Totally Extra: The very talented Mr Rijkaard

Summary of Totally Extra: The very talented Mr Rijkaard

by The Athletic

55m•September 19, 2026
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Overview of The Athletic FC: Totally Extra — “The very talented Mr Rijkaard”

This episode is a deep dive into Frank Rijkaard, one of football’s most complete and quietly influential figures: a player who could excel almost anywhere on the pitch, a key piece in two of the greatest club sides ever, and a manager who helped reshape the Netherlands and Barcelona before walking away from football almost as suddenly as he arrived. The discussion highlights Rijkaard’s rare blend of technical quality, tactical intelligence, humility, and emotional calm — with the infamous spit on Rudi Völler standing out as a shocking exception rather than the rule.

Key themes and takeaways

Rijkaard as the ultimate all-rounder

  • The panel repeatedly emphasizes that Rijkaard wasn’t necessarily the best player in one specific role, but he was extraordinary because he could play almost any role:
    • centre-back
    • central midfielder
    • stopper/marker
    • ball-progressing deep creator
  • He was described as:
    • technically excellent
    • physically powerful
    • tactically disciplined
    • intelligent enough to adapt to any system
  • Michael Cox’s point: if you had to build a team from one player, Rijkaard is close to the ideal because he could fill so many gaps.

A central figure in two historic club dynasties

  • Rijkaard was at the heart of:
    • AC Milan’s legendary late-1980s/early-1990s side
    • Ajax’s mid-1990s title-winning team
  • The panel frames him as more than a passenger in those teams:
    • at Milan, he was a stable, brilliant presence in a side packed with stars
    • at Ajax, he was the experienced leader amid a wave of young talent
  • His career is remarkable for being a major contributor to two different all-time great club projects.

The Cruyff conflict and his independence

  • A major early turning point was his fallout with Johan Cruyff at Ajax.
  • Cruyff wanted Rijkaard to be a vocal on-field leader, but Rijkaard was not an alpha-male personality and did not want that role.
  • That tension eventually pushed Rijkaard out, leading to an unusual spell at Real Zaragoza.
  • The story reinforces one of the episode’s central ideas: Rijkaard was not driven by ego or status, but by football itself.

Euro 1988 and the Dutch breakthrough

  • Rijkaard was a crucial part of the Netherlands’ Euro 88 triumph — the country’s first major title.
  • He was often used in a more defensive, subordinate role, including:
    • marking opponents like Gary Lineker
    • still initiating attacks after winning possession
  • The panel sees Euro 88 as a defining moment for Dutch football and for Rijkaard’s reputation among serious observers.

The Milan years: elegance inside a ruthless machine

  • Rijkaard joined AC Milan in 1988 and became part of a side of extraordinary quality.
  • The episode notes how Milan dominated European football and how Rijkaard’s value lay in:
    • doing the difficult things well
    • rarely making mistakes
    • giving the team flexibility
  • One memorable anecdote: at a Berlusconi banquet, Rijkaard stood up to acknowledge him when the Dutch table ignored the performative entrance — a small example of his politeness and social intelligence.

Return to Ajax and leadership in the 1995 triumph

  • Rijkaard returned to Ajax and played a major role in the club’s early-1990s resurgence.
  • The panel highlights:
    • Ajax’s undefeated runs
    • the club’s technically advanced, collective style
    • Rijkaard’s role as the experienced anchor among young stars like Seedorf, Davids, and Kluivert
  • In the 1995 Champions League final, he was part of the team that beat Milan, completing a strange and poetic football circle.
  • He was also credited with delivering a crucial half-time speech, despite being a reluctant leader earlier in his career.

Managerial career: capable, calm, and underappreciated

  • Rijkaard’s coaching career was viewed as unusual but effective:
    • helped the Netherlands at Euro 2000
    • suffered relegation with Sparta Rotterdam
    • rebuilt Barcelona
    • later worked at Galatasaray and with Saudi Arabia
  • His Barcelona spell is portrayed as especially important:
    • the club had gone years without a trophy
    • Rijkaard helped reset the culture
    • he managed a team that included Ronaldinho, Deco, and later a young Messi
  • Michael Cox argues he was the right man at the right time, particularly for handling talents like Ronaldinho.

Why he quit football

  • The most striking part of Rijkaard’s story is not just what he achieved, but that he walked away.
  • He clearly did not need football emotionally or financially once his playing and coaching goals were met.
  • Unlike many managers who become addicted to the profession, Rijkaard appears to have simply decided he was done.

Notable anecdotes and insights

The spitting incident

  • Duncan’s “seared into memory” image of Rijkaard is the 1990 World Cup spit at Rudi Völler.
  • The episode stresses that this was wildly out of character:
    • Rijkaard was normally gentle, mature, and non-confrontational
    • the incident became iconic, but it was not representative of who he was
  • Simon Kuper notes that Rijkaard and Völler later appeared together in a friendly advertisement, symbolizing how little personal hatred actually underpinned the moment.

His football philosophy

  • Rijkaard is presented as a deeply “thinking” footballer:
    • he valued logic, spacing, and one-touch combinations
    • he understood football as a structured game of relationships and timing
  • This mindset carried into coaching, where he was calm, measured, and adaptable rather than ideological.

His personality

  • Multiple speakers describe him as:
    • cool
    • unshowy
    • psychologically astute
    • uninterested in self-mythologizing
  • He sounds like a player who was comfortable being excellent without needing attention.

Quiz answer from the episode

Three Dutchmen in the first Premier League season (1992–93)

The answer given in the episode:

  • Hans Segers
  • Ken Monkou
  • Michel Vonk

Final verdict

Rijkaard is portrayed as one of football’s great understated giants: a player of rare versatility, a key figure in multiple legendary teams, and a manager whose calm intelligence helped transform both the Dutch national setup and Barcelona. The episode’s central argument is that his greatness came not from charisma or drama, but from mastery, adaptability, and emotional control — with one infamous exception that only made him more memorable.