Early years and Ajax Born in
Rotterdam, Bogarde started his career at
SVV in the
Eerste Divisie, as a
winger, – he became a defensive stalwart.
Milan and Barcelona A.C. Milan signed Bogarde from Ajax for
1997–98, but he only made three
Serie A appearances throughout his short stay. In January 1998, he moved to compatriot
Louis van Gaal's
Barcelona, playing 19 matches in the second part of
the campaign as Barcelona won
La Liga and the
Copa del Rey. As the Dutch influence at Barcelona was reduced, so was Bogarde's, who only managed one league contest in
his first full season, partly due to injuries, although he bounced back for a
second respectable one (21 games, two goals).
Chelsea Bogarde signed for
Chelsea in
2000–01, after following the advice of compatriot
Mario Melchiot to join him at the
Premier League side. He was signed when
Gianluca Vialli was manager, although the latter had no idea the transfer was happening, it arguably being conducted by
director of football Colin Hutchinson –
Emerson Thome, also a centre-back, was shipped off to
Sunderland; only weeks after arriving, newly appointed coach
Claudio Ranieri wanted the player to leave. According to Bogarde, it would be next to impossible to find a team that would offer him a contract comparable to the one he had at Chelsea: he was astounded at the salary the club had agreed on, as his value depreciated severely due to lack of first-team action, and decided to stay and honour his contract to the letter and appear for training every day, despite being only rarely selected to play. In the end, he only appeared 12 times during his four-year tenure, reportedly earning
£40,000 a week during this period. After playing as a
substitute against
Ipswich Town on
Boxing Day in 2000, Bogarde only played one more competitive match before his contract expired in July 2004, featuring from the bench, against
Gillingham for
that season's
League Cup on 6 November 2002. During his spell at
Stamford Bridge, the club attempted to sell Bogarde due to his large salary, and demoted him to the reserve and youth teams in an effort to pressure him to leave. In response to concurrent UK press criticism, he said: ==International career==