View source for John Bosman

{{short description|Dutch footballer}}
{{For|the former Belgian footballer who the [[Bosman ruling]] was named after|Jean-Marc Bosman}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = John Bosman
| image = Johnny-bosman-1337028484.jpg
| upright = 0.9
| caption = Bosman in 2011
| full_name = Johannes Jacobus Bosman
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1965|2|1|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Bovenkerk, Amstelveen|Bovenkerk]], Netherlands
| height = 1.87 m
| position = [[Forward (association football)|Forward]]
| currentclub =
| youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 = Roda '23
| youthyears2 = | youthclubs2 = RKAVIC
| years1 = 1983–1988 | clubs1 = [[AFC Ajax|Ajax]] | caps1 = 125 | goals1 = 77
| years2 = 1988–1990 | clubs2 = [[KV Mechelen|Mechelen]] | caps2 = 61 | goals2 = 34
| years3 = 1990–1991 | clubs3 = [[PSV Eindhoven|PSV]] | caps3 = 30 | goals3 = 11
| years4 = 1991–1996 | clubs4 = [[R.S.C. Anderlecht|Anderlecht]] | caps4 = 156 | goals4 = 70
| years5 = 1996–1999 | clubs5 = [[FC Twente|Twente]] | caps5 = 87 | goals5 = 34
| years6 = 1999–2002 | clubs6 = [[AZ (football club)|AZ]] | caps6 = 62 | goals6 = 24
| totalcaps = 521 | totalgoals = 250
| nationalyears1 = 1986–1997 | nationalteam1 = [[Netherlands national football team|Netherlands]] | nationalcaps1 = 30 | nationalgoals1 = 17
| medaltemplates = {{MedalCountry|{{fb|NED}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[UEFA European Championship]]}}
{{Medal|Winner|[[UEFA Euro 1988|1988 West Germany]]|}}
}}
'''Johannes "John" Jacobus Bosman''' (born 1 February 1965) is a Dutch former professional [[association football|footballer]] who played as a [[forward (association football)|forward]].

A prolific goalscorer for both club and country, he played professionally for 19 years, most notably with [[AFC Ajax|Ajax]] (five seasons) and [[R.S.C. Anderlecht|Anderlecht]] (five), surpassing the 100-goal mark with both clubs and winning a total of eight major titles combined.

Nicknamed ''Bossie'', Bosman represented [[Netherlands national football team|Netherlands]] at the [[1994 FIFA World Cup|1994 World Cup]] and [[UEFA Euro 1988|Euro 1988]], helping the national team win the latter tournament.

==Club career==
===Ajax===
Born in [[Bovenkerk, Amstelveen|Bovenkerk]], [[Amstelveen]], Bosman began his professional career at [[AFC Ajax|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.<ref>[http://www.rtvnh.nl/sport/180650/column-vergeten-voetbalhelden-john-bosman Column 'vergeten' voetbalhelden: John Bosman ('Forgotten' heroes column: John Bosman)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161029111918/http://www.rtvnh.nl/sport/180650/column-vergeten-voetbalhelden-john-bosman |date=29 October 2016 }}; [[NH (media company)|NH]], 29 February 2016 (in Dutch)</ref> He finished [[1983–84 Eredivisie|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 (48 for Bosman), as the [[Amsterdam]] club [[1984–85 Eredivisie|won the 1985 national championship]] and two [[KNVB Cup|cups]]. After van Basten left for [[A.C. Milan]] in the 1987 summer, he netted 25 goals in 32 games as the team [[1987–88 Eredivisie|finished second]] to [[PSV Eindhoven]]; he also helped it to [[1987–88 European Cup Winners' Cup|the season]]'s [[UEFA Cup Winners' Cup]] [[1988 European Cup Winners' Cup Final|final]], a 1–0 loss to [[KV Mechelen|Mechelen]] – [[1986–87 European Cup Winners' Cup|the previous year]], as Ajax won the competition, he was crowned top scorer with eight goals.<ref>[https://www.rsssf.org/ec/ec2tops.html Cup Winners Cup Topscorers]; at [[Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation|RSSSF]]</ref>

===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]] (eventual 3–1 aggregate success).

