Ruud Krol

Dutch footballer and manager (born 1949) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rudolf Jozef "Ruud" (or "Rudi") Krol (Dutch pronunciation: [ryt ˈkrɔl]; born 24 March 1949)[5] is a Dutch former professional footballer who was capped 83 times for the Netherlands national team.[5] Most of his career he played for his home town club, Ajax. He became a coach after retirement.[6] Regarded as one of the greatest defenders of all time,[7][8] Krol mainly played as a sweeper or left-back, though he could play anywhere across the back line, or in midfield as a defensive midfielder, due to his range of passing with both feet, temperament, tactical intelligence, and his ability to start attacking plays after winning back the ball.[9]

Full name Rudolf Jozef Krol
Date of birth (1949-03-24) 24 March 1949 (age 76)
Place of birth Amsterdam, Netherlands
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Quick facts Personal information, Full name ...
Ruud Krol
Krol in 2005
Personal information
Full name Rudolf Jozef Krol
Date of birth (1949-03-24) 24 March 1949 (age 76)
Place of birth Amsterdam, Netherlands
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1968–1980 Ajax 339 (23)
1980 Vancouver Whitecaps 14 (0)
1980–1984 Napoli 107 (1)
1984–1986 Cannes 63 (0)
Total 523 (24)
International career
1969–1983 Netherlands[1][2] 83 (4)
Managerial career
1989–1990 Mechelen
1990 Servette
1991–1993 Netherlands U21 (assistant)
1994–1995 Egypt U23
1995–1996 Egypt[3]
1997–1999 Zamalek
1999 Al-Wahda
1999–2001 Netherlands (assistant)
2002–2005 Ajax (assistant)
2006–2007 Ajaccio
2007–2008 Zamalek
2008–2011 Orlando Pirates
2012–2013 Sfaxien
2013 Tunisia
2014 Espérance
2014 Al-Ahli
2015 Raja Casablanca
2016 Club Africain
2018–2019 Sfaxien
2020 Kuwait SC[4]
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Netherlands (as player)
FIFA World Cup
Runner-up1974 West Germany
Runner-up1978 Argentina
European Championship
Third place1976 Yugoslavia
Representing  Egypt (as manager)
African Games
Gold medal – first place1995 Harare
* Club domestic league appearances and goals
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Playing career

Club

Krol with Ajax in 1979

He began his career at Ajax under manager Rinus Michels. In his first season at the club (1968-69), he only played one match.[10] After the departure of left-back Theo van Duivenbode to Feyenoord in the summer of 1969,[11] Krol became a regular player. When Ajax reached the UEFA European Cup in 1971, and won, Krol did not play because of a broken leg.[12] Krol did play in the European Cup finals of 1972 and 1973. While others, such as Johan Cruyff and Johan Neeskens, left for new pastures, Krol, captain since the departure of Piet Keizer in October 1974, stayed at Ajax until June 1980.[13]

He moved to the North American Soccer League to play for the Vancouver Whitecaps[14] for four months.[13] He then joined Napoli in September 1980,[15] where he played for the next four seasons and earned him the nicknames Grande Rudy (meaning Big Rudy) and Il Tulipano Azzurro (meaning the blue tulip).[13] His last club was in France with Cannes, at the time playing in Ligue 2 (the French Second division), before retiring in 1986.[13][16]

International

Krol with the Netherlands in 1974

Internationally, Krol made his debut for the Netherlands in 1969 against England,[17] 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, in which the Netherlands reached the final, Krol primarily played at left-back. He created Cruyff's goal against Brazil[18] and scored a 25-yard screamer against Argentina.[19]

Krol was part of the Dutch squad that participated in the 1976 European Championship; the team finished in third place.

By the time the 1978 FIFA World Cup came about, Krol had switched to playing as a sweeper and had earned the captain's armband after the retirement of Cruyff. The Dutch team lost the World Cup final for a second time in a row.

Krol played for the Netherlands as captain at the 1980 European Championship, where the team didn't overcome the first round. He played for part of the qualifying for 1984 European Championship, and played his last match as international in 1983.[2]

With 83 international games, he was the most capped Dutch player when he quit, until Aron Winter surpassed him during UEFA Euro 2000.[20] In the 83 matches for the Netherlands, Krol captained the Dutch team 45 times, third most behind Virgil van Dijk and Frank de Boer.[21]

Managerial career

Krol started his career as manager with K.V. Mechelen in July 1989, but he was sacked in January 1990.[22] In his managerial career, he has been head coach of Egypt,[3] and has been assistant manager of the Netherlands (under Frank Rijkaard[23] and Louis van Gaal[24]) and Ajax (under Ronald Koeman[25]). He became the interim manager of Ajax after the resignation of Koeman in February 2005.[26] He was manager of Ajaccio in France Ligue 2 from 2006 to 2007.[27]

