Richard Witschge

Richard Witschge

Witschge in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Richard Peter Witschge
Date of birth	20 September 1969
Place of birth	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Youth career
	SDW
	Ajax
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1986–1991	Ajax	87	(3)
1991–1993	Barcelona	40	(2)
1993–1996	Bordeaux	77	(9)
1995	→ Blackburn (loan)	1	(0)
1996–2003	Ajax	139	(12)
2001–2002	→ Alavés (loan)	26	(1)
2003	ADO' 20
2004	Oita Trinita	9	(0)
Total		379	(27)
National team
1990–2000	Netherlands	31	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

Richard Peter Witschge (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈriʃɑrt ˈʋɪtsxə]; born 20 September 1969) is a Dutch retired footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He was known for his technique and passing ability.

In an 18-year professional career he played mainly for Ajax, but also represented, amongst other teams, Barcelona. He amassed Eredivisie totals of 226 games and 15 goals, over the course of 11 seasons.

Witschge represented Holland in one World Cup and one European Championship.

Club career

Witschge was born in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland. A product of local AFC Ajax's prolific youth ranks, he first appeared in the Eredivisie on 26 October 1986, at only 17, and scored his first league goal fairly a year after. His older brother Rob was already playing there.

After being established in the first team, Witschge joined Johan Cruyff's FC Barcelona, being fairly played^[1] as the Catalans won back-to-back La Liga championships. He made his debut in the competition on 14 September 1991, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–1 home win against Real Zaragoza.

Subsequently Witschge represented FC Girondins de Bordeaux, Blackburn Rovers (on loan from March 1995, he played once against West Ham United, as his team won the Premier League), Ajax (in his second spell with his main club, he added more than 150 official appearances, helping the club to two leagues and back-to-back domestic cups; additionally, he was loaned to Spanish top flight club Deportivo Alavés in the 2001–02 season), amateurs AD0' 20 Heemskerk and Oita Trinita from Japan, retiring in June 2004 at nearly 35 years of age.

In 2013 Witschge returned to Ajax, as a youth coach.^[2]

International career

Witschge earned 31 caps for the Netherlands national football team, in which he scored one goal. He made his debut on 21 February 1990 in a 0–0 friendly draw against Italy, and was picked for the 1990 FIFA World Cup under manager Leo Beenhakker.

However, an injury playing for Barcelona ruled him out of UEFA Euro 1992 and he did not make another major tournament until Euro 1996, held in England. During this time, his place in the national team was taken by his older brother.

Personal life

Witschge's older brother, Rob, was also a footballer and a midfielder.^[3]

Statistics

Club

^[4]

Club performance			League
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals
Netherlands			League
1986–87	Ajax	Eredivisie	2	0
1987–88			10	1
1988–89			14	0
1989–90			28	2
1990–91			33	0
Spain			League
1991–92	Barcelona	La Liga	23	0
1992–93			17	2
France			League
1993–94	Bordeaux	Ligue 1	27	1
England			League
1994–95	Blackburn Rovers	Premier League	1	0
France			League
1994–95	Bordeaux	Ligue 1	17	1
1995–96			33	7
Netherlands			League
1996–97	Ajax	Eredivisie	21	3
1997–98			29	2
1998–99			32	2
1999–2000			20	2
2000–01			15	2
Spain			League
2001–02	Alavés	La Liga	26	1
Netherlands			League
2002–03	Ajax	Eredivisie	22	1
2003–04	Den Haag	Eredivisie	0	0
Japan			League
2004	Oita Trinita	J. League 1	9	0
Country	Netherlands		226	15
	Spain		66	3
	France		77	9
	England		1	0
	Japan		9	0
Total			379	27

International

^[5]

Netherlands
Year	Apps	Goals
1990	11	0
1991	6	1
1992	2	0
1993	0	0
1994	0	0
1995	3	0
1996	7	0
1997	1	0
1998	0	0
1999	0	0
2000	1	0
Total	31	1

Honours

• European Cup: 1991–92
• UEFA Super Cup: 1992
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1986–87; Runner-up 1987–88
• Eredivisie: 1995–96, 1997–98
• KNVB Cup: 1986–87, 1997–98, 1998–99
• Johan Cruijff Shield: 2002
• La Liga: 1991–92, 1992–93
• UEFA Cup: Runner-up 1995–96

References

1. "Witschge o Salinas es la duda" [Doubting between Witschge and Salinas] (PDF) (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 27 November 1992. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
2. "Overzicht trainers jeugdopleiding" [Youth coaches overview] (in Dutch). AFC Ajax. 23 May 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
3. "Football's best brothers: As the Nevilles are reunited, we rank 30 of soccer's most celebrated sets of siblings". Daily Mirror. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
4. "Richard Witschge". Footballdatabase. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
5. "Richard Witschge". European Football. Retrieved 18 September 2015.

External links

• Beijen profile (Dutch)
• Stats at Voetbal International (Dutch)
• Richard Witschge profile and stats at Wereld van Oranje (Dutch)
• Richard Witschge profile at BDFutbol
• Richard Witschge career statistics at Soccerbase
• Richard Witschge at National-Football-Teams.com
• Richard Witschge – FIFA competition record