It is easy to fall into a trap when trying to profile Marco van Basten.

So rarely does a successful playing career transform smoothly into one as a coach, and van Basten can have little hope of accomplishing anything resembling what he did on the pitch now he is in the dug-out.

Van Basten the player was a core figure in Holland's only major triumph in an international tournament at the 1988 European Championships, where his stunning volley put the Oranje 2-0 up in the final against the Soviet Union.

Returning to Germany, the scene of Holland's sole success 18 years ago, Van Basten the coach is again carrying the hopes of his football-mad country.

However, it would be wrong to let one of the most remarkable playing records ever blot out van Basten's relatively young record as a coach.

In spearheading Holland's qualifying campaign - which saw them win nine games in a row and keep a clean sheet in their final nine matches - van Basten carved an exciting young team out of an ageing, inconsistent squad which had fallen short at Euro 2004 and missed out on even qualifying for the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan.

Undoubtedly the crunch will come when van Basten's youthful players take on three hugely dangerous rivals in Serbia & Montenegro, Ivory Coast and Argentina, in the most competitive-looking group in Germany.

In qualifying, the likes of Czech Republic, Romania and Finland were beaten by the Dutch - and by reaching the finals with such ease, Van Basten indicated he is capable of dealing with such an important role.

But this summer van Basten has the opportunity to elevate himself to grand status as a coach as well as a player, if at long last two-time losing finalists Holland can win the World Cup for the very first time.

Van Basten's playing days officially came to an end at the age of 30 in 1995, although he did not feature in the AC Milan team for two years before that because of an ultimately irreparable ankle injury.

After playing one of his final games for Milan in the Champions League final defeat by Marseille in 1993, he had to watch from the sidelines as his team-mates continued to dominate in Europe. They won the 1994 Champions League final 4-0 against Barcelona before losing 1-0 to Ajax in the title game of Europe's premier club competition a year later.

The significance of van Basten's announcement in 1995 that he had ended any hope of a comeback was lost somewhat against the backdrop of Milan's unrelenting success in his absence.

It was a bitterly sad, flat way to end a playing career which had brought countless trophies - including European Cup triumphs in 1989 and 1990.

For someone who had won the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 1992, and had claimed the European Footballer of the Year gong in 1988, 1989 and 1992, the thought of being involved in the game again, without being able to play, was seemingly too painful a prospect.

Van Basten claimed he had found other interests in his life - and in 1999 he reiterated his lack of interest in returning to the game when he said: "While playing football is very nice, being a coach or trainer is something that is very different.

"I am still someone who likes to do things, not tell others what to do."

Thankfully for the football world, the genius footballer failed to keep his word and slip away from the game completely, and he decided to take a coaching course with the Dutch Football Association (KNVB).

In 2003 he was given his first hands-on role, as a coach of the Ajax youth team, and it was there where he really discovered his passion for passing on his wisdom.

"I wanted to develop myself as a person and I wanted to be involved in football again," he said.

"It's good that I now have the chance to work with talented youngsters."

After Dick Advocaat's resignation following Holland's semi-final exit at Euro 2004 in Portugal, van Basten was installed as national team coach.

The first question was whether a relatively novice coach would be able to cope with the egos of established but under-performing players. The second was whether the players would be able to rise to Van Basten's lofty expectations.

Van Basten answered the first query by gradually relegating several waning stars to the bench - and he introduced a string of young players like Jan Kromkamp and Dirk Kuyt into the set-up. The result was one of the most comprehensively successful qualifying campaigns in World Cup history.

As a flexible, intelligent and prolific forward, van Basten stamped a permanent mark on the history of football.

He led the line of an attack which also included brilliant compatriots Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard at AC Milan, in one of the best club sides ever. He was an unselfish forward but still twice the top scorer in the Italian Serie A, the most defensively prudent league in the world.

As a coach, it is fitting that van Basten is finally bringing some success back to the game he left in such distressing circumstances just over a decade ago.