Portrait of Rinus Michels

Birthday profile

Rinus Michels

Rinus Michels, Dutch footballer and coach (died 2005)

Born
February 9, 1928
Died
March 3, 2005
Zodiac sign
Aquarius
Birth year
1928

About Rinus Michels

Marinus Jacobus Hendricus "Rinus" Michels (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈrinʏs ˈmɪxəls]; 9 February 1928 – 3 March 2005) was a Dutch football player and coach. He played his entire career for Ajax, which he later managed, and played for and later managed the Netherlands national team for four spells. Throughout his career, he played as a forward. He is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time. Michels became most notable for his coaching achievements; he won the European Cup with Ajax and the Spanish league with Barcelona, and had four tenures as coach of the Netherlands national team, who he led to the final of the 1974 FIFA World Cup and to win UEFA Euro 1988. He is credited with the invention of a major football playing style and set of tactics known as "Total Football" in the 1970s. He was named Coach of the Century by FIFA in 1999, in 2007 the greatest post-war football coach by The Times and in 2019 the greatest coach in the history of football by France Football. On 9 June 1946, Michels was invited into Ajax's first team squad to replace the injured Han Lambregt. That season, Ajax won their 14th division championship and a year later they won the Dutch national championship. In 1969, they reached the final of the European Cup for the first time, being defeated 4–1 by Italian side Milan. Via Joop Köhler, a friend of the family who was commissioner at Ajax, Michels was introduced to the club and became a junior member in 1940.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Rinus Michels timeline

  1. Via Joop Köhler, a friend of the family who was commissioner at Ajax, Michels was introduced to the club and became a junior member in 1940.
  2. On 9 June 1946, Michels was invited into Ajax's first team squad to replace the injured Han Lambregt.
  3. In 1969, they reached the final of the European Cup for the first time, being defeated 4–1 by Italian side Milan.

The world when Rinus Michels was born

Rinus Michels was born in 1928. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1928

  • #1 song"Makin' Whoopee" – Eddie Cantor
  • Top movieSteamboat Willie (first Mickey Mouse)
  • Best-selling bookLady Chatterley's Lover – D.H. Lawrence

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentKnute Rockne's "Win one for the Gipper" speech
  • Top headlineHerbert Hoover elected president
  • Technology milestonePenicillin discovered by Alexander Fleming
  • Defining fadMickey Mouse mania
  • Notable inventionSliced bread
  • World population2.07 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderCalvin Coolidge
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • U.S. population120.5M

1928 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Rinus Michels's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19282026
Gas$0.21$3.45/gal
Average home$6,200$435,000
Average income$3,800$67,500
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.02$0.73
Population120.5M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Transfermarkt, WorldFootball.net, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.