Pierre van Hooijdonk

Quick Facts

Full Name	Pierre van Hooijdonk
Occupation	Association Football Player
Date Of Birth	Nov 29, 1969(1969-11-29)
Age	55
Birthplace	Steenbergen
Country	Kingdom of the Netherlands
Birth City	Steenbergen
Horoscope	Capricorn

Pierre van Hooijdonk Biography

Pierre van Hooijdonk is one of the most popular and richest Association Football Player who was born on November 29, 1969 in Steenbergen, Steenbergen, Kingdom of the Netherlands. Pierre van Hooijdonk (Dutch pronunciation: [piˈjɛr vɑn ˈɦoːi̯dɔŋk] ; born 29 November 1969) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a striker. He had spells with clubs across Europe where he was a prolific goal scorer. Van Hooijdonk was capped 46 times for the Dutch national team, for which he scored 14 goals and played in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2000 and Euro 2004. Noted for his bending free kicks, he is regarded by some as one of the greatest free kick specialists of all time.

The following 1995–96 season, saw Van Hooijdonk in outstanding form for Celtic. He scored 32 goals, including 26 in the League which saw him finish as top scorer. Of particular note was his prowess at scoring from free kicks. However, despite Van Hooijdonk’s goals and the attractive football being played by manager Tommy Burns’ side, Celtic still finished the season without any silverware.

He eventually left Celtic over a wage dispute towards the end of the 1996–97 season, stating that the reputed £7,000 a week rise he was being offered might be “good enough for the homeless” to live on “but not for an international striker.” In total Van Hooijdonk scored 52 goals for Celtic in 84 appearances. He went on to join up with Nottingham Forest in a deal worth up to £4.5 million.

Van Hooijdonk’s next season at Celtic, 1996–97, was an unhappy time for both the player and the club. A row with the Celtic chairman/owner, Fergus McCann, would rumble on and as a result he often ended up on the bench. The manager of the Dutch national team Guus Hiddink then told him he wouldn’t be selected for such as long as he was not a regular at Celtic.

NAC paid 400,000 guilders for the transfer of Van Hooijdonk. In returning to NAC, he was both positive in his outlook as well as determined to illustrate his quality. Van Hooijdonk succeeded at such as he went on to help the team win promotion to the Eredivisie in 1993. During his time at the club he got his first call up, in December 1994, to play for the Netherlands. During the rest of that season he set a scoring streak in 11 consecutive Eredivisie matches. Within the 1994–95 winter break, Celtic made a deal with NAC which saw Van Hooijdonk join up with the Scottish outfit at once. Altogether he scored a total of 81 goals in 115 appearances for NAC.

Pierre van Hooijdonk Net Worth

Pierre van Hooijdonk is one of the richest Association Football Player from Kingdom of the Netherlands. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Pierre van Hooijdonk 's net worth $5 Million. (Last Update: December 11, 2023)

Because of his behaviour Van Hooijdonk received criticism both from fans and from his teammates, not least from team-mate Steve Stone and manager Dave Bassett. The club refused to listen to offers for him, as they needed a top striker and the stand-off lasted until early November when van Hooijdonk, realising that he had no choice, agreed to return. By this time the club was again in relegation trouble: bottom of the league without a win in nine games. He played sporadically between then and the end of the season. He scored 6 goals in his 19 starts in the Premier League, including his first goal in his third game back against Forest’s fierce rivals Derby County, helping them to a draw. Infamously after this goal most of his team-mates refused to celebrate alongside him, instead going to Scot Gemmill, the man who crossed the ball to him. He also scored a last minute home equaliser against rivals Liverpool with a trademark free-kick that protected Forest’s proud unbeaten home run against them that went back to 1984. Forest ended the 1998–99 Premier League season bottom and were relegated. In 2015, van Hooijdonk expressed regret at going on strike, saying that the situation “could have been handled differently”.

