Rudolf ("Ruud" or "Rudi") Jozef Krol (; born 24 March 1949) is a Dutch former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who was
capped
In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...
83 times for the
Netherlands national team. Most of his career he played for his home town club,
Ajax
Ajax may refer to:
Greek mythology and tragedy
* Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea
* Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris
* ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...
, and he became a coach after retirement. Regarded as one of the best
defenders
Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to:
*Defense (military)
*Defense (sports)
**Defender (association football)
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary
* ''The Defender'' (1994 f ...
of all time, Krol mainly played as a
sweeper or
left-back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
, however he could play anywhere across the back line, or in
midfield
Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...
as a
defensive midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
, due to his range of passing with both feet, temperament, tactical intelligence, and ability to start attacking plays after winning back the ball.
Playing career
Club
He began his career at
Ajax
Ajax may refer to:
Greek mythology and tragedy
* Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea
* Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris
* ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...
under manager
Rinus Michels
Marinus Jacobus Hendricus Michels (; 9 February 1928 – 3 March 2005) was a Dutch football player and coach. He played his entire career for AFC Ajax, which he later managed, and played for and later managed the Netherlands national team ...
. In his first season at the club he did not play much. After the departure of left-back
Theo van Duivenbode
Theo van Duivenbode (born 1 November 1943) is a Dutch former footballer who played for Ajax and Feyenoord and was part of their European and Intercontinental Cup victory in 1970.
Club career
Born in Amsterdam, van Duivenbode made his senior de ...
in the summer of 1969 to
Feyenoord
Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...
, Krol became a regular player. When Ajax reached the
UEFA European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competiti ...
in
1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6).
The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history.
Events
Ja ...
, and won, Krol did not play because of a broken leg. Krol did play in the European Cup finals of
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
and
1973
Events January
* January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
. While others such as
Johan Cruijff
Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (, internationally known as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a pr ...
and
Johan Neeskens
RCH may stand for:
* Radio Club de Honduras, an amateur radio organization
* Railway Clearing House, the British financial clearing house and technical standards bureau for railways
* The Royal Canadian Hussars (Montreal), a unit of the Canadian F ...
left for new pastures, Krol, captain since the departure of
Piet Keizer
Petrus Johannes "Piet" Keizer (14 June 1943 – 10 February 2017) was a Dutch professional footballer who played as a left winger.
As part of the " Total Football" Ajax Amsterdam team of the 1960s and 1970s, Keizer was particularly notable duri ...
in October 1974, stayed at Ajax until June 1980.
He moved to the
North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to:
*North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league
*North American Soccer League (2011–2017)
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...
to play for the
Vancouver Whitecaps
Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March ...
for one season. He then joined
S.S.C. Napoli
Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli (), is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in the city of Naples ( it, Napoli, nap, Napule), Camp ...
where he played for the next four seasons. His last club before he retired in 1986 was the French club
AS Cannes
Association Sportive de Cannes Football (; commonly referred to as AS Cannes or simply Cannes) is a French association football club based in Cannes. The club was formed 1902 as a sports club and currently plays in the Championnat National 3, ...
, at the time in
Ligue 2
Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...
(the French 2nd division).
International
Internationally, Krol made his debut for the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
in 1969 against
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, retiring from international football in 1983. He was a crucial component in the ''
Total Football'' side of the 1970s. A versatile defender, he could play in any position along the back four or midfield. In the
1974 FIFA World Cup
The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the tenth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the ...
, in which the Netherlands reached the final, Krol primarily played at left-back. He created Cruijff's goal against
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and scored a 25-yard screamer against
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
.
By the time the
1978 FIFA World Cup
The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June.
The Cup was won by t ...
came about, Krol had switched to playing as a sweeper and had earned the captain's armband after the retirement of Cruijff.
Krol played for the Netherlands as captain at the
1980 European Championship. He played for part of the qualifying for
Euro 84, and played his last international in 1983.
Managerial career
In his managerial career, he has been head coach of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, and has been assistant manager of the Netherlands (under
Frank Rijkaard
Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard (; born 30 September 1962) is a Dutch former footballer and former manager who played as a defensive midfielder. Rijkaard played for Ajax, Real Zaragoza and AC Milan and represented the Netherlands national team side ...
and
Louis van Gaal
Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal (; born 8 August 1951) is a Dutch former football player and manager. At club level, he served as manager of Ajax, Barcelona, AZ Alkmaar, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, as well as having three spel ...
) and Ajax (under
Ronald Koeman
Ronald Koeman (; born 21 March 1963) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. He is the younger brother of his former international teammate Erwin Koeman and the son of former Dutch international Martin Koeman. Koeman was cap ...
