Jakob "Jaap" Stam (Dutch pronunciation: [jaːp ˈstɑm]; born 17 July 1972) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. As a player, he played as a centre-back and is regarded as one of the best defenders of all time. He was part of the Manchester United team that won the Treble of the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League in 1999.
Stam played for several European clubs including PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, Lazio, Milan and Ajax before retiring in October 2007. As well as winning numerous club trophies including an Eredivisie, a Coppa Italia, an Intercontinental Cup and three Premier League titles, he won several personal awards including being voted the best defender in both the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 UEFA Champions Leagues as well as being in three consecutive PFA Team of the Year sides from 1999 to 2001. Stam played 67 international matches for the Netherlands, scoring three goals. He was in their squads for three UEFA European Championships and the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
After retiring as a player, Stam worked as a coach at PEC Zwolle and Ajax. He later managed Feyenoord in 2019 and FC Cincinnati of Major League Soccer.
Born in Kampen, Overijssel, Stam started his career with local amateur football club DOS Kampen. On 15 August 1992, Stam made his professional debut for FC Zwolle in a 1–1 draw against SC Heracles in the Eerste Divisie. He moved to Eredivisie club Cambuur for the following season, but was relegated in his first season. Two seasons at Cambuur earned him a transfer to Eredivisie club Willem II. At Willem II, he immediately impressed at the Eredivisie level, which meant his final breakthrough.
Stam transferred to PSV Eindhoven where he won the KNVB Cup in 1995–96, his first professional trophy. He won the 1996–97 Eredivisie, as well as the Johan Cruyff Shield. Individually, Stam won the VVCS Footballer of the Year award.
In April 1998, Stam became the then most expensive defender in history when Manchester United bought him on a five-year contract for £10.6 million. PSV initially valued him at £15 million, but accepted the lower offer after Stam waived his right to 15% of the fee.
Stam spent three seasons at Manchester United, during which time United won three Premier League titles, one FA Cup, the Intercontinental Cup and the UEFA Champions League. He scored his only goal for the club in a 6–2 away victory against Leicester City.
In the 1999 UEFA Champions League final, Stam's centre-back partner Ronny Johnsen conceded a free kick on the edge of the penalty area when he brought down Bayern Munich's Carsten Jancker in the first few minutes. Mario Basler scored the free kick and Bayern held the lead for 85 minutes before United scored two goals in added time to win the tournament.
Early in the 2001–02 season, Stam was controversially sold to Lazio in Italy after Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was reportedly upset by allegations Stam had made in his autobiography Head to Head about the club. Stam made numerous statements in the book about his views on opposing players, and alleged that Ferguson's approach to buy him was done without the permission of PSV. Later, Simon Kuper reported that, contrary to initial belief, Ferguson had noticed that Stam's tackling numbers were declining and simply assumed that the defender was past his playing peak. Laurent Blanc was signed as his replacement.
In 2007, however, Ferguson described the decision to sell Stam as an error: "At the time he had just come back from an achilles injury and we thought he had just lost a little bit. We got the offer from Lazio, £16.5m for a centre back who was 29. It was an offer I couldn't refuse. But in playing terms it was a mistake. He is still playing for Ajax at a really good level." On the financial report, Manchester United announced the fee was £15.3 million; Lazio declared the fee was £16 million.
During his time with Lazio, Stam was found guilty of having the banned steroid nandrolone in his system following a Serie A game, and received a five-month ban, which was eventually reduced by a month after appeals. He was the second Lazio player suspended in 2001, after Fernando Couto.
In his last season at the club, he won the Coppa Italia.
Stam joined AC Milan after UEFA Euro 2004. He reached his second Champions League final with the Rossoneri in 2005, but was a runner-up after his team were defeated by Liverpool in a penalty shoot-out.
On 30 January 2006, it was announced that he would return to the Eredivisie and play for Ajax, where he signed a two-year contract for a €2.5 million transfer fee. Stam was named as team captain upon his arrival at the club. In his first season, he won both the Johan Cruyff Shield and the KNVB Cup; another Johan Cruyff Shield was added to his trophies at the start of the 2007–08 season.
On 29 October 2007, Stam announced his retirement from professional football with immediate effect after playing six league games for Ajax in the 2007–08 league season. His final game was in a 0–0 draw against NEC on 20 October 2007.
Stam made his debut for the Netherlands on 24 April 1996 in a 1–0 friendly defeat to Germany in Rotterdam. He was not initially chosen for UEFA Euro 1996, but was later added to the squad after an injury ruled out Frank de Boer; he did not however make any appearances at the tournament. He scored his first goal on 6 September 1997 in a 3–1 home win over rivals Belgium in World Cup qualification. He was also an important player in the Dutch team that finished fourth in the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
During UEFA Euro 2000, he once again reached the semi-finals with the Dutch team, hosted in his home country and Belgium. Stam missed his attempt in the penalty shoot-out in the semi-finals, hitting the ball over the bar in a defeat against Italy. He was not originally scheduled to take a penalty, but had to due to substitutions and fatigue among his teammates.
Stam reached his third semi-finals in an international competition with his nation at UEFA Euro 2004 in Portugal and retired from international football after the tournament. The reason cited for his international retirement was that he wanted to focus on his new team, Milan, as well as his family.