As RBC Roosendaal were in financial trouble they were obliged to having youth players feature within their senior teams. As such in the 1988–89 season Van Hooijdonk made his debut for RBC as a substitute. Whilst playing as a sub for the club he soon scored three goals. With the club’s main striker suffering from an injury Van Hooijdonk played almost the majority of the season’s second half, scoring a total of six goals in 32 matches. He signed his first professional contract with RBC soon thereafter. Van Hooijdonk made a greater impression in the following season within which he became a key player for the team, scoring 27 times in 37 matches. Several teams went on to show interest in him such as NAC Breda. Van Hooijdonk thus didn’t hesitate in signing a contract with NAC, and so rejoined his boyhood club.

Van Hooijdonk made his Celtic debut on 11 January 1995 in a league match against Hearts at Hampden Park. The striker made an instant impact for his new team by scoring a stunning opening goal. Hearts went on to equalise and so the game finished 1–1. Van Hooijdonk settled quickly at Celtic and he became an instant favourite with the fans. When Van Hooijdonk arrived at Celtic they had not won any trophies in six years. With Van Hooijdonk in tow Celtic won the Scottish Cup of that season with him being the only goalscorer in the final against Airdrie in May 1995.

Height, Weight & Body Measurements

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Who is Pierre van Hooijdonk Dating?

According to our records, Pierre van Hooijdonk is possibily single & has not been previously engaged. As of December 1, 2023, Pierre van Hooijdonk’s is not dating anyone.

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Van Hooijdonk then signed a three-year deal for Benfica in 2000 where he joined up with one of the former Celtic F.C. ‘three amigos’ Jorge Cadete. He eventually only played one season for them with 19 goals. At Benfica he faced the same structural problems as he faced at Nottingham Forest and the team used three different managers throughout the season. The new chairman at the club had no faith in Van Hooijdonk and he was set back into their second team. Benfica were planning on selling him to another foreign club, but all Van Hooijdonk wanted was to return to his home country. At the end of the 2000/01 season, he signed for his fourth Dutch club, Feyenoord.

Facts & Trivia

Pierre Ranked on the list of most popular Association Football Player. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in Kingdom of the Netherlands. Pierre van Hooijdonk celebrates birthday on November 29 of every year.

Never one to settle down, van Hooijdonk joined Fenerbahçe SK at the beginning of the 2003–04 season where he featured in 52 games for the Turkish club and scored 32 goals (24 in his first season). He was nicknamed Aziz Pierre (means Saint Pierre in Turkish) by fans. He wore the number 17, the same number that he wore for the national team. He won the Süper Lig title in 2003–04 (first championship in his career) and again the following year in 2004–05 with Fenerbahçe.

Top Facts about Pierre van Hooijdonk

1. Pierre van Hooijdonk was born in Steenbergen
2. He grew up in Welberg
3. He is regarded by some as one of the greatest free kick specialists of all time
4. He scored 26 goals in the Scottish Premier League and was the top scorer of the 1995/1996 season
5. He was capped 46 times for the Dutch national team and scored 14 goals
6. He was named in the Dutch squad for the 1998 FIFA World Cup
7. He scored 6 goals in 19 starts for Nottingham Forest in the 1998/1999 Premier League
8. He moved from Celtic to Nottingham Forest in 1997 in a deal worth up to £4.5 million
9. He scored 34 goals for Nottingham Forest and won the title and promotion in a competitive league
10. He had two spells with NAC Breda, scoring 81 goals in 115 appearances
11. He scored 8 goals in 37 appearances for Feyenoord
12. He won the Süper Lig title with Fenerbahçe in 2003/04 and 2004/05
13. He has a total of 335 goals in 550 games over 18 professional seasons
14. He is the father of Sydney van Hooijdonk, who is also a professional footballer
15. He lost £2,000,000 in 2008 to a Chinese textile company scam

Why did Pierre van Hooijdonk go on strike?

Forest, desperate for a striker, refused to allow him to be transfer-listed again , so van Hooijdonk announced his intention to strike. He kept fit by training with his former club NAC Breda.

How many free kicks did Pierre van Hooijdonk score?

In 52 matches he has played for Feyenoord in De Eredivisie, the Dutch Cup and European matches, he has scored 18 times from free kicks. The tall Dutchman netted the crucial equaliser against Juventus in the Champions League in midweek.