Additionally, Bosman netted in double digits in both of his seasons with the Yellow Reds, notably scoring 18 in [[1988–89 Belgian First Division|his first]] as the team won the [[Belgian Pro League|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|Anderlecht]], reuniting with former Mechelen teammates [[Graeme Rutjes]] and [[Bruno Versavel]] (and eventually de Mos) and being dubbed "The Giraffe".

In 1996, new manager [[Johan Boskamp]] relegated Bosman to [[Substitute (association football)|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 Belgian First Division|1994–95]].

===Later years===
Aged 31, Bosman returned to the Netherlands and signed for [[FC Twente|Twente]], scoring 20 goals in [[1996–97 Eredivisie|his first season]] as the [[Enschede]] side finished third and [[1997–98 UEFA Cup|qualified]] to the [[UEFA Europa League|UEFA Cup]], and being regularly used for the remainder of his spell.

He played a further three years with fellow league club [[AZ (football 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 [[Amsterdamsche FC|Amsterdam FC]], later going on to work with Ajax as a striker coach.<ref>[http://www.parool.nl/sport/john-bosman-op-zijn-plek-als-jeugdtrainer-ik-hoef-geen-eigen-team~a4292470/ John Bosman op zijn plek als jeugdtrainer: 'Ik hoef geen eigen team' (John Bosman op zijn plek als jeugdtrainer: 'Ik hoef geen eigen team')]; [[Het Parool]], 30 April 2016 (in Dutch)</ref>

==International career==
Bosman played 30 times for the [[Netherlands national football team|Netherlands]], making his debut on 14 May 1986 in a 3–1 [[friendly (association football)|friendly]] loss in [[Germany national football team|West Germany]]. He was selected by manager [[Rinus Michels]] for the [[UEFA Euro 1988]] tournament, initially as starter and the top goal scorer during the qualification state, but lost his position after the 1–0 group stage loss against the [[Soviet Union national football team|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/history/news/0253-0d7b2f78ca99-40f24ef873fd-1000--van-basten-volley-crowns-netherlands-euro-1988-final-win-ag/|title=Van Basten ends Dutch wait|publisher=[[UEFA]]|date=5 October 2003|access-date=26 November 2015}}</ref>

Bosman was also picked for the squad that appeared at the [[1994 FIFA World Cup]] in the United States, after [[Ruud Gullit]] refused to play for the national team in these World Cup, being an unused squad member.

===Bomb incident===
Bosman scored nine of his 17 international goals against the same opponent, [[Cyprus national football team|Cyprus]], in three different matches. In a [[UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying|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 (association football)|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 3–0 victory instead, giving [[Greece national football team|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 and Bosman netted a [[hat-trick]] to see 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 (3–0).

The bomb was hidden in a tennis ball. The thrower was 21-year-old John Staal from [[Oss]], who was immediately arrested.<ref>[http://netherlands.worldcupblog.org/euro-2008/lucky-orange-in-1988.html Lucky Orange in 1988] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111030011846/http://netherlands.worldcupblog.org/euro-2008/lucky-orange-in-1988.html |date=30 October 2011 }}; Netherlands World Cup Blog, 18 May 2008</ref><ref>[http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/?news/100241352/John+Staal+reageert+op+bomincident+in+1988.aspx John Staal reageert op bomincident in 1988 (John Staal responds to bomb incident in 1988)]; [[Omroep Brabant]], 1 June 2008 (in Dutch)</ref>

==Personal life==
In October 2001, Bosman's five-year-old son Devin died in a traffic accident.<ref>[http://www.f-side.nl/archief/oktober01.html Oproep: condoleance John Bosman (Death: condolences to John Bosman)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425082601/http://www.f-side.nl/archief/oktober01.html |date=25 April 2012 }}; F-Side, 17 October 2001 (in Dutch)</ref>

