championship in the 1996–97 season. That same year, he was given the award for Dutch Talent of the Year. After another great season where he scored 12 goals, he was signed by the famous Spanish club Barcelona in 1998.

FC Barcelona

At Barcelona, Zenden joined several other Dutch players under the Dutch coach Louis van Gaal. His favorite position, left wing, was often taken by another Dutch star, Marc Overmars. So, Zenden learned to play a new defensive role as a left wing-back. He was successful in this position and helped Barcelona win the Spanish La Liga title. After the coach left in 2000, Zenden played less often. In 2001, he moved to England to play for Chelsea.

Chelsea

Zenden spent two years at Chelsea. He played in the 2002 FA Cup Final, where Chelsea lost to Arsenal. However, he struggled with injuries, which made it hard for him to get a regular spot on the team.

Middlesbrough

For the 2003–04 season, Zenden was loaned to Middlesbrough. He found great success there. He scored the winning goal in the 2004 League Cup final, giving Middlesbrough the first major trophy in their history.

He then joined Middlesbrough permanently for the next season. Playing in central midfield, he scored five goals and was voted the Fans' Player of the Year for 2005. After that season, he left the club.

Liverpool

On 4 July 2005, Zenden joined Liverpool, who had just won the UEFA Champions League. He started as a left midfielder and helped the team win the 2005 UEFA Super Cup. Unfortunately, he suffered a major knee injury in December 2005 and missed the rest of the season.

He returned for the 2006–07 season and helped Liverpool win the 2006 FA Community Shield. He later played in the Champions League final, which Liverpool lost to Milan. During his time at Liverpool, he scored two goals in the Premier League.

Marseille and Sunderland

Zenden playing for Sunderland in 2010

In 2007, Zenden moved to France to play for Marseille. He played there for two years before returning to England in 2009 to join Sunderland.

At Sunderland, he often came on as a substitute. He scored his first goal for the club against his old team, Chelsea. He also became known for a fun goal celebration with teammate Asamoah Gyan. He played for Sunderland until 2011, scoring the first goal in his final game for the club.

International Career

Zenden made his first appearance for the Netherlands in 1997. He was part of the Dutch team for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France. In the third-place match against Croatia, he scored an amazing goal with a powerful long-range shot.

He played some of his best football at UEFA Euro 2000. His speed and skill made him a valuable player. He scored goals against Denmark and France in the group stage. The Netherlands made it to the semi-finals but lost to Italy. Zenden also played at Euro 2004, but after that tournament, a new coach began choosing younger players for the national team.

After Playing

On 22 November 2012, Zenden became an assistant manager at his former club, Chelsea. He worked with manager Rafael Benítez, who had also been his coach at Liverpool.

Career Statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
PSV	1994–95	Eredivisie	27	5	2	0	–		1	0	–		30	5
	1995–96	Eredivisie	25	7	4	0	–		2	1	–		31	8
	1996–97	Eredivisie	34	8	2	1	–		4	1	0	0	40	10
	1997–98	Eredivisie	26	12	3	0	–		3	0	1	0	33	12
	Total		112	32	11	1	–		10	2	1	0	134	35
Barcelona	1998–99	La Liga	25	0	1	0	–		4	0	2	0	32	0
	1999–2000	La Liga	29	2	4	0	–		10	1	2	0	45	3
	2000–01	La Liga	10	0	3	0	–		5	0	–		18	0
	Total		64	2	8	0	–		19	1	4	0	95	3
Chelsea	2001–02	Premier League	22	3	3	0	4	0	3	0	–		32	3
	2002–03	Premier League	21	1	4	0	1	0	1	0	–		27	1
	Total		43	4	7	0	5	0	4	0	–		59	4
Middlesbrough	2003–04	Premier League	31	4	2	1	6	2	–		–		39	7
	2004–05	Premier League	36	5	2	0	1	0	10	3	–		49	8
	Total		67	9	4	1	7	2	10	3	–		88	15
Liverpool	2005–06	Premier League	7	2	0	0	2	0	9	0	1	0	19	2
	2006–07	Premier League	16	0	0	0	2	0	11	0	1	0	30	0
	Total		23	2	0	0	4	0	20	0	2	0	49	2
Marseille	2007–08	Ligue 1	27	2	2	0	1	0	8	0	–		38	2
	2008–09	Ligue 1	27	4	1	0	1	0	9	0	–		38	4
	Total		54	6	3	0	2	0	17	0	–		76	6
Sunderland	2009–10	Premier League	20	2	1	0	0	0	–		–		21	2
	2010–11	Premier League	27	2	0	0	2	0	–		–		29	2
	Total		47	2	1	0	2	0	–		–		50	4
Career total			410	59	34	2	20	2	80	6	7	0	551	69

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Netherlands	1997	2	0
	1998	8	1
	1999	7	1
	2000	9	3
	2001	9	1
	2002	5	0
	2003	7	0
	2004	7	1
Total		54	7

Scores and results list the Netherlands' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Zenden goal.

List of international goals scored by Boudewijn Zenden
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	11 July 1998	Paris, France	Croatia	1–1	1–2	1998 FIFA World Cup
2	9 October 1999	Amsterdam, Netherlands	Brazil	2–0	2–2	Friendly
3	23 February 2000	Amsterdam, Netherlands	Germany	2–1	2–1	Friendly
4	16 June 2000	Rotterdam, Netherlands	Denmark	3–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 2000
5	21 June 2000	Amsterdam, Netherlands	France	3–2	3–2	UEFA Euro 2000
6	5 September 2001	Eindhoven, Netherlands	Estonia	1–0	5–0	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
7	28 April 2004	Eindhoven, Netherlands	Greece	2–0	4–0	Friendly