Jimmy Hasselbaynk Dutch football player Date of Birth: 27.03.1972 Country: Netherlands

Biography of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is a Dutch footballer born in Dutch Guiana. He started his professional career in the club "Telstar" in 1990, and a year later he moved to "AZ Alkmaar," where he stayed until 1993, scoring 5 goals in 46 matches in the Dutch league. In the 1993/94 season, Hasselbaink was unable to find a club willing to sign him, so he played in the amateur "Non-League" to maintain his fitness. In August 1995, Hasselbaink moved to Portugal to play for the lower Portuguese division club "Campomaiorense." After one season there, Jimmy Floyd joined the higher Portuguese league club "Boavista," where he scored 20 goals in 29 matches and won the Portuguese Cup with the team.

Hasselbaink's successful performances caught the attention of several European clubs. He chose an offer from the English Premier League club "Leeds United" and moved to England for £2 million in June 1997. Hasselbaink continued to show his high performance in Leeds, scoring 23 goals in his first season and 21 goals in the 1998/99 season, helping Leeds United to secure a high 4th place in the English league. In the same year, Hasselbaink became the top scorer of the tournament with 18 goals.

In 1999, Hasselbaink demanded a salary increase from Leeds United, but when his request was denied, he started looking for a new club. Eventually, he transferred to the Madrid club "Atletico" for £12 million. In his first season with the Spanish team, Hasselbaink scored 32 goals (24 in La Liga in 34 matches), but the club's performance was unstable, and the only success of Atletico in the 1999-2000 season was reaching the final of the Copa del Rey.

In the following season, Hasselbaink returned to England, being sold to "Chelsea" for £15 million and forming a striking partnership with Icelandic forward Eidur Gudjohnsen. In his first year at Chelsea, Hasselbaink scored 23 goals in 35 Premier League matches, including 4 goals in one match against Coventry, becoming the top scorer in the English league. In his second season with the London club, Hasselbaink scored 29 goals, helping Chelsea reach the FA Cup final (where they lost 0-2), but he was unable to play in the final due to an injury.

After recovering from the injury, Hasselbaink's performance slightly declined. He scored 11 goals in 27 matches in the 2002/03 season and 17 goals in the 2003/04 season, making him the top scorer of the team despite competition from newly arrived forwards Hernan Crespo and Adrian Mutu. When Hasselbaink's contract with Chelsea expired in 2004, he decided not to renew it. In total, he scored 87 goals in 177 matches for Chelsea.

Before the start of the 2004/05 season, Hasselbaink joined "Middlesbrough" as a free agent. In his first year with the team, he scored 13 goals in 36 matches. The following year, Middlesbrough, with Hasselbaink, reached the final of the UEFA Cup but was defeated 0-4 by "Sevilla." In 2006, Hasselbaink had a conflict with the new coach of Middlesbrough, Gareth Southgate, and decided to change teams. He had an offer from Scottish club "Celtic," but their requested salary of £40,000 per week scared them away, and Hasselbaink refused to accept a lower amount in the contract. On July 11, 2006, Hasselbaink moved to "Charlton Athletic." He scored his first goal for Charlton against his former club, Chelsea, on September 9th, but out of respect for Chelsea fans, he did not celebrate the goal. Hasselbaink also scored against another former club, Middlesbrough, on January 13, 2007. On May 14, 2007, before the end of his one-year contract, Hasselbaink left Charlton by mutual agreement.

In 2007, Hasselbaink spoke out in the press about illegal bonuses in 2004 at Chelsea after his former club's victory over Arsenal in the Champions League, but the investigation initiated by the Premier League did not yield any results. After leaving Charlton, Hasselbaink searched for a new team. In August, he received an offer from "Leicester City" and joined the club's training on August 14, 2007, but Leicester unexpectedly decided not to sign a contract with the player.

On August 16, Hasselbaink moved to Cardiff City, forming a partnership with former Liverpool forward Robbie Fowler. Both players made their debut for Cardiff in a League Cup match against Leyton Orient. On September 19, 2007, Hasselbaink scored his first goal for Cardiff, defeating Watford. Throughout the season, Hasselbaink remained the main striker for the team, occasionally giving way to Stephen Thompson, but rarely playing full matches due to fatigue. Cardiff had a fairly consistent season and reached the FA Cup final for the first time in 81 years but lost to Portsmouth. In 2008, after Cardiff refused to extend Hasselbaink's contract, he started looking for a new team. On August 16, 2008, Hasselbaink was seen at a match between Norwich City and Blackpool, receiving a personal invitation from Norwich's president, Roger Munby, but on August 29, the club's coach, Glenn Roeder, said that Norwich did not intend to sign a contract with Hasselbaink. Hasselbaink did not receive any other offers that satisfied him and decided to end his football career.