Danny Blind

Danny Blind

Personal information
Full name	Dirk Franciscus Blind
Date of birth	1 August 1961 (1961-08-01) (age 50)
Place of birth	Oost-Souburg, Netherlands
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)[1]
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	AFC Ajax (assistant-trainer)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1979–1986	Sparta Rotterdam	165	(18)
1986–1999	AFC Ajax	372	(27)
Total		537	(45)
National team
1986–1996	Netherlands	42	(1)
Teams managed
2005–2006	AFC Ajax
2007–2008	Sparta Rotterdam (Director of Football)
2008–	AFC Ajax (assistant-trainer)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Dirk Franciscus "Danny" Blind (born 1 August 1961) is a football coach and former Dutch international player. He played as a defender for Sparta Rotterdam, AFC Ajax and the Dutch national team.

Blind was born in Oost-Souburg, Netherlands. He is the only Dutch player to have won all international club competitions recognised by UEFA and FIFA .^[2]

His son, Daley, has followed in his footsteps and also plays as a defender for Ajax,.^[3]

Playing career

Blind made his professional football debut on 29 August 1979 with Sparta. He would stay under contract with Sparta for seven seasons. In July 1986 he transferred to Ajax, attracted there by the then manager Johan Cruijff. However, Blind's signing was much to the chagrin of then Ajax superstar Marco van Basten, who was upset that his manager had brought in a relatively unknown, defensive player from a fairly small cub like Sparta, instead of splashing out on a big-money, big-name transfer.^[4] With Ajax he amassed an amazing trophy list. Winning all three European trophies (UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1987, the UEFA Cup in 1992 and the UEFA Champions League in 1995). He secured the Intercontinental Cup, in 1995 against Brazil's Grêmio, by scoring the winning penalty in the penalty shoot-out. He would again be a penalty hero when he converted twice against Real Zaragoza in the European Super Cup Final of 1995, which Ajax won 4 – 1 over the two legs. The two penalties that Blind converted where in the 65th and 69th minutes of the second leg effectively putting the title out of reach for Real Zaragoza. Domestically, with Ajax, he won five Dutch Eredivisie Championships and four national cups. He retired on 16 May 1999. Blind was known for being a solid, dependable defender and a leader on the field. However, he was also a technically-gifted and cultured player who could pass and strike the ball well for a non-attacking player. Whilst famous for being a centre back, Blind started his career as a left full-back.

Management career

Blind was head coach at Ajax from 14 March 2005 (appointed as successor to Ronald Koeman) until 10 May 2006, after only 422 days in charge. He led Ajax to victory in the Gatorade Cup and the Johan Cruyff Shield.

In 2007–08, he became football director at his old club, Sparta. On May 15, 2008 he returned to Ajax, to become the new football director in Amsterdam but switched roles when Martin Jol joined the club to assistant-trainer.

Personal life

Blind is the father of professional footballer Daley Blind, who is currently contracted to the same club that Danny made his name at, AFC Ajax. Unlike his father, Daley rose through Ajax's youth ranks and, other than loan signings, has so far only played for the Amsterdam club.

In December 2006 Blind crashed his car into a parked vehicle, injuring a 48-year old woman. A two-year-old child in her car remained uninjured. Blind had three times the legal limit of alcohol in his blood.^[5]

Career statistics

^{[6] [7]}

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Netherlands			League		KNVB Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
1979–80	Sparta Rotterdam	Eredivisie	13	0
1980–81			10	0
1981–82			10	2
1982–83			34	3
1983–84			34	5
1984–85			30	3
1985–86			34	5
1986–87	Ajax		29	4
1987–88			31	0
1988–89			30	2
1989–90			34	0
1990–91			34	2
1991–92			30	2
1992–93			28	4
1993–94			30	1
1994–95			34	5
1995–96			31	3
1996–97			16	0
1997–98			26	1
1998–99			19	3
Total	Netherlands		537	45
Career total			537	45

Honours

AFC Ajax

As player

• Eredivisie: 1989–90, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1997–98
• KNVB Cup: 1987, 1993, 1998, 1999
• UEFA Champions League: 1995
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1987
• UEFA Cup: 1992
• UEFA Super Cup: 1995
• Intercontinental Cup: 1995

As manager

• KNVB Cup: 2006
• Johan Cruijff Schaal: 2005

See also

• List of players to have won all international club competitions
• List of players to have won the three main European club competitions

References

1. ^ "Biography for Danny Blind". http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2296579/bio. 
2. ^ UEFA competition records
3. ^ "Ajax sign Daly Blind". Ajax.nl. 29 March 2007. http://english.ajax.nl/web/show/id=154814/contentid=62320. Retrieved 11 December 2008. 
4. ^ http://netherlands.worldcupblog.org/dutch-eredivisie/danny-blind-returns-to-ajax.html
5. ^ Danny Blind betrokken bij aanrijding, rtl.nl
6. ^ Danny Blind
7. ^ http://www.world-soccer.org/p-21017.htm

External links

• Danny Blind profile and stats at Wereld van Oranje (Dutch)

Awards
Preceded by Ed de Goey	Dutch Golden Shoe Winner 1995–1996	Succeeded by Jaap Stam

Persondata
Name	Blind, Danny
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1 August 1961
Place of birth	Oost-Souburg, Netherlands
Date of death
Place of death