About Me
JAAP STAM (born July 17, 1972 in Kampen, Netherlands) is a Dutch football player.
His nickname is "de Rots van Kampen" ("the Rock of Kampen").
He was voted best defender in the 1999 and 2000 UEFA Champions League.
EARLY CAREER :
Stam started his career with local amateur football club DOS Kampen.
On August 15, 1992, Stam made his professional debut for FC Zwolle in a 1-1 draw against SC Heracles in the Eerste Divisie. He became a first team regular right away and moved to Eredivisie side Cambuur Leeuwarden for the following season, but relegated in his first season which brought him back into the Eerste Divisie.
Two seasons at Cambuur earned him a transfer to Eredivisie side Willem II. At Willem II he impressed at the Eredivisie level straight away, which meant his final breakthrough. A shock 1-0 home victory over Ajax led to Stam's transfer to PSV Eindhoven in the same season in which they eventually won the KNVB Cup, his first official trophy.
PSV :
At the beginning of the 1996-97 season, he won his second trophy when PSV Eindhoven won the Johan Cruijff-schaal. They went on to win the Eredivisie Championship that season. Stam was a key player and won the VVCS Footballer of the Year award.
Later in 1997 he won his second Johan Cruijff-schaal. He became the then most expensive Dutch football player in history and the most expensive defender in history, when Manchester United bought him for Æ’36m.
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup : 1996-1997, 4 matches.
MANCHESTER UNITED :
Stam spent three seasons at Manchester United and won three Premierships, one FA Cup, the Intercontinental Cup and the UEFA Champions League while with them.
During the 2001-02 season, Stam was controversially sold to S.S. Lazio in Italy, after Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was reportedly furious with allegations Stam had made in his autobiography "Head to Head" ("Hard tegen Hard"). The hasty exit left Ferguson with a defensive dilemma as the defence was built around the prolific Stam, Roy Keane often had to drop back from his midfield position to fill his departure.
Stam's only goal during his United career was the sixth goal in a 6-2 victory away to Leicester City FC at Filbert Street.
Champions League : 1998-1999, 13 matches ; 1999-2000, 13 matches ; 2000-2001, 6 matches.
LAZIO :
During his time with Lazio, Stam was found guilty of having the banned steroid nandrolone in his system following a Serie A game, and received a 5-month ban, which was eventually reduced by a month after appeals.
In his last season at the club, he won the Coppa d'Italia with Lazio.
Champions League : 2001-2002, 5 matches ; 2003-2004, 7 matches, 1 goal.
UEFA Cup : 2002-2003 : 4 matches.
AC MILAN :
Stam joined AC Milan after Euro 2004. He won the Italian Super Cup with a crushing victory over his former team Lazio.
In AC Milan and on January 30, 2006, it was announced that he would return to the Eredivisie and play for Ajax, where he signed a two-year contract. This came as a surprise to many, as it was expected he would return to either his former club PSV Eindhoven, or SC Heerenveen.
Champions League : 2004-2005 : 8 matches, 1 goal ; 2005-2006 : 9 matches.
AJAX :
Stam was immediately named team captain upon his arrival in Amsterdam.
In his first season, he won both the Johan Cruijff-schaal and the KNVB Cup, and another Johan Cruijff-schaal was added at the start of the 2007-08 season.
On 29 October 2007, he announced his immediate retirement from professional football.
Champions League : 1 match.
INTERNATIONAL CAREER :
Stam made his debut for The Netherlands on April 24, 1996, in the 1-0 defeat to Germany. He was also an important player in the Dutch team that finished fourth in the 1998 FIFA World Cup
During the Euro 2000, he reached another semi finals with the Dutch team, hosted in his home country and Belgium. Stam missed an important penalty kick in the penalty shootout in the semi-finals, which led to defeat against Italy.
Stam reached his third semi finals in an international competition with his nation during Euro 2004 in Portugal and retired from international football after the tournament. The reason for his international retirement was that he wanted to focus on his new team AC Milan and his family.
In total he played 67 matches for the Netherlands, scoring 3 goals.
