Piet de Visser: The super scout who discovered Ronaldo, Hazard and De Bruyne

Millions of kids play football around the world, hoping to make it as a professional. It can be like a needle in a haystack finding one good player, but Piet de Visser has picked out many.

The name Piet de Visser may not ring a bell with many people, but for diehard football fans he's a highly important figure. Over the years, the Dutchman revealed himself as a superscout who found many top footballers. This is the story of the man behind the likes of Ronaldo Nazario, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Kevin De Bruyne.

De Visser took his first steps in football as a football player. He played for Dutch sides De Zeeuwen, RCH and Zeeland Sport, before focusing on his coaching career.

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As a trainer, he worked for clubs in the Netherlands and also ended up in Belgium.

As such, he was in charge at NEC and RWDM, then still a top club in Belgian football. There, De Visser trained former Dutch international Johan Boskamp, among others.

The very last club De Visser trained was NAC. However, heart problems put an early end to his adventure in Breda, after which he sought and found a new challenge.

In 1993, De Visser joined PSV Eindhoven as a scout.

De Visser tracked some great talents for the Dutch club, including Ronaldo Nazario. On the scout's advice, PSV signed the Brazilian, who subsequently created a furore on European football fields.

De Visser was also reportedly the scout who discovered Ruud van Nistelrooy. The striker moved from SC Heerenveen to PSV in 1998 and was a consistent scorer in Eindhoven.

In 2005, the partnership between De Visser and PSV came to an end and the super scout took up a new challenge at Chelsea.

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In London, he built a good relationship with then-owner Roman Abramovich, of whom De Visser was reportedly a confidant.

De Visser scouted Kevin De Bruyne, among others, for Chelsea. The Belgian midfielder moved to London in early 2012, but barely got a chance at Stamford Bridge, much to De Visser's frustration.

De Visser did not understand the decision of then-Chelsea coach José Mourinho not to give De Bruyne more chances. "I had a battle at Chelsea. I thought he (De Bruyne) was the best in the world at a young age. Chelsea had a top coach in Mourinho. He only called on experienced players. He thought De Bruyne was too young and said 'we can't use yet'," De Visser is quoted as saying by Football.London.

De Visser was also the man responsible for the arrival of Eden Hazard, who became the big star at Stamford Bridge.

De Visser spotted Hazard's talent very early on. "I first saw him at Belgium's U15s," the Dutchman explained to Belgian media brand Sporza. "He already had those special moves back then, could shield the ball, dribble and score goals. He had it all as a 15-year-old."

De Visser's work in football did not go unnoticed. In 2005, he received the Rinus Michels Award, named after the famous and successful Dutch coach of the same name.

De Visser is also committed to the welfare of children. For instance, he founded the Piet de Visser Foundation, through which he aims to ensure "good sports facilities, good education and good healthcare for underprivileged and/or disabled children".

De Visser had an outstanding career and discovered many great footballers, such as Ronaldo and De Bruyne. Who will be the next star in the superscout's notebook?

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