| Arthur Numan (born 14 December 1969 in Heemskerk, Netherlands) is a retired Dutch footballer. He was one of the Dutch teams' leftback specialist in the years from 1997 to after 2000 and was a regular fixture in the international team.
He started his career in a Dutch amateur club SV Beverwijk and was quickly spotted by the football team in Haarlem who handed him his first professional game against DS '79 on 26 March 1968 which his team won 2-0 and he was a substitute for teammate André Sitek. He originally played as a forward and
striker role although his long-time mentor Dick Advocaat then the coach
of Haarlem decided to field him as a left fullback, a move which quickly saw him rise
to recognition within the Eredivisie.
Numan joined FC Twente at the close of the 1990/1991 season where he has
scored goals even as a defender. He was also named team captain for the Enschede
team and also captained the Dutch Under 21 national team. However, it was not until he joined Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven that his talents were fully appreciated. He was drafted into the
Dutch team for a friendly game
against Poland which ended in a 2-2 draw
on October 1992. It was not a happy debut for the talented leftback as he was singled out for substitution after merely 25
minutes by Dick Advocaat who was then the national team coach, brought on
PSV Eindhoven teammate Gerald Vanenburg as his team was
already down 2-0 very early in the game although the manager explained that it was not that he played badly but that the manager
had to add more attack to the team, hence the decision.
More domestic success was to follow in a well-supported club such as PSV and he was selected to represent the Dutch team for the 1994 World Cup in the USA
by Dick Advocaat although he was never included in the starting line-up for any of the Netherlands' games in that tournament. His
appearance in a major tournament was also hindered by not starting in the Euro
1996 tournament although by then, his talents was already noticed by team manager Guus Hiddink.
By then, PSV was already a star-studded team with players such as Jaap Stam,
Philip Cocu, Luc Nilis and Ronaldo. Numan was selected for the
captaincy of the team although he was often in conflict with fellow fullback Serbia-Montenegro Zeljko Petrovic over captaincy
issues. Numan's career by then was illustrious and in the Dutch team's run-up to the qualification for the 1998 World Cup in France, he featured in nearly all of the qualification games and his team qualified easily due to the wealth of
talents such as Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Kluivert, Frank de Boer, Marc Overmars and Edwin van der Sar. Numan played in all of the group matches in France although the quarterfinal game against Argentina was marred with his second yellow card of the game and he was to miss the
crucial clash with eventual finalist Brazil in which his drafted stand-in Winston Bogarde was also absent due
to injury. He played in the 3rd placing match against Croatia although he could not help his team to win the bronze medal and ensure that his star
side win at least a consolation prize for all their efforts.
In a £4.5 million deal that will take him to Glasgow Rangers at
the end of the 1997/1998 season, Numan's career was then blighted by recurring injuries that will force him to sit out of many
vital games. Dick Advocaat who managed the Scottish team at that time patiently waited for his key man to recover, a move which
was rewarded when he helped the team to considerable league success as well as the treble in his penultimate season at Rangers.
Numan was awarded the teams vice-captaincy serving as deputy to captain Lorenzo Amoruso. He also teamed up with a talented team at Rangers, among them, Ronald de Boer, Bert Konterman, Fernando
Ricksen and Michael Mols. At
the end of the 2002/2003 season, he informed the now debt-ridden club that he could not agree a deal with them and that he would
mutually terminate the contract come the end of the season. He stated that he was willing to accept a pay-cut offer but felt that
his club has under-rated him.
Meanwhile, Numan continued to feature in the Dutch team, even representing his country on home soil during the Euro 2000 tournament, where he played some of his finest games, ably convincing then
manager Frank Rijkaard of his impressive form. By 2000, Numan's career at the international stage appeared to wane and his automatic leftback spot was open to his
contenders Winston Bogarde
and Giovanni van Bronckhorst and his efforts in the
Euro 2000 helped changed Rijkaard's perception. He was to play for the remaining
games of his team's failed attempt to capture their first major trophy since 1988
culminating in the painful semi-final loss to Italy.
He was determined to assist his national team to qualify for the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan under manager Louis van Gaal
although the crucial game against Ireland at Landsdowne Road stadium in late 2001 saw the Dutch team being outplayed at every position and eventually trooped out 2-0 losers. His dream to play in
his final World Cup was dashed and after his final international game against United States on 19 May 2002, which the Dutch won 2-0 away, he retired
from the international football team and told then coach Dick Advocaat that he will no longer wanted to feature for the Dutch team. At the end of the Scottish
Premier League season of 2002/2003, he announced his retirement. A late offer by Villarreal CF from the Spanish Primera Liga failed to convince him to renounce his retirement vow and he
cited the reasons that he would like some time to reconsider his future plans, albeit not as a professional player. He refused to
continue his illustrious career in Holland as he was not looking forward to start
afresh training and playing hectic games every week. His total of international caps for the Dutch team stands at 45 caps.
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