In 1994, Jaap Stam was turning out for little known Dutch club Cambuur Leeuwarden. A move that year to top division side Willem II was the turning point of his career, as several top-level performances for them attracted the attention of Holland's biggest clubs.

In 1996, PSV Eindhoven came in for Stam, and he won his first international cap in the same year. His debut, against Brazil, ended in a 2-2 draw, and he has been a fixture in the Holland team ever since.

Europe's top clubs began to take notice of Stam, and in 1998, Manchester United paid a world record fee for a defender, £10.6 million, to bring him to Old Trafford. This dream move for Jaap - he idolised United as a child -came just three months after he was named Holland's Footballer of the Year.

The year got even better during the summer, as he reached the semi-finals of the World Cup with Holland, falling to Brazil.

Strong in the air and good on the ball, Stam can rightly claim to be one of the best defenders in the world. Once he'd settled in at United, many of his performances earned him rave reviews.

In January 1999, he picked up Sky TV's Man of the Match award for the FA Cup game against Middlesbrough and scored his first goal for the club in a 6-2 drubbing of Leicester City at Filbert Street.

In May 1999 Stam get’s the tilte with Manchester United and wins the FA Cup against Newcastle. Stam is the third Dutchman, after Muhren and Overmars to win this price.The first Dutch playing player to win the 'treble' after beating Bayern Munich 2-1 in Barcelona.

In January 2000 chosen in the European Team line-up 1999.

Jaap was transfered to Lazio Roma, but got in a doping scandal there, using Nandrolon!