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Jaap Stam
| Biography |
Jaap Stam (born July 17, 1972 in Kampen, Netherlands) is a Dutch football player. He is seen as one of the best defenders in the world. His nickname is 'de Rots van Kampen' (the rock of Kampen).
Stam started his career with local amateur football club DOS Kampen . In 1992, Stam made his professional debut for FC Zwolle. Stam's breakthrough came in his first season at Willem II. A shock 1-0 home victory over Ajax Amsterdam led to Stam's transfer to PSV Eindhoven. Two and a half years later, Stam became the then most expensive Dutch football player in history, when Manchester United bought him for ?36m (about £10.5m). During the 2001-02 season, Stam was sold to S.S. Lazio in Italy for ?55m (£16.5m). For 2004-05, Stam will play for Italian side AC Milan.
Stam made his debut for the Netherlands national team on April 24, 1996, in the 1-0 defeat to Germany. He has played 67 matches for the Netherlands, scoring 3 goals. At Euro 2000, Stam missed an important penalty kick in the semi-finals, which led to the Dutch defeat against Italy. Stam retired from international football after the Euro 2004 tournament in Portugal, saying he wanted to focus on AC Milan and his family.
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