). He became
interim manager
Interim management is the temporary provision of management resources and skills. Interim management can be seen as the short-term assignment of a proven heavyweight interim executive manager to manage a period of transition, crisis or change with ...
of Ajax after the resignation of Koeman. He was manager of
AC Ajaccio
Athletic Club Ajaccio ( co, Athletic Club Aiacciu), commonly referred to as AC Ajaccio, ''ACA'' or simply Ajaccio, is a French association football club based in the city of Ajaccio on the island of Corsica. The club was founded in 1910 and ...
in France
Ligue 2
Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...
from 2006 to 2007. He returned as manager of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
ian giants
Zamalek
Zamalek ( ar, الزمالك , ''al zamalek'') is an affluent district of western Cairo encompassing the northern portion of Gezira Island in the Nile River. The island is connected with the river banks through three bridges each on the east ...
in August 2007. He had previously managed them from 1994 to 1999, winning the
Egyptian Cup
The Egypt Cup (also known as Egyptian FA Cup, formerly King Farouk Cup) is the main knockout football cup competition in Egypt.
List of finals
The following table provides a summary of seasons:
Notes:
* The Winner and Runner-up of 1960–61 Eg ...
in 1999, the
African Cup of Champions Clubs
The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual football club competition organized by the Confederation of African Football and cont ...
in 1996 and the Afro-Asian Club Championship 1997, the last two being the biggest club level prizes available to
CAF clubs. Krol's return to Zamalek was meant to be a stabilizing presence, the club having gone through several managers in the preceding two seasons.
His stay however would be a short one. He ended his sole season by winning one
Egyptian Cup
The Egypt Cup (also known as Egyptian FA Cup, formerly King Farouk Cup) is the main knockout football cup competition in Egypt.
List of finals
The following table provides a summary of seasons:
Notes:
* The Winner and Runner-up of 1960–61 Eg ...
with Zamalek, within one season he would leave and sign a three-year contract with the South African giants
Orlando Pirates
Orlando Pirates Football Club (often known as "The Buccaneers") is a South African professional football club based in the Houghton suburb of the city of Johannesburg and plays in the top-tier system of Football in South Africa known as DStv ...
.
In the three years with the Orlando Pirates he won two South African cups (and a finalist once) and won the national league, all in his last year in charge of the team.
Those cups include MTN8 and Nedbank Cup. Despite that success his contract was not renewed.
He won the Tunisian championship with CS Sfaxien in 2012–2013, after a fierce battle with the other 3 of the Tunisian big 4.
After that success, he was contacted to lead the
Tunisian national team in the play off qualifying to the 2014 world cup against Cameroon. He accepted that role and simultaneously became manager of CS Sfaxien and Tunisia in September 2013.
He won the
2013 CAF Confederation Cup with Sfaxien.
He resigned from his duties as Sfaxien coach after the second leg of the final against TP Mazembe on 30 November 2013. He quit as the national team interim coach following Tunisia's loss in the World Cup play-off.
In January 2014, he was appointed new head coach of Tunisian side
ES Tunis
Es, ES, or similar may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* An alternate name for the musical note E♭ (E-flat)
* '' E's'', a manga series by Satoru Yuiga
* ''Es'' (film), the German title of ''It'', a 1966 West German film directed by Ulrich Scha ...
.
Personal life
On 6 July 1972, Krol married Yvonne van Ingen. The couple have a daughter. On 26 September 1974, together with teammate
Arie Haan
Arend "Arie" Haan (; born 16 November 1948) is a Dutch football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He scored 6 goals in 35 matches for the Netherlands national team of the 1970s. At club level, he enjoyed a successful career ...
, he opened a snack bar on Reguliersbreestraat in Amsterdam.
Honours
Player
Ajax
*
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...
:
1969–70,
1971–72,
1972–73,
1976–77,
1978–79,
1979–80,
*
KNVB Cup
The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...
: 1969–70,
1970–71,
1971–72,
1978–79
*
European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
:
1970–71,
1971–72,
1972–73
*
UEFA Super Cup
The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...
:
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
,
1973
Events January
* January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
*
Intercontinental Cup:
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
Netherlands
*
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
runner-up: 1974, 1978
*
UEFA Euro
The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...
third place: 1976
Individual
*
FIFA World Cup All-Star Team
At the end of each FIFA World Cup final tournament, several awards are presented to the players and teams who have distinguished themselves in various aspects of the game.
Awards
*There are currently five post-tournament awards from the FIFA ...
:
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
,
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
*
UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament: 1976
*
FIFA XI
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
: 1979
FIFA XI´s Matches - Full Info
/ref>
* Ballon d'Or
The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French news magazine ''France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (fo ...
– third place: 1979
* Guerin d'Oro
The Guerin d'Oro ''(Golden Guerin)'' was an annual award which was handed out by the Italian magazine ''Guerin Sportivo'' to the best Serie A football player.
The first winner of the award was Claudio Sala, while the last was Carlos Tevez.
Hist ...
