Michael Cox's Dutch football quiz - the answers!

Question 1

Which recent Dutch striker (and Luis Suárez lookalike) scored 100 goals in six La Liga seasons, 78 goals in four Bundesliga seasons, and won the European Golden Shoe – but only scored six times at international level?

Answer: Roy Makaay

Makaay had an excellent four-year spell with Deportivo La Coruna – scoring 78 goals – and fared similarly well at Bayern Munich, yet isn’t regarded as one of the finest Dutch strikers of recent years.

He’s still in fine company as a European Golden Shoe winner though: only Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry, Diego Forlan, Luca Toni and Francesco Totti have won it since Makaay.

He wasn’t a one-season wonder, either – he reached double figures in 11 consecutive league seasons (five in Spain, four in Germany, two in Holland) – a record few other modern strikers can match.

Question 2

When England beat Holland 4-1 in Euro 1996, the Dutch side was:

Edwin van der Sar; Michael Reizeger, Danny Blind, Winston Bogarde; Ronald De Boer , Clarence Seedorf, Aron Winter, Richard Witschge; Jordi Cruyff, Dennis Bergkamp, Peter Hoekstra.

The substitutes were: Patrick Kluivert, Johan de Kock and Philipp Cocu.

How many of these 14 stars played, at any point in their career, for a British club?

Answer: nine - Van der Sar (Fulham and Man Utd), Reiziger (Middlesbrough), Bogarde (Chelsea), De Boer (Rangers), Witschge (Blackburn), Cruyff (Man Utd), Bergkamp (Arsenal), Hoekstra (Stoke), Kluivert (Newcastle).

Surprisingly, Bergkamp was the only player who played in Britain at the time.

The most difficult answer is probably Witschge, who played one game on loan at Blackburn in 1995 – which technically means he won the Premier League, even if he didn’t receive a medal. Hoekstra is also easy to overlook, as he played in the second and third tiers with Stoke.

Bogarde’s career in England is the most infamous. He was signed for Chelsea by Gianluca Vialli on a four-year, £40,000-a-week contract, but Claudio Ranieri soon replaced his smooth-headed compatriot and had no place for Bogarde. The defender refused to move, despite playing only nine league games in four years, and started commuting from Holland each day for training. “Why should I throw fifteen million euros away when it is already mine?” he said. “The moment I signed, it was my money, my contract.” Unfortunately, Bogarde spent his millions poorly, and recent reports suggest he’s been declared bankrupt and forced out of his mansion.

Question 3 

Ajax and PSV have won 12 of the 14 Eredivisie titles this century. Which other two clubs have triumphed, and which two well-known managers were in charge?

Answer: Louis van Gaal (AZ Alkmaar, 2008-09), Steve McClaren (FC Twente, 2009-10)

The shock triumphs occurred back-to-back: in 2008-09 AZ won the league under Van Gaal, who has also taken charge of Ajax, Barcelona, Holland and Bayern Munich. The nature of their victory was particularly impressive – they won the title by 11 points, despite losing their first two games of the campaign. At one point, they kept 11 clean sheets in a row.

A year later McClaren took FC Twente to their first-ever title. They triumphed by just one point ahead of Ajax, for whom Suárez had scored 35 goals in 33 games. Both Van Gaal and McClaren departed for the Bundesliga immediately after their successes – Van Gaal to Bayern, McClaren to Wolfsburg. For managers as well as players, the Eredivisie is seen as a springboard to bigger things.

Question 4

Ajax’s 1996 European Cup final side was:

Edwin van der Sar; Sonny Silooy, Danny Blind, Frank De Boer, Winston Bogarde; Ronald De Boer, Edgar Davids, Finidi George, Jari Litmanen, MYSTERY PLAYER; Nwankwo Kanu

Who is the missing man – a left-winger who feels rather out of place among these greats, and is probably best known in England for his spell at Manchester City?

Answer: Kiki Musampa

Yep, it's Kiki 'Chris' Musampa, who was removed at half-time and replaced by Patrick Kluivert. He was just 18 at the time, and never emulated his illustrious teammates: he was the only one of that side who failed to become an international. He was called up to the Dutch squad while at Manchester City, but was never capped.

Question 5

Seven Dutchman have managed a Premier League side. Name the managers, and rank them by how many league matches they took charge of.

Answer: Martin Jol (Tottenham and Fulham), Ronald Koeman (Southampton and Everton), Van Gaal (Manchester United), Ruud Gullit (Chelsea and Newcastle), Dick Advocaat (Sunderland), Guus Hiddink (Chelsea), Rene Meulensteen (Fulham).

Jol is way out in front, with nearly 200 league games as manager of Tottenham and Fulham. Gullit, the first Dutch manager in the division, took charge of almost 100 Premier League games with Chelsea and Newcastle.

Van Gaal who had a less than successful stint at Manchester United was in the job for 76 league games, whilst Dick Advocaat was in charge at the Stadium of Light for just 17 matches.

Bringing up the rear, two managers are tied for fifth and sixth place. Hiddink’s successful spell with Chelsea in 2008-09 was over the course of 13 league games; exactly the same amount Meulensteen was given at Fulham, in a rather unhappier situation.

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