Marc Overmars Biography

Marc Overmars is a former footballer from Netherlands and the present-day director of football at Ajax. During his football vocation, he played as a winger and was distinguished for his speed and technique.

Marc Overmars date of birth

is 29 March 1973 which means he will turn 48 years old this March. I'm sure many football fans would love to read

Marc Overmars bio. 

He was a hawkeyed midfielder with great vision who excelled at dribbling. During his spell, he played for Barcelona, Ajax, and Arsenal, among other clubs. He was an integral part of Ajax's success story, and a player who was deeply loved by Arsene Wenger and Arsenal fans. The following is an article about Marc Overmars biography. 

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Everything You Need to Know About Marc Overmars bio

Overmars was brought into the world in Emst and was enthusiastic about football at an early age. He started his playing profession at SV Epe prior to joining Go Ahead Eagles' youth team in 1987. He got a spot in the first team in the 1990–91 season, however, he joined Willem II just in time for the following season. His tenure at the club was short; after 31 appearances he finished signed a contract with Ajax in 1992. He proved himself as a vital member of the team that won three Eredivisie titles from between 1994 and 1996 and the UEFA Champions League in 1995. In December 1995, Overmars supported a cruciate ligament injury which ruled him out of playing for eight months.

As we mentioned,

Marc Overmars nationality

is Dutch, so it is natural that he would play for

national team. Overmars played for Netherlands national team for 11 years. He scored on his international opener in 1993 against Turkey, and was a member of the Netherlands team for four significant competitions: the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cups, and 2000 and 2004 European Championships.

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Marc Overmars Information

Before diving into the life of the former Ajax and Barcelona player and taking a look at

Marc Overmars childhood

, personal life and professional career, we have listed below a series of basic info to give you an overview of the attacking midfielder.

Marc Overmars Bio

• Full name:

  Marc Overmars

• Nickname:

  The Road Runner

Marc Overmars Physical Stats

• Height:

  1.73 m

• Weight:

  69 kg

• Hair color:

  Brown

Marc Overmars Football Information

• Position:

  Attacking midfielder, striker, winger

• Jersey number:

  11

• Professional debut:

  1990

Marc Overmars

Personal Information

• Date of birth:

  29 March 1973

• Place of birth:

  Emst, Netherlands

• Marital status:

  Married

• Zodiac sign:

  Aries

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Marc Overmars Early Life

To start with

Marc Overmars life story

, let's go back to his childhood. Overmars was brought into the world in Emst, Gelderland, experiencing childhood in a family farm with his folks and helping his granddad with the potato harvest every year. There were no machines or tractors, so when the time came to extract the potatoes, his family tied a rope around Overmars' waist, connected it to a truck and made him run while they pulled the crop out.

His dad Ben portrayed him as a "clumsy" youngster, whose main interest and focus was playing football: "He used to come down 24 stairs to breakfast bouncing a ball on his head." This had an effect on his schoolwork; Overmars was uninterested in school, but did pass "a couple of GCEs ". Ben didn't know whether he put forth the attempt to take his tests just to please him. As a teen, Overmars did a ton of weight-training which improved his pace and agility. He likewise ascribed his speed to his mom who was quick, however "had no time for sports".

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Marc Overmars Profile

Overmars started his playing profession at nearby club SV Epe. In 1987, he joined Go Ahead Eagles at 14 years of age. In the wake of making his advancement into the first team, he joined Willem II for ƒ500,000. 

After one season at Willem II, Overmars signed a contract with Ajax in July 1992. The two clubs chose an exchange expense of ƒ2.5 million, after Ajax's first offer of ƒ1.5 million was dismissed. Manager Louis van Gaal was attracted to Overmars’ playing style in advance and portrayed him as a "multi-functional player". Overmars' season opener came in a 3–0 win against Dordrecht on 16 August 1992. His first goal for Ajax was away to RKC Waalwijk in October. He scored a further seven goals in the 1992–93 season. A few teams decided to battle Overmars' danger with hefty tackles; he despised this, adding, "I don't fall on purpose, but if they continue kicking, I would sometimes give something back in return."

