Youri Mulder

Youri Mulder (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈjuːri ˈmɵldər]; born 23 March 1969 in Brussels, Belgium) is a retired Dutch footballer who played as a striker and also a manager.

Son of former Ajax Amsterdam and R.S.C. Anderlecht player Jan Mulder, Mulder played youth football for SDO Bussum and Ajax. After two years in amateur football, he made his professional debuts at 21, with FC Twente. In his second season, he scored a career-best 18 goals, as the club finished sixth in the Eredivisie.

In 1993, Mulder moved to the German Bundesliga with FC Schalke 04, where he would play for nearly one decade. He made his league debut on 7 August, in a 0–3 loss at SG Wattenscheid 09. His first three years at the Gelsenkirchen side were successful individually – 22 goals combined – and the 1996–97 season brought with it the UEFA Cup conquest, with the player netting three times in the campaign, including once in the semifinals against Valencia CF.

Additionally, Mulder also won two consecutive German Cups, in 2001 and 2002. Only managing to appear 33 times (with just one goal) in his last three seasons combined, he retired at the end of 2001–02, aged 33.

In 2007–08, Mulder had his first coaching experience: he started the season as an offensive trainer in Twente, then rejoined another former side, Schalke 04, in April 2008, working with former teammate Michael Büskens as replacements for dismissed Mirko Slomka, a situation which occurred again in 2009, after the sacking of Fred Rutten, being joined then by another former club player, Oliver Reck.

Mulder played nine matches for the Dutch national football team, and found the net three times. He made his international debut on 16 November 1994, and participated at UEFA Euro 1996, where he played the last ten minutes (plus extra time) in the quarterfinal loss against France.

In addition to his professional career, Mulder also worked as a sports commentator for NOS TV. When he moved to Moss, Norway, he married Nina Freidher, and they got two kids: Finn and Alexander Mulder

• Ingo Schiweck, Kicken beim Feind? Der ganz alltägliche Friede hinter dem deutsch-niederländischen Fußballkrieg, Düsseldorf 2006 (in German) ISBN 3-9810957-4-X