(Serie A Footballer of the Year): 1981
Coach
Ajaccio
* Ligue 2
Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...
third place: 2007
Zamalek
* Afro-Asian Club Championship
The Afro-Asian Club Championship, sometimes referred to as the Afro-Asian Cup, was a football competition endorsed by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and Asian Football Confederation (AFC), contested between the winners of the Africa ...
: 1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
* Egyptian Premier League
The Egyptian Premier League ( ar, الدوري المصري الممتاز), also known as WE Egyptian Premier League (WE EPL) after the addition of title sponsor WE, is a professional association football league in Egypt and the top level of th ...
: runner-up 1998, 2008
* Egypt Cup
The Egypt Cup (also known as Egyptian FA Cup, formerly King Farouk Cup) is the main knockout football cup competition in Egypt.
List of finals
The following table provides a summary of seasons:
Notes:
* The Winner and Runner-up of 1960–61 Eg ...
: 2008
Orlando Pirates
* Premier Soccer League: 2011; runner-up 2009
* Nedbank Cup: 2011; runner-up 2010
* Telkom charity cup: 2010, 2011
* MTN 8: 2010
CS Sfaxien
* Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1
The Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 (; ar, الرابطة المحترفة الأولى لكرة القدم) was previously called the Tunisian National Championship between 1956 and 1994. is the top division football tournament in Tunisia und ...
: 2013
* CAF Confederation Cup
The CAF Confederation Cup, known as the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual association football club competition established in 2004 from a merger of the CAF Cup and the African Cup Winners' Cup and organi ...
: 2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
* Tunisian Cup
The Tunisian Cup , officially named the President's Cup, is the official competition of the Cup in Tunisian football and is considered the second most important local title after the Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1. The first cup competition was h ...
: runner-up 2012
Esperance
* Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1
The Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 (; ar, الرابطة المحترفة الأولى لكرة القدم) was previously called the Tunisian National Championship between 1956 and 1994. is the top division football tournament in Tunisia und ...
: 2014
Raja Casablanca
* UNAF Club Cup
The UNAF Club Cup ( ar, كأس إتحاد شمال إفريقيا للأندية) is a tournament designed by the Union of North African Football Federations (UNAF) that puts together the top three best finishers of the domestic leagues and the tw ...
: 2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
Kuwait SC
* Kuwait Premier League
The Kuwait Premier League (), known as STC Premier League due to sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Kuwait football pyramid system. Formed in 1961, Al-Arabi, Qadsia and Kuwait both hold the best record in the competition, having won ...
: 2019–20
Egyptian Olympic Team (U23)
* All African Games
The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union (AU) with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (AN ...
: gold medal 1995
Egypt
* 1996 African Cup of Nations
The 1996 African Cup of Nations was the 20th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was hosted by South Africa, who replaced original hosts Kenya. The field expanded for the first time to 16 teams, s ...
: second round
Netherlands (assistant coach under Frank Rijkard)
* UEFA Euro 2000
The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe.
The finals tournament was ...
: semi-final
Individual
* PSL Coach of the Season
The PSL Coach of the season in South African football
References
Premier Soccer League
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded ...
: 2010–11
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krol, Ruud
1949 births
Living people
1974 FIFA World Cup players
1978 FIFA World Cup players
AC Ajaccio managers
AFC Ajax managers
AFC Ajax players
AS Cannes players
CS Sfaxien managers
Dutch expatriate footballers
Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Canada
Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Egypt
Dutch expatriate sportspeople in France
Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Kuwait
Dutch expatriate sportspeople in South Africa
Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland
Dutch footballers
Dutch football managers
Egypt national football team managers
Eredivisie players
Expatriate footballers in France
Expatriate footballers in Italy
Expatriate soccer players in Canada
Association football defenders
Ligue 2 players
Netherlands international footballers
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players
Orlando Pirates F.C. managers
Footballers from Amsterdam
S.S.C. Napoli players
Serie A players
AFC Ajax non-playing staff
Servette FC managers
Tunisia national football team managers
UEFA Euro 1976 players
UEFA Euro 1980 players
Vancouver Whitecaps (1974–1984) players
Kuwait SC managers
K.V. Mechelen managers
Zamalek SC managers
Espérance Sportive de Tunis managers
Dutch expatriate football managers
Expatriate football managers in Belgium
Expatriate football managers in Egypt
Expatriate football managers in France
Expatriate football managers in Kuwait
Expatriate soccer managers in South Africa
Expatriate football managers in Switzerland
Expatriate football managers in Tunisia
Raja CA managers
Kuwait Premier League managers
1996 African Cup of Nations managers
UEFA Champions League winning players
Al Wahda FC managers
Al-Ahli SC (Tripoli) managers
UAE Pro League managers
Expatriate football managers in the United Arab Emirates
Dutch expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates
Botola managers
Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Morocco
Expatriate football managers in Morocco