Dimensions
160 x 245 x 27mm
In the summer of 2000, Hasselbaink returned to the Premiership to play for Chelsea – a record £15 million signing – after spending a season with Atletico Madrid in Spain. A predator in front of goal, Jerrell, as his mother calls him, had made his name in Portugal with Boavista, before George Graham snapped him up for Leeds in summer 1997. His goal scoring made him an instant hero at Elland Road, a status he lost when he asked to leave the club because they wouldn't pay him enough. There can be fewer more single-minded strikers in the world, a character trait that does not always endear him to team-mates.
In his book, Hasselbaink is forthright about his time at Leeds, and how he felt betrayed by the club and its fans despite the fact that he was their leading scorer for two seasons. After a £12 million transfer to Atletico Madrid, and despite playing in a relegated side in La Liga, he finished up as the top scorer, and was snapped up by Chelsea as soon as the 1999/2000 season had finished. He immediately proved his worth by winning the Premiership's golden boot award for the 2000/01 season. In the summer of 2004, a new coach at Chelsea in the form of Jose Mourinho meant that Hasselbaink's days at the club were numbered, and a transfer to Middlesbrough opened up a new chapter in his life.
Hasselbaink talks candidly about his fellow professionals in the game: the likes of David O'Leary, Claudio Ranieri, Gianfranco Zola, Roman Abramovich and Steve McClaren, plus his troubled times with the Dutch national team. He is also open about his taste for casino gambling and the clubbing scene and his private life, including his parents' divorce and his daughter in Amsterdam.
