The heir to Cruyff

(FILES) - AC Milan's Dutch forward Marco Van Basten dribbles upfield, 09 December 1990 in Tokyo, during the Toyota Cup final between the European champion, Milan, and the South American champion, Olimpia.

During a regular league encounter between Nijmegen and Ajax an 18-year-old called Marco Van Basten strode on to the pitch, to replace the great Johan Cruyff.

Although apparently banal, it was in fact a moment of immense significance, marking the end of one era and the beginning of another in the rich history of Dutch football.

If Cruyff was the footballing artist whose deft strokes encapsulated the game during the 1970's, Van Basten marked the 1980's in his own spectacular style and fashion.

Sadly, his only appearance at the World Cup finals, in 1990, brought him nothing but frustration as Holland slumped to a 2-1 defeat in a bitterly fought second round match against West Germany.

The complete player

Both Cruyff and van Basten were remarkably similar, yet individual in their own style.

(FILES) - AC Milan's Dutch forward Marco Van Basten dribbles upfield, 09 December 1990 in Tokyo, during the Toyota Cup final between the European champion, Milan, and the South American champion, Olimpia.

Van Basten was taller and more athletically-built, but both were extremely fast with technical skills to match and deadly in front of goal.

The young prodigy from Utrecht had a short career but still managed to score 295 goals. He was forced to retire in 1993 after a series of debilitating ankle injuries.

On May 26, 1993, Van Basten played his last game in the Champions League final against Marseille. In the 85th minute, and with Marseille leading 1-0 thanks to a goal from Basile Boli, he was replaced by AC Milan teammate Eranio.

Just over two years later, on August 17, 1995, after undergoing a series of operations and attempts at rehabilitation, Van Basten called a press conference to annnounce his enforced retirement.

Stopped in full flight

This was a cruel blow for a young man who was endowed with all the qualities of the modern player, and who in 1987 signalled his importance by scoring the only, and winning, goal for Ajax against Lokomotiv Leipzig in the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup.

The coach of that particular Ajax team was none other than Johan Cruyff.

It was at that moment that their career paths diverged. Cruyff headed south to join Barcelona while Van Basten took the road east in the direction of Silvio Berlusconi's AC Milan.

The big Dutchman found his promised land on the hallowed turf of the Serie A, and quickly became the darling of the tifosi.

(FILES) - Dutch forward Marco Van Basten jubilates as he holds aloft the European cup after his team defeated the Soviet Union 2-0 in the European Nations championship final, 25 June 1988 in Munich.

A year later, he took his international prestige a stage further, leading Holland to victory in the 1988 European championships (he was top goalscorer in the final phase of the competition, in west Germany, with five goals, including a spectacular volley in the final against USSR).

At club level he continued to shine, and was even more brilliant when joined by compatriots Frank Rijkaard and Ruud Gullit.

Together at AC Milan they attained the summits of European football: three national league titles, two victories in the Champions Cup (1989 and 90), and the title of European football's Player of the Year (Ballon d'Or) three times (1988, 89 and 92).

A fair reward for an extraordinary player whose subsequent fall from the summit would, sadly, be just as spectacular.