Ajax completed the campaign third in the league; their shape in the last couple of months was portrayed as "maddening" by football essayist David Winner, as they vanquished ultimate champions Feyenoord by five goals, yet lost points to "minnows like MVV Maastricht". The team lost to Auxerre in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup, however didn't end the season without trophies – they beat Heerenveen 6–2 to win the KNVB Cup. Overmars scored two goals in the final. 

started the 1993–94 season with a 4–0 destruction of Feyenoord to lift the Dutch Supercup; Overmars scored the group's fourth goal. In August 1993, he was granted the Dutch Golden Shoe, as voted for by Dutch football writers and journalists. Overmars was content with how his career advanced and said it was a "dream" to play for Ajax. Despite the fact that he played in 42 matches – five less matches than in the past season – his goal tally was significantly better: he scored 12 goals altogether, all of which came in the

. His goals assisted Ajax with winning the leage; the team finished the mission 25 points more than second spot Feyenoord.

Overmars was delighted with his further achievements in the 1994–95 season. Ajax protected the league title and won the UEFA Champions League, beating Milan in the final. He scored against Bayern Munich at the semi-final phase of the UEFA Champions League. In later years, Overmars disapproved the development of the Champions League to incorporate non-league champions: "When I won it with Ajax it was just the groups who finished first who took part. It's not special any more. I think the Champions' League is only a starter for what they want to do in future, create a European League." Overmars' representation of European football had prompted him to be a sought-after player in England. He knew about Arsenal's interest in him, yet was confounded concerning why a move "didn't work out." In the mid-year of 1995, he was connected with a possible move to Manchester United, however said: "No thanks I want to stay with Ajax for two more seasons."

In December 1995, Overmars injured himself during Ajax's match against De Graafschap. Close assessment showed the player had torn ligaments to his left side knee, which was "completely severed". He in this way missed the rest of the 1995–96 season and encouraged Ajax to buy another striker to make up their misfortune. The club anyway signed a contract with left winger Peter Hoekstra in January 1996. Ajax played a second successive Champions League final in May 1996, yet lost to Juventus by a penalty shoot-out. They did anyway hold the league title for a third season.

The presentation of the Bosman ruling in 1995 had negative ramifications for Ajax in the 1996–97 season. The club lost a few players, and reinvested ineffectively. Injuries additionally influenced their challenge for titles; numerous players were extremely tired because of UEFA Euro 1996 and the short summer break that accompanied it. Chairman Michael van Praag was intent to keep the club's players and said that Overmars had signed a four-year contract in 1996. He added, "We are not going to allow them to break their contracts so they are not leaving." On the pitch, Overmars made his comeback from injury against AZ on 28 August 1996. He had his most unprofitable season for Ajax, scoring two goals. The club finished the season in fourth position.

Overmars signed a contract with Arsenal in June 1997. The fee was accounted for to be between £5 million and £7 million, with the player on a five-year contract, paid £18,000 each week. Overmars savored the fierce competition of playing in England: "I like English football because there is more pace. With my speed and quality, I think it will be good for me here." Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger trusted Overmars had his "greatest years ahead of him" and met his measures of a player "used to the pressures of playing for a big club and everything that goes with it". He believed that Arsenal lost the Premier League at home the past season – "we were perhaps the best away team," and remarked on their failure to play expansive football. Wenger felt the marking of Overmars would redress that issue

Overmars made his first competitive start for

against Leeds United in a 1–1 draw on 9 August 1997. After fourteen days, he scored his first goal for the club, away to Southampton. Arsenal went to the highest point of the league table on goal difference in September 1997, after a 4–0 win against West Ham United. Overmars, scored two goals in the match. His effect anyway disappeared in the ensuing months, thus did Arsenal's good shape; a 3–1 thrashing to Blackburn Rovers on 13 December 1997 implied the club dropped to fifth spot.

The turn of the year saw improvement to Overmars' game, which corresponded with "the more general rejuvenation of the whole team". He scored both of Arsenal's goals in their success over Leeds United on 11 January 1998. Overmars up until this point was subject to criticism and analysis from reporters and fans. Wenger underlined that this was his first year in England and there was more to come from him. He said Overmars was a "positive buy" and brought up that his goalscoring record was "not bad for a winger". 

reached league pioneers Manchester United when the two clubs played each other at Old Trafford in March 1998. Overmars was a steady threat in the match, needed to be watched by United defenders and scored in the 80th minute. Arsenal proceeded to win, which put them six points behind Manchester United, with three games close by. Overmars a while later said, "This was a great result for us. But you don't win the Premier League against Manchester United; you have to beat the other clubs." Arsenal overtook Manchester United in April 1998, and won the league after beating Everton on 3 May 1998; Overmars scored two goals in the match. Arsenal later confronted Newcastle United in the 1998 FA Cup Final and it was Overmars who scored the opener of the game, in the 23rd minute. Anelka's goal in the second half guaranteed triumph and completed a league and cup double for Arsenal.

