 | FACTFILE Born: 17/07/72 Club: Lazio Position: Defender Debut: 24/04/96 v Germany |
A determined and solid centre-half, Jaap Stam's career has been littered with controversy. He starred in Manchester United's treble-winning 1999 side just a year after joining from PSV Eindhoven.
But he was shipped out of Old Trafford after claiming in his autobiography that manager Sir Alex Ferguson had made an illegal approach to him in Holland.
He signed for Lazio in a �16.5m deal, but was banned for five months after failing a drugs test.
Stam was a central plank in the Dutch side which lost out on penalties in the semi-finals of both the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.
He lists the 1998 defeat by Brazil as his worst match - he watched the shoot-out sat in the centre circle with severe cramp.
Did you know? As a child, Stam was small for his age and earned the nicknamed Little Japie.
MMIX
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