==Career statistics==
===Club===
{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition<ref name="wf">{{cite web |title=John Bosman » Club matches |url=https://www.worldfootball.net/player_summary/john-bosman/2/ |website=worldfootball.net |access-date=14 December 2022}}</ref><ref name="nft">{{NFT|14156}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
|-
!rowspan=2|Club
!rowspan=2|Season
!colspan=3|League
!colspan=2|National cup
!colspan=2|Europe
!colspan=2|Other
!colspan=2|Total
|-
!Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan=6|[[AFC Ajax|Ajax]]
|[[1983–84 Eredivisie|1983–84]]
|[[Eredivisie]]
|14||4||0||0||0||0||colspan=2|—||14||4
|-
|[[1984–85 Eredivisie|1984–85]]
|Eredivisie
|23||6||0||0||4{{efn|name=UC|Appearances in [[UEFA Europa League|UEFA Cup]]}}||3||colspan=2|—||27||9
|-
|[[1985–86 Eredivisie|1985–86]]
|Eredivisie
|23||19||0||0||0||0||colspan=2|—||23||19
|-
|[[1986–87 Eredivisie|1986–87]]
|Eredivisie
|33||23||4||4||7{{efn|name=CWC|Appearances in [[UEFA Cup Winners' Cup|European Cup Winners' Cup]]}}||8||colspan=2|—||44||35
|-
|[[1987–88 Eredivisie|1987–88]]
|Eredivisie
|32||25||1||0||9{{efn|name=CWC}}||1||1{{efn|Appearance in [[UEFA Super Cup]]}}||0||43||26
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!125||77||5||4||20||12||1||0||151||93
|-
|rowspan=3|[[K.V. Mechelen|Mechelen]]
|[[1988–89 Belgian First Division|1988–89]]
|[[Belgian Pro League|Belgian First Division]]
|30||18||||||7{{efn|name=CWC}}||3||colspan=2|—||37||21
|-
|[[1989–90 Belgian First Division|1989–90]]
|Belgian First Division
|31||16||||||6{{efn|name=EC|Appearances in [[UEFA Champions League|European Cup]]}}||3||colspan=2|—||37||19
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!61||34||||||13||6||colspan=2|—||74||40
|-
|[[PSV Eindhoven|PSV]]
|[[1990–91 Eredivisie|1990–91]]
|Eredivisie
|30||11||4||3||2{{efn|name=CWC}}||0||colspan=2|—||36||14
|-
|rowspan=6|[[R.S.C. Anderlecht|Anderlecht]]
|[[1991–92 Belgian First Division|1991–92]]
|Belgian First Division
|32||16||||||6{{efn|name=EC}}||1||colspan=2|—||38||17
|-
|[[1992–93 Belgian First Division|1992–93]]
|Belgian First Division
|30||13||||||1{{efn|name=UC}}||1||colspan=2|—||31||14
|-
|[[1993–94 Belgian First Division|1993–94]]
|Belgian First Division
|33||20||||||10{{efn|name=UCL|Appearances in [[UEFA Champions League]]}}||3||colspan=2|—||43||23
|-
|[[1994–95 Belgian First Division|1994–95]]
|Belgian First Division
|31||6||||||6{{efn|name=UCL}}||1||colspan=2|—||37||7
|-
|[[1995–96 Belgian First Division|1995–96]]
|Belgian First Division
|30||15||||||1{{efn|name=UCL}}||0||colspan=2|—||31||15
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!156||70||||||24||6||colspan=2|—||180||76
|-
|rowspan=4|[[FC Twente|Twente]]
|[[1996–97 Eredivisie|1996–97]]
|Eredivisie
|33||20||4||7||colspan=2|—||colspan=2|—||37||27
|-
|[[1997–98 Eredivisie|1997–98]]
|Eredivisie
|24||6||5||2||4{{efn|name=UC}}||0||colspan=2|—||33||8
|-
|[[1998–99 Eredivisie|1998–99]]
|Eredivisie
|30||8||4||2||4{{efn|Appearances in [[UEFA Intertoto Cup]]}}||1||colspan=2|—||38||11
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!87||34||13||11||8||1||colspan=2|—||108||46
|-
|rowspan=4|[[AZ Alkmaar|AZ]]
|[[1999–2000 Eredivisie|1999–2000]]
|Eredivisie
|31||18||6||3||colspan=2|—||colspan=2|—||37||21
|-
|[[2000–01 Eredivisie|2000–01]]
|Eredivisie
|21||4||4||2||colspan=2|—||colspan=2|—||25||6
|-
|[[2001–02 Eredivisie|2001–02]]
|Eredivisie
|10||2||2||0||colspan=2|—||colspan=2|—||12||2
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!62||24||12||5||colspan=2|—||colspan=2|—||74||29
|-
!colspan=3|Career total
!521||250||34||23||67||25||1||0||623||298
|}
{{notelist}}

