What happened to Dutch football star Boudewijn Zenden?

Boudewijn Zenden was part of an incredibly talented generation of Dutch footballers. The former midfielder played for great teams all over Europe and served his country for many years. Let's look back at Zenden's career. All stats are sourced from Transfermarkt.

Zenden was born on 15 August 1976 in the Dutch city of Maastricht, where he practised judo and played for local club MVV Maastricht. Soon, however, he would join a bigger team in the Netherlands.

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It was PSV Eindhoven who saw Zenden as a talented youngster and brought him to the club, a decision it would not regret. Zenden would end up making 134 appearances for PSV, scoring 35 goals en giving 26 assists. In 1997, he claimed the Dutch Football Talent of the Year award.

He left PSV with four trophies in his trophy cabinet: a Dutch title, a Dutch Cup and two Dutch Supercups. In 1998, however, a new destination for Zenden was on the horizon.

FC Barcelona and its then-manager Louis van Gaal decided to take the plunge and bring the Dutch left-footed player to the Catalan capital, paying €12 million to PSV.

At the Camp Nou, Zenden struggled to claim a starting position, which led to him making 95 appearances in three years. He only scored three goals and gave nine assists.

In the April 2020 issue of FourFourTwo magazine, Zenden recalled how a little judo fun with a teammate went terribly wrong. "I had a little judo challenge with Xavi, who was leaning with one hand on a bed. The bed had wheels, though, which made him slip and he dislocated a shoulder. He was out for a few weeks!"

This did not stop Chelsea from signing him in the summer of 2001. The Blues paid €12.9 million for Zenden, who kept struggling to gain a spot in the starting-eleven and saw injuries tarnish his chances at the Bridge. He did not win any silverware during his spell in London.

Zenden's next destination was Middlesbrough, on loan for the 2003/04 season. With 'the Boro', the Dutchman became an important player and helped the team to win the League Cup, scoring in the final against Bolton Wanderers. At the end of that season, he joined Middlesbrough permanently on a one-year deal and was named the club's player of the year, per LFCHistory.

In 2005, Zenden joined Liverpool, who had just won the Champions League. The midfielder helped the Reds win the European Supercup, but in December he suffered a serious knee injury that kept him out for most of the season. In his second season with Liverpool, Zenden again picked up a knee injury, making just 30 appearances in all competitions and lifting the Community Shield.

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After his contract at Anfield expired, Zenden signed a two-year contract with French side Olympique Marseille, where he would never become a first-team regular.

After 76 appareances and six goals, he was released and found himself without a club for several months, until he signed a deal in October 2009.

It was AFC Sunderland who gave Zenden a chance after the Dutchman made a good impression during a trial period. He played two seasons at the Stadium of Light, after which he hung up his football boots forever after a club career that spanned 17 years.

During his career, Zenden also represented the Dutch national team on 54 occasions, scoring seven goals.

He was part of a really talented Dutch team, with names like Patrick Kluivert, Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf and many other big names, but he and his compatriots never made it past the semi-finals of a major tournament.

After his playing career, Zenden tried his hand at coaching, and ended up on the Chelsea bench as assistant coach in November 2022 under manager Rafael Benitez. The Blues managed to win the Europa League during this period.

In 2013, Zenden brought his career full circle and returned to PSV, where he worked as an assistent and individuel coach under several coaches until mid-2022.

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