Julien Cools (born 13 February 1947) is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

former

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 ...

who won the

Belgian Golden Shoe In association football, the Belgian Golden Shoe ( nl, Gouden Schoen, french: Soulier d'Or) is an award given in Belgium at the beginning of each civil year to the best footballer of the Belgian First Division A for the past year. The trophy is spon ...

in 1977 while at Club Brugge. He was discovered as a junior at SK Retie Branddonk of Antwerp and made his name with Beringen FC. He was signed by FC Bruges in 1973 where his reputation for non-stop runner in the midfield made him an international regular. Cools helped FC Bruges to win the Belgian league titles in 1975–76, 76–77 and 77–78 plus the Belgian Cup in 1977. In Europe, Cools was a runner-up in the 1976 U.E.F.A.Cup Final and 1978 European Cup Final, Bruges losing both finals to Liverpool. He was rated by World Soccer Magazine as Bruges' best player in that 1978 Final. At 32 Cools left Bruges to join Beerschot where he enjoyed a new lease of life, becoming Captain of the national team. At the 1980 European Championship in Italy Cools played in all four of Belgium's games including the Final where they lost to West Germany. He was capped 35 times and scored two goals for the Belgian national team. In April 2008, he accepted an offer to become the Assistant coach of the

Brunei national football team The Brunei national football team (; recognized as Brunei Darussalam by FIFA), nicknamed ''Tebuan'' (The Wasps), is the national team of Brunei, controlled by the Football Association of Brunei Darussalam. The team was founded in 1959 and join ...

Honours

Player

Club Brugge * Belgian First Division A: 1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78 *

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (french: link=no, Coupe de Belgique; nl, Beker van België []; german: link=no, Belgischer Fußballpokal) is the main Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in Belgium, run by the Belgia ...

: List of Belgian Cup finals, 1976–77 (winners), 1978-79 (runners-up) * UEFA Europa League, UEFA Cup: 1975-1976 (

runners-up A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

) *

European Champion Clubs' Cup The European Champion Clubs' Cup, also known as Coupe des Clubs Champions Européens, or simply the European Cup, is a trophy awarded annually by UEFA to the football club that wins the UEFA Champions League. The competition in its older format ...

: 1977–78 (

runners-up A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

)

International

Belgium *

UEFA European Championship 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 conte ...

: 1980 (

runners-up A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

) * Belgian Sports Merit Award: 1980

Individual

: 1977

References

1947 births Living people Belgian footballers Belgium international footballers Club Brugge KV players UEFA Euro 1980 players K.F.C. Dessel Sport players K. Beringen F.C. players K. Beerschot V.A.C. players K.V.C. Westerlo players People from Retie Association football midfielders Footballers from Antwerp Province {{Belgium-footy-midfielder-stub