Today is the 53rd birthday of Milan legend Marco van Basten, a three-time Ballon d’Or winner.

The Dutchman was born in Utrecht on October 31, 1964, but made his professional debut for Ajax in April 1982, scoring on his debut.

The sight of Van Basten finding the back of the net would become a familiar one over the following five seasons, with the striker 152 goals in 172 games for the club across all competitions.

Today is the 53rd birthday of Milan legend Marco van Basten, a three-time Ballon d’Or winner.

The Dutchman was born in Utrecht on October 31, 1964, but made his professional debut for Ajax in April 1982, scoring on his debut.

The sight of Van Basten finding the back of the net would become a familiar one over the following five seasons, with the striker 152 goals in 172 games for the club across all competitions.

That attracted the interest of Milan, newly acquired by Silvio Berlusconi, who spent 1.75bn lire to bring the Dutch international to San Siro.

Although the Rossoneri won the Scudetto in his first season, Van Basten’s impact was limited by an ankle injury and he made just 11 Serie A appearances, scoring three times.

‘The Swan of Utrecht’ found his form in his second campaign though, scoring 33 goals in 47 games as the Diavolo won the European Cup.

His former earned him the Ballon d’Or for 1988 – having helped Holland to win the European Championships with his famous volley – and 1989, with Arrigo Sacchi’s Milan winning the European Cup in both 1989 and 1990.

Things turned sour in the 1990-91 season though, with Van Basten getting just 11 goals and falling out with Sacchi, who was dismissed at the end of the campaign.

That saw the Rossoneri get back to their best, inspired by the form of Van Basten who scored 25 goals on the way to the Scudetto.

Those exploits earned a third Ballon d’Or, but it was the beginning of the end of one of history’s greatest strikers.

Having taken several months out to once again recover from an ankle knock, Van Basten started the 1992-93 season in stunning form.

He scored 12 goals in 14 Serie A games, as well as five in six in Europe, before another ankle injury in December required more surgery.

Van Basten returned for a trip to Udinese in April, before powering a header past Ancona goalkeeper Alessandro Nista on May 9.

It was Nista against whom the Dutchman had scored his first Serie A goal, and this would prove to be his last.

Van Basten played 86 minutes of the Champions League final on May 26, but he was substituted after 86 minutes of a 1-0 loss. He would never play football again.

The striker battled for two seasons to get fit again, but was forced to announce his retirement in August 1995, at the age of just 30.

“After three years of pain I wanted a normal life again,” Van Basten told FIFA’s official website the following year.

“Just imagine feeling pain every minute of the day, somewhere in your body. From my ankle the pain bounced back into my whole body. As long as there's still hope you can still recover, you're willing to accept the torture, but after so much treatment and so many medical experiments I finally realised I was running up a dead end street.

“I don't see myself as a victim. I see myself as an example of how a wonderful career can also come to an end.

“The most frustrating thing for me is not the way I hurt my ankle, but the way I have been treated by some doctors. Because the person who damaged my ankle most was not a player but a surgeon.”

Van Basten left the Rossoneri with a record of 125 goals in 201 games, having won three Scudetti and two European Cups.

Who knows what he could have done without the ankle injuries which plagued his career at San Siro.

Bygaby

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