Overmars started the 1998–99 season for

in great shape; scoring the initial goal in a 3–0 win against Manchester United, hence being named as the man of the match of the 1998 FA Charity Shield. He likewise got on the scoresheet again at home to Nottingham Forest in the season opener of the league. Arsenal took part in the Champions League; however, they didn’t stay long in the competition. The team didn't make it to the knockout stage, failing to qualify from the group stage. In the decisive game against Dynamo Kyiv which they lost, Overmars was ruled out with a stomach injury.

In November 1999, Overmars scored his first hat-trick for Arsenal, at home to Middlesbrough. He twisted his ankle in the match against Sheffield Wednesday in January 2000 and was down and out for about a month and a half. In contrast to the past two seasons, Arsenal never posed a serious threat to Manchester United, who proceeded to hold the league in 1999–2000. Overmars had recommended before the league campaign that Arsenal were pretty much as solid as their adversaries, "particularly in attack where we now have so many more options". Arsenal finished the league firmly, dominating eight games in succession among March and May to move from fifth to second place. In April 2000, Overmars scored the triumphant goal against Everton and was the valuable player who stood out in the game. His last game for Arsenal was the 2000 UEFA Cup Final against Galatasaray, which they lost 4–1 on penalties after a goalless draw. 

In 2008, Overmars was voted as the 12th most noteworthy player in Arsenal's history by the club's fans. 

After the Netherlands' exit at Euro 2000, Lazio and Barcelona were apparently keen on signing Overmars; while Barca hurried their endeavors once Joan Gaspart was chosen as president. Overmars was "flattered" by Barcelona's transfer offer and said moving to such a club would "excite any player".Gaspart headed out to London to open negotiating talks with Arsenal and in the long run agreed to sign Overmars and his teammate Emmanuel Petit for a joined expense of around £32 million in July 2000. Overmars cost £25 million, making him the most expensive Dutch player in football history.

The declaration of his transfer was unusual; he promoted it on his own website prior to informing the media. His website accumulated 250,000 hits in a single day, featuring the web's "potential for dramatic development" with respect to football. Overmars was charmed with the move, saying, "I can hardly wait to pull on the famous shirt and play my first game." 

Overmars made his introduction for Barcelona against Arsenal in the Amsterdam Tournament in August 2000. He endured 45 minutes and was subbed after an ankle injury. His first competitive start came at home to Málaga on 8 September 2000. His performance in the match got going admirably, then blurred out prior to returning the second half, thought Andrés Astruells in El Mundo Deportivo. He scored his first goal for the club at home to Racing de Santander on 23 September 2000. Barcelona made an aloof start to the 2000–01 season and by February 2001. Wenger was promoted as his replacement after reportedly meeting with Gaspart. Overmars was almost certain his previous manager planned to leave Arsenal and uncovered that, "Barcelona have asked for lots of information about Wenger. I think something could happen soon." In La Liga, Overmars scored the group's seventh goal in their 7–0 win against Athletic Bilbao in February 2001; his performance was evaluated four stars out of five by El Mundo Deportivo.

Barcelona left the semi-final phase of the UEFA Cup due to a defeat to Liverpool in April 2001. Serra Ferrer was sacked seven days after this and was replaced by Carles Rexach. As the season began to close, Overmars transformed into an effective player for Barcelona. Lowe named him as "Barça's only decent player in weeks" and was astonished he began the game against Real Valladolid from the bench in June 2001. At the point when Overmars came onto the pitch, he scored the equalizer to acquire Barcelona a 2–2 draw. The team finished the campaign in fourth spot after an emotional 3–2 win against Valencia. 

While on international call up with the Netherlands in September 2001, Overmars endured a bruised knee and thus didn't play for Barcelona for a month. In November 2001, he scored Barcelona's third goal against Liverpool in the Champions League, which came after 29 continuous passes without any interruptions. Contrasted with the past season, Overmars was utilized all the more sparingly in matches. Rexach had changed the team’s development to adapt newly arrived Javier Saviola and promoted Xavi as a first-team regular. Overmars had an effect as a substitute against Galatasaray in December 2001; he set up Saviola twice to gain a draw for Barcelona. Mircea Lucescu, the manager of Galatasaray, complimented Overmars after the match: "When we were 2–0 up I told my players at half-time to maintain the result, but Overmars is a great player. We did not have a solution to him and it threw our game off balance." 

