5 legendary Dutch players who found success back in the Netherlands

#2 Phillip Cocu (PSV)

Cocu (R) in action for PSV

A lesser heralded player of the great but tragically unlucky Dutch side of the late 1990s, Cocu was the solid and dependable midfield shield that enabled the Dutch to be so devastating in attack; that's why he earned 101 caps for his country, putting him 5th in the all-time appearances list.

Cocu left his homeland comparatively late, at 28, spending the first decade of his career in the Netherlands. After making a name for himself at AZ and Vitesse, Cocu joined PSV in 1995 and won his first trophy in Eindhoven that season, the KNVB Cup. The Eredivisie title followed in 1997 and after the good showing at the 1998 World Cup, Cocu transferred to Barcelona.

Under countryman Louis van Gaal, the Spanish giants had an amazing number of Dutchman in their squad when Cocu linked up with them, including international teammates Michael Reiziger, Frank de Boer, and Patrick Kluivert. This inevitably helped the midfielder settle and he rarely missed a game as he won the La Liga title in his first campaign at the Camp Nou.

Despite playing 5 more full seasons for the club, Cocu never tasted success with Barcelona again. He did, however, end his career there as their record appearance holder for a foreign player with 291 total appearances (later surpassed only by Lionel Messi).

After receiving a reduced contract offer, Cocu was only too happy to return to PSV and he would end up performing a similar role to Rijkaard's with the exciting young Ajax team: Cocu was the wise head in the midfield that bolstered an inexperienced but talented PSV side as they won the league 3 seasons in a row from 2005 to 2007.

In the 2nd of these triumphs, Cocu not only captained the team but scored an excellent 10 goals from the defensive midfield. He also was instrumental in PSV's shock surge to the 2004/2005 Champions League semi-finals, where they fought bravely against AC Milan before exiting. Cocu chose to continue playing football for 1 more season after his time at PSV, with Al Jazira in the UAE, but he can always look fondly on his achievements in his homeland.