Early Years
Van Hooijdonk was born in Steenbergen. His Moroccan biological father left Van Hooijdonk's mother before his birth. He grew up in a small village nearby Steenbergen named Welberg. While playing in one of SC Welberg's youth squads Van Hooijdonk became familiar with football. His favourite team was NAC Breda and he was already watching their games at a young age. When he was 11 years old he took part in a talent pool on the open day of the team and he impressed the NAC scouts. He was asked to join NAC, which he did and played mainly as a right midfielder. When he was 14 he was told he was not good enough for NAC and he switched to amateur side. Here he switched to the striker position and he would play five years for the team, of which the last two seasons in their first team. His performances at were noticed by RBC Roosendaal scout Tiny van Dijk and he was brought into the team at amateur level.
As RBC were facing financial trouble in these days they were forced to use youth players faster than other teams and in the 1988–89 season Van Hooijdonk was brought in as a substitute for a few times and soon scored three goals, which resulted in more appearances throughout the season. Because RBC's main striker suffered from an injury Van Hooijdonk played almost the whole second half of the season, scoring a total of six goals in 32 matches. He signed his first professional contract and his final breakthrough came in the following season in which he became a key player for the team, scoring 27 times in 37 matches. Several teams showed interest and NAC Breda was one of the teams. Van Hooijdonk did not hesitate and signed a contract at the team he supported as a kid.
Read more about this topic: Pierre Van Hooijdonk
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