Overmars was the focus of transfer speculations in mid-2002 in view of his limited role in the main team, yet he uncovered he was glad to remain at

: "My priority now is that the team wins. Personal issues are not important. I'm here for whatever you need me." In the Champions League, he began in the semi-final first leg against Real Madrid; the team lost 2–0 and were crushed 3–1 on aggregate. In May 2002, Rexach was sacked and replaced by Louis van Gaal, who took over the job for a second time. Overmars went through a medical surgery on his right knee toward the end of the season and was down and out for a decent half year. 

The 2002–03 season saw Barcelona make their noticeably terrible start to a league season; the club was two points off a relegation spot after a defeat to Sevilla in December 2002. Van Gaal left the club in January 2003 and following a board meeting, Gaspart stepped down as president a month later. Radomir Antić presided as manager for the rest of the season. He urged the team to play with more width and rolled out small, yet effective improvements; for example, he changed Overmars from a left winger to a right one. Overmars tore a muscle in his thigh during a Copa del Rey match against Terrassa in May 2003 and was sidelined for a month. 

In his last season for

, the club designated Frank Rijkaard as manager and chose Joan Laporta as president. The club finished second in La Liga and were knocked out of the UEFA Cup by Celtic in the fourth round. Overmars played 29 games in the first team, three games less than past season. He was productive in the Copa del Rey, a competition in which he scored twice in three matches. Because of a relentless knee injury, he declared his retirement from football in July 2004 and left Barcelona without pay. 

International Career

Overmars' first call-up to the

national team came in February 1993 for a 1994 World Cup qualifier against Turkey. He scored five minutes into his presence, after great play from Wim Jonk. The team proceeded to win 3–1 and Overmars said the goal was useful for his confidence. Dick Advocaat, the manager of the Netherlands, was positive about the debutant's exhibition. In April 1993, Overmars earned the national team a penalty against England after Des Walker fouled him. Peter van Vossen scored from the spot kick to finish a comeback for the Netherlands, who had been 2–0 down after only 24 minutes.

The national team qualified for the 1994 FIFA World Cup in November 1993. Advocaat chose Overmars for the competition and he was present in all of the Netherlands' five matches. Against the Republic of Ireland in the round of 16, he took advantage of Terry Phelan's header expected for goalkeeper Packie Bonner and ran away to set up Dennis Bergkamp to score.

The Netherlands were eliminated however, in the quarter-finals against Brazil; Advocaat employed Overmars as an additional attacker, however for a large part of the match he played as one of five midfielders. His corner in the 76th minute was met by Aron Winter and leveled the scores at 2–2 for a short period – a goal from Branco settled the match for Brazil. Overmars' extraordinary performances in the World Cup drove him to be named the best young player of the 1994 World Cup.

In October 1995, he scored a hat-trick for the Netherlands in their Euro 1996 qualifier away to Malta. He was satisfied with his performance in the match – "things are getting better," and felt he expected to practice his shooting and inward running strategy. Overmars didn't take part in the competition finals as he was recovering from his knee ligament injury. The player got back to worldwide activity for the 1998 World Cup qualifier against Wales in November 1996. He thought his best position for the national team was upfront, however manager Guus Hiddink needed him to stay as a winger.

Overmars was chosen in the squad for the 1998 World Cup, organized in France. Before the competition started, he scored two goals in a friendly against Paraguay. He was on the scoresheet in the national teams's 5–0 win against South Korea in the group stage. As the competition advanced, Overmars felt the Netherlands were "getting better and better" and accepted they could win the World Cup: "Believe me, we can do it. In the past, there has been so much talk about our side and a lot of pressure with people calling us favourites. This time, nobody seemed to expect anything. In fact, people would come up to me in the street and say we were only dark horses to win."

While preparing before the quarter-final match against Argentina, he sustained an injury which apparently ruled him out. He played late into the game as a substitute, yet disturbed his physical issue and aggravated his injury. He was accordingly benched during the whole semi-final against Brazil, which the Netherlands lost on penalty shoot-outs.

