Youri Mulder


Youri Mulder is a retired Dutch footballer who played as a striker and also a manager.

Club career

Mulder was born in Brussels, Belgium. The son of former Ajax Amsterdam and R.S.C. Anderlecht player Jan Mulder, he played youth football for SDO Bussum and Ajax. After two years in amateur football, he made his professional debuts at 21, with FC Twente. In his second season, he scored a career-best 18 goals, as the club finished sixth in the Eredivisie.
In 1993, Mulder moved to the German Bundesliga with FC Schalke 04, where he would play for nearly one decade. He made his league debut on 7 August, in a 0–3 loss at SG Wattenscheid 09. His first three years at the Gelsenkirchen side were successful individually – 22 goals combined – and the 1996–97 season brought with it the UEFA Cup conquest, with the player netting three times in the campaign, including once in the quarter-finals against Valencia CF.
Additionally, Mulder also won two consecutive German Cups, in 2001 and 2002. Only managing to appear 33 times in his last three seasons combined, he retired at the end of 2001–02, aged 33.
In 2007–08, Mulder had his first coaching experience: he started the season as an offensive trainer in Twente, then rejoined another former side, Schalke 04, in April 2008, working with former teammate Michael Büskens as replacements for dismissed Mirko Slomka, a situation which occurred again in 2009, after the sacking of Fred Rutten, being joined then by another former club player, Oliver Reck.

International career

Mulder played nine matches for the Dutch national football team, and found the net three times. He made his international debut on 16 November 1994, and participated at UEFA Euro 1996, where he played the last ten minutes in the quarterfinal loss against France.

Personal life

In addition to his professional football career, Mulder also worked as a sports commentator for NOS TV.
he was married with Nina Freidher, and they have two kids: Finn and Alexander Mulder. Where as now Finn lives in Norway.

Books

Schalke