===International===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year<ref name="wf"/><ref name="nft">{{NFT|14156}}</ref>
|-
!National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="12"|[[Netherlands national football team|Netherlands]]
|1986||4||1
|-
|1987||5||8
|-
|1988||6||2
|-
|1989||5||2
|-
|1990||2||0
|-
|1991||0||0
|-
|1992||0||0
|-
|1993||3||3
|-
|1994||3||0
|-
|1995||0||0
|-
|1996||0||0
|-
|1997||2||1
|-
!colspan="2"|Total!!30!!17
|}

:''Scores and results list The Netherlands' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bosman goal.''

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of international goals scored by John Bosman<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eu-football.info/_player.php?id=2384|title=John Bosman|publisher=European Football|access-date=26 November 2015}}</ref>
|-
!scope="col"|No.
!scope="col"|Date
!scope="col"|Venue
!scope="col"|Opponent
!scope="col"|Score
!scope="col"|Result
!scope="col"|Competition
|-
| align="center"|1 || 21 December 1986 || [[Tsirion Stadium]], [[Limassol]], Cyprus || {{fb|CYP|1960}} || align="center"|2–0 || align="center"|2–2 || [[UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying]]
|-
| align="center"|2 || rowspan="5"|28 October 1987 || rowspan="5"|[[De Kuip]], [[Rotterdam]], Netherlands || rowspan="5"|{{fb|CYP|1960}} || align="center"|1–0 || rowspan="5" style="text-align:center"|8–0 || rowspan="5"|UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying
|-
| align="center"|3 || align="center"|3–0
|-
| align="center"|4 || align="center"|6–0
|-
| align="center"|5 || align="center"|7–0
|-
| align="center"|6 || align="center"|8–0
|-
| align="center"|7 || rowspan="3"|9 December 1987 || rowspan="3"|[[De Meer Stadion|De Meer]], [[Amsterdam]], Netherlands || rowspan="3"|{{fb|CYP|1960}} || align="center"|1–0 || rowspan="3" style="text-align:center"|4–0 || rowspan="3"|UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying
|-
| align="center"|8 || align="center"|2–0
|-
| align="center"|9 || align="center"|4–0
|-
| align="center"|10 || 23 March 1988 || [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley]], London, England || {{fb|ENG}} || align="center"|1–2 || align="center"|2–2 || [[Friendly (association football)|Friendly]]
|-
| align="center"|11 || 1 June 1988 || [[Olympic Stadium (Amsterdam)|Olympic Stadium]], Amsterdam, Netherlands || {{fb|ROU|1952}} || align="center"|1–0 || align="center"|2–0 || Friendly
|-
| align="center"|12 || 11 October 1989 || [[Racecourse Ground]], [[Wrexham]], Wales || {{fb|WAL}} || align="center"|2–0 || align="center"|2–1 || [[1990 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)|1990 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
| align="center"|13 || 15 November 1989 || De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands || {{fb|FIN}} || align="center"|1–0 || align="center"|3–0 || 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
| align="center"|14 || rowspan="3"|22 September 1993 || rowspan="3"|[[Stadio Renato Dall'Ara|Renato Dall'Ara]], [[Bologna]], Italy || rowspan="3"|{{fb|SMR|1862}} || align="center"|1–0 || rowspan="3" style="text-align:center"|7–0 || rowspan="3"|[[1994 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)|FIFA 1994 World Cup qualification]]
|-
| align="center"|15 || align="center"|5–0
|-
| align="center"|16 || align="center"|6–0
|-
| align="center"|17 || 30 April 1997 || [[San Marino Stadium]], [[Serravalle (San Marino)|Serravalle]], San Marino || {{fb|SMR|1862}} || align="center"|5–0 || align="center"|6–0 || [[1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)|FIFA 1998 World Cup qualification]]
|}