Overmars endured a minor misfortune preceding Euro 2000 with a sore thigh muscle. However, he continued training and preparing and was proclaimed fit for the

opening match against Czech Republic, where he was benched. His performance achieved the only goal of the match – a penalty scored the 89th minute. In the quarter-finals, he scored twice in the team's 6–1 success against Yugoslavia. The Netherlands proceeded to lose their semi-final to Italy on penalties. Overmars played in eight of the national team's ten 2002 World Cup qualifying matches, however it was an ineffective attempt as they failed to qualify for the finals.

Following a year's gap from international football because of injury, Overmars was recalled to the Netherlands team for their friendly match against Portugal in April 2003. After two months, he went ahead as a substitute against Belarus in a Euro 2004 qualifier and scored the initial goal of the game. He was chosen for the competition held in Portugal, and was prompted by Advocaat not to train more than once per day, so his body would oppose burn out. Overmars just began three matches in Euro 2004, his last game was the Netherlands loss to Portugal in the semi-final. In all, he played in 86 games for his national side, scoring 17 goals.

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Style of play

A footballer with a diminutive stature, Overmars in his prime was depicted as "the archetypal winger", whose speed, vision, two-footedness and dribbling capacity implied he had the option to get the better of most defenders and either score or provide strikers with goals. For sure, speed, agility and acceleration was a significant piece of his game’s puzzle and those attributed well to his nicknames "

TGV

" and "

Roadrunner

".Former teammate Petit said his solidarity lay "..... in pushing the ball beyond his marker and darting past him into space to deliver crosses".Former defender Gary Neville thought that Overmars was the best winger he faced in his time at Manchester United, not just for his versatility, which was exemplified by Overmars' capacity to play on both the left and the right, in spite of being normally right footed.

Overmars was additionally known to be injury-inclined all through his profession. 

Reception

He was a good dribbler who could beat people one-on-one and that was important for a winger in our system. But he also had a very good assist record and he could score goals.

— Louis van Gaal on Overmars, June 2004

Football pundit Alan Hansen believed Overmars benefited from a "strange feature of the modern English game"

Overmars was Arsene Wenger’s favorite player.

Goal Celebration

Overmars used to get overjoyed after scoring goals, thus he displayed various celebrations in his career. One of the most repeated celebrations we can mention is his running towards fans with open arms, implying fans that he wanted to embrace them. 

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Marc Overmars Outside Football

In this part of

Marc Overmars biography

, we explore his life outside football, with reference to

Marc Overmars religion

, his personal life and family. Don’t close the article yet. There is more to come.

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Marc Overmars Personal Life

Overmars is a co-owner of a restaurant in Epe, in the region of Gelderland, where he stays. The privately-run company, Overmars Vastgoed bv, was established during the 1990s and continues to invest in, in addition to other things, commercial and residential buildings. With his dad Ben and sibling Edwin, he additionally runs a vehicle service shop named Overmars Classic Cars. In 2002, Overmars showed up in the Quote 500 most extravagant Dutch people list for the first time, at number 441.

Marc Overmars is a Christian, however, there aren’t accurate information as to what type of Christianity he practices. 

In February 2005, Overmars turned into an investor and shareholder of Go Ahead Eagles. After two months, he joined the club's supervisory board to manage technical problems and issues.

Family, Children, and Relationships

Overmars wedded his long-time partner Chantal van Woensel in May 2013. Preceding the wedding, the couple had two sons, Frenkie and Nick, both of whom are footballers now.

Philanthropy

In July 2008, Overmars played in Jaap Stam's farewell match in a team of "former Stam-mates" against Ajax. His performance, which saw him trouble defender George Ogăraru, acquired him various offers from Dutch and German clubs to make his professional return to the game.

He declined the proposals at first, yet in August 2008 reported he was to emerge from retirement to play again for Go Ahead Eagles. Overmars' return lasted just for one season as his knee kept on giving him pain and distress.

Legal Issues

Overmars was a quiet, law-obeying player who never broke a rule in his footballing days. Thus, we can expect no controversies during Overmars’ life and football career.

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Marc Overmars Career Statistics

In this section of

Marc Overmars biography

, we will look at Overmars’ career statistics, both at club and international level.

Club

Overmars has played 537 games in total, scoring 106 times.

International

Overmars has played 86 matches for Netherlands, scoring 17 times.

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Marc Overmars Honors

Overmars has won several prestigious trophies in his career, including but not limited to 3 Eredivisies, one Premier League, one UEFA Champions League, and one FA Cup.   

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