An ode to Patrick Kluivert, a proper striker who peaked too early

When we look at the likes of Kylian Mbappe and wonder how someone can achieve so much at such a young age, it’s hard not to think back to Patrick Kluivert.

In Mundial Magazine’s podcast ‘Giant’, former PSV Eindhoven manager Aad de Mos recalls that Louis van Gaal’s Ajax turned down a chance to sign Ronaldo in 1994 because they already had Patrick Kluivert on their books.

There was no need for them to gamble on a player from the Brazilian league, especially if it hindered the progress of one of their own. And even though Ronaldo went on to become one of the all-time greats, it’s hard to argue the Amsterdam side made the wrong call.

Kluivert was born two months before Ronaldo, but at the start of the 1994-95 season he was still waiting for his debut. And at the time, an 18-year-old having no senior games for such a youth-focused club didn’t exactly suggest future greatness.

After all, his contemporary, Kanu, had played a handful of games the previous season, while fellow teenager Clarence Seedorf was preparing for his third season as part of the first-team setup.

However, within the first half of the season, it felt like Ajax had held Kluivert back purely to show their rivals how far ahead they were; to reveal they could keep players in reserve who would be the best asset for plenty of other sides in the Eredivisie.

Indeed, his first goal arrived instantly, a volley on the stretch on his first-team debut to seal victory in the Super Cup.

In situations like these, it can be tempting to assign a level of cool to a player; for hindsight to make you read too much into an expression or movement. Here, the opposite is true – it’s just a kid, excited to have scored his first goal for his hometown club and losing any pretence of