==Honours==
'''Ajax'''<ref name="Eurosport Profile">{{cite web |url=https://www.eurosport.com/football/john-bosman_prs181786/person.shtml |title=John Bosman |publisher=Eurosport |access-date=3 November 2019 }}</ref>
[[File:KNVB-bekerfinale FC Den Haag tegen Ajax Marco van Basten me beker, Bestanddeelnr 934-0063.jpg|thumb|Bosman (above trophy) with Ajax teammates celebrating victory in the [[1986–87 KNVB Cup]].]] 
*[[Eredivisie]]: [[1984–85 Eredivisie|1984–85]]
*[[KNVB Cup]]: [[1985–86 KNVB Cup|1985–86]], [[1986–87 KNVB Cup|1986–87]]
*[[UEFA Cup Winners' Cup]]: [[1986–87 European Cup Winners' Cup|1986–87]]; runner-up [[1987–88 European Cup Winners' Cup|1987–88]]

'''Mechelen'''<ref name="Eurosport Profile"/>
*[[Belgian First Division A]]: [[1988–89 Belgian First Division|1988–89]]
*[[UEFA Super Cup]]: [[1988 European Super Cup|1988]]

'''PSV'''<ref name="Eurosport Profile"/>
*Eredivisie: [[1990–91 Eredivisie|1990–91]]

'''Anderlecht'''<ref name="Eurosport Profile"/>
*Belgian First Division A: [[1992–93 Belgian First Division|1992–93]], [[1993–94 Belgian First Division|1993–94]], [[1994–95 Belgian First Division|1994–95]]
*[[Belgian Cup]]: [[1993–94 Belgian Cup|1993–94]]
*[[Belgian Super Cup]]: 1993, 1995

'''Netherlands'''<ref name="Eurosport Profile"/>
*[[UEFA European Championship]]: [[UEFA Euro 1988|1988]]

'''Individual'''
*[[UEFA Cup Winners' Cup]]: Top Scorer [[1986–87 European Cup Winners' Cup|1986–87]] (eight goals) <ref name="Cup Winners Cup Topscorers">{{cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/ec/ec2tops.html |title=Cup Winners Cup Topscorers |last1=Rota |first1=Davide |last2=Owsianski |first2=Jarek |date=18 December 2003 |website=[[RSSSF]] |access-date=3 November 2019 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.beijen.net/frank/cvs/bosman-j.htm Beijen profile] {{in lang|nl}}
*{{wvo|1043}}
*{{NFT|14156}}
*{{FIFA|46822}}

{{Navboxes
|bg= #F1771D
|fg= white
|title= Netherlands squads
|list1=
{{Netherlands Squad Euro 1988}}
{{Netherlands Squad 1994 World Cup}}
}}
{{UEFA Cup Winners' Cup top scorers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bosman, John}}
[[Category:1965 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Footballers from Amstelveen]]
[[Category:Dutch men's footballers]]
[[Category:Men's association football forwards]]
[[Category:AFC Ajax players]]
[[Category:K.V. Mechelen players]]
[[Category:PSV Eindhoven players]]
[[Category:R.S.C. Anderlecht players]]
[[Category:FC Twente players]]
[[Category:AZ Alkmaar players]]
[[Category:Eredivisie players]]
[[Category:Belgian Pro League players]]
[[Category:Netherlands men's international footballers]]
[[Category:UEFA Euro 1988 players]]
[[Category:1994 FIFA World Cup players]]
[[Category:UEFA European Championship–winning players]]
[[Category:Dutch expatriate men's footballers]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium]]
[[Category:Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Belgium]]
[[Category:AFC Ajax non-playing staff]]
[[Category:20th-century Dutch sportsmen]]