Krol managed Zamalek from 1997 to 1999[28], winning the Afro-Asian Club Championship in 1997. He returned as manager of Zamalek in August 2007.[28] Krol's return to Zamalek was meant to be a stabilizing presence, after the club having gone through several managers in the preceding two seasons. He won the Egypt Cup with Zamalek in 2008, but left shortly after.[29] He then signed a three-year contract with the South African giants Orlando Pirates.[30] In his three years with the Orlando Pirates, he won two South African cups (the MTN8 and Nedbank Cup) and the national league, all in his last year in charge of the team.[31] Despite that success his contract was not renewed.[32]

After his stint in South Africa, he was contacted to lead the Tunisia national team in the play-off qualifying round for the 2014 World Cup against Cameroon. He accepted that role and simultaneously became manager of CS Sfaxien and Tunisia in September 2013.[33] In 2013, Krol won the 2013 CAF Confederation Cup and the Tunisian championship with Sfaxien, after a fierce battle with the other three of the Tunisian big four.[34][35] He quit as the national team interim coach following Tunisia's loss in the World Cup play-off and he resigned from his duties as Sfaxien coach after the second leg of the final against TP Mazembe on 30 November 2013.[36]

In January 2014, he was appointed new head coach of Tunisian side ES Tunis.[37]

Personal life

  • On 6 July 1972, Krol married Yvonne van Ingen.[38] The couple has a daughter.[39]
  • On 26 September 1974, together with teammate Arie Haan, he opened a snack bar on Reguliersbreestraat in Amsterdam.[40]
  • His father Rudolf Josef (nicknamed Kuki) Krol (1922-2003)[41] participated in the Dutch resistance during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.[42] Thanks to Kuki Krol, a brother of referee Leo Horn, George Horn, was able to go into hiding and hence survived the war.[43]

Career statistics

Club

More information Club, Season ...
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[2][44]
Club Season League National cup[a] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Ajax 1968–69 Eredivisie 10———10
1969–70 Eredivisie 3425010[b]0—482
1970–71 Eredivisie 242407[c]0—352
1971–72 Eredivisie 330509[c]0—470
1972–73 Eredivisie 343107[c]14[d]0464
1973–74 Eredivisie 343402[c]02[e]0423
1974–75 Eredivisie 241106[f]1—312
1975–76 Eredivisie 313306[f]03[g]0433
1976–77 Eredivisie 331—2[f]1—352
1977–78 Eredivisie 342706[c]0—472
1978–79 Eredivisie 242506[f]0—352
1979–80 Eredivisie 334607[c]4—468
Total 339234106879045630
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1980 NASL 140———140
Total 140———140
SSC Napoli 1980–81 Serie A 291———291
1981-82 Serie A 270601[f]0—340
1982–83 Serie A 300704[f]0—410
1983–84 Serie A 210———210
Total 107113050—1251
AS Cannes 1984-85 Ligue 2 34030——370
1985-86 Ligue 2 290———290
Total 6303000—660
Career total 523245707379066131
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  1. [a]
    Appearances in KNVB Cup, Coppa Italia, Coupe de France
  2. [b]
    Appearances in Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
  3. [c]
    Appearances in European Cup
  4. [d]
    Two appearances in European Super Cup, two appearances in Intercontinental Cup
  5. [e]
    Two appearances in European Super Cup
  6. [f]
    Appearances in UEFA Cup
  7. [g]
    Appearances in Dutch playoffs to qualify for European football 1975 [nl]

International

More information National team, Year ...
Appearances and goals by national team and year[45]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Netherlands 196910
197020
197120
197250
197370
1974142
197560
197661
197760
1978141
197960
198060
198150
198220
198310
Total834
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Scores and results list the Netherlands' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Krol goal.
More information No., Date ...
List of international goals scored by Ruud Krol[45]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
127 March 1974De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands Austria1–11–1Friendly
226 June 1974Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen, Germany Argentina3–04–01974 FIFA World Cup
313 October 1976De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands Northern Ireland1–12–21978 FIFA World Cup qualification
420 September 1978Goffertstadion, Nijmegen, Netherlands Iceland1–03–0UEFA Euro 1980 qualification
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During the 1974 FIFA World Cup, Krol made an own goal in the match against Bulgaria.[46]

Honours

Player

Ajax[47]

Netherlands

Individual

Coach

Ajaccio

Ajax (as assistent to manager Ronald Koeman)

Zamalek

Orlando Pirates

  • Premier Soccer League: 2011; runner-up 2009
  • Nedbank Cup: 2011; runner-up 2010
  • Telkom charity cup: 2010, 2011
  • MTN 8: 2010

Sfaxien

Esperance

Raja Casablanca

Kuwait

Egyptian Olympic Team (U23)

Egypt

Netherlands (as assistant to manager Frank Rijkaard)

Individual

References

External links

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