Not to be confused with Jean-Marc Bosman, the man responsible for the
Bosman ruling Johannes "John" Jacobus Bosman is a
Dutch retired footballer who played as a striker.
A prolific goalscorer for both club and country, he played professionally for 19
years, most notably with Ajax and Anderlecht, surpassing the 100-goal mark
with both clubs and winning a total of eight major titles combined.
Nicknamed Bossie, Bosman represented Netherlands at the 1994 World Cup and
Euro 1988, helping the national team win the latter tournament.
Club career = Ajax =
Born in Bovenkerk, Amstelveen, Bosman began his professional career at AFC
Ajax, making his Eredivisie debut on 20 November 1983 at the age of 18 in a 5–2
home win against Roda JC, scoring in the match. He finished his first season with
four goals in 14 games. From 1984 to 1987, Bosman and fellow
youth graduate Marco van Basten scored an astonishing 138 league goals
combined, as the Amsterdam club won the 1985 national championship and two cups.
After van Basten left for A.C. Milan in the 1987 summer, he netted 25 goals in
32 games as the team finished second to PSV Eindhoven; he also helped it to the
season's UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final, a 0–1 loss to KV Mechelen – the previous
year, as Ajax won the competition, he was crowned top scorer with eight goals.
= Mechelen = Bosman signed for the Belgian club in
the 1988 off-season, reuniting with former Ajax manager Aad de Mos. He
scored twice against PSV, in a 3–0 home win in the first leg of the 1988
European Super Cup. Additionally, Bosman netted in double
digits in both of his seasons with the Yellow Reds, notably scoring 18 in his
first as the team won the national championship after a 41-year wait.
= Anderlecht = After one year back in his country with
PSV Eindhoven, as successor to Wim Kieft who signed with a team in France – he
served mainly as a target player for Romário, but felt uncomfortable in that
role, and was also under threat of losing his starting position to
youngster Twan Scheepers – Bosman returned to Belgium and joined R.S.C.
Anderlecht, reuniting with former Mechelen teammates Graeme Rutjes and
Bruno Versavel and being dubbed "The Giraffe".
In 1996, new manager Johan Boskamp relegated Bosman to the bench, but he
was overall a solid contributor in the conquest of three consecutive leagues
and the 1993–94 Belgian Cup, his worst league output being six goals in
1994–95. = Later years =
Aged 31, Bosman returned to the Netherlands and signed for FC Twente,
scoring 20 goals in his first season as the Enschede side finished third and
qualified to the UEFA Cup, and being regularly used for the remainder of his
spell. He played a further three years with
fellow league club AZ – also signing as a free agent – and finished his
professional career at 37 with league totals of 522 games and 241 goals. He
retired from football for good after a very brief spell with amateurs Amsterdam
FC; in October 2001, his five-year-old son Devin died in a traffic accident.
International career Bosman played 30 times for the
Netherlands, making his debut on 14 May 1986 in a 1–3 friendly loss in West
Germany. He was selected by manager Rinus Michels for the UEFA Euro 1988
tournament, initially as starter, but lost his position after the 0–1 group
stage loss against the Soviet Union, his position being taken by former Ajax
teammate van Basten, who would be crowned the competition's top scorer as
the national team emerged victorious. Bosman was also picked for the squad
that appeared at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States, being an unused
squad member. = Bomb incident =
Bosman scored nine of his 17 international goals against the same
opponent, Cyprus, in three different matches. In an Euro 1988 qualifier on 28
October 1987, in Rotterdam, a homemade bomb or firework exploded in the early
stages of the contest close to Cypriot goalkeeper Andreas Charitou; Charitou
was stretchered off and replaced, and the Cypriot players left the field in
protest and refused to continue playing. After much pressure from the Dutch side,
Luxembourg referee Roger Philippi decided the game could continue. The
match ended 8–0 with Bosman establishing a national-team record of five goals in
one game, but it was never officially recognised, as UEFA decided that the
match was invalid and Cyprus were awarded a 0–3 victory instead, giving
Greece the opportunity to qualify; the Dutch made an appeal which carried the
risk of exclusion, with Dr. Greep stating that Charitou was not actually
injured, which resulted in a replay in Amsterdam.
On 9 December 1987 Netherlands won 4–0, with Bosman netting a hat-trick and
seeing his team through to the final stages in West Germany. Greece were
extremely unhappy with the decision, accusing UEFA's West German chairman of
preferring a Dutch team in the finals, bringing a larger crowd of supporters to
the stadia; after the protests, the Hellenic Football Federation decided to
move the last group match to a small stadium in Rhodes and field a
sub-standard team – Netherlands also won that game.
The bomb was hidden in a tennis ball. The thrower was 21-year-old John Staal
from Oss, who was immediately arrested. Honours
= Club = Ajax
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1986–87; Runner-up 1987–88
Eredivisie: 1984–85 KNVB Cup: 1985–86, 1986–87
Mechelen UEFA Super Cup: 1988
Belgian Pro League: 1988–89 PSV
Eredivisie: 1990–91 Anderlecht
Belgian Pro League: 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95
Belgian Cup: 1993–94 = Country =
UEFA European Championship: 1988 References
External links Beijen profile
John Bosman profile and stats at Wereld van Oranje
John Bosman at National-Football-Teams.com
John Bosman – FIFA competition record