Ruud Krol is a former professional football player and team manager from the Netherlands. As a player, he was named to the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team in 1974 and 1978. In 1979, he came in third place for the voting of Ballon d’Or. He has played for teams like Ajax and Napoli.
Player Profile and Personal Life
Rudolf (“Ruud” or “Rudi”) Jozef Krol was born on March 24, 1949, in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. He is married to Yvonne van Ingen, they have a daughter together.
Youth Career
He started his professional career with Ajax in 1968 under the management of Rinus Michels. He played with the club through to 1980. In that time, he helped them win the KNVB Cup four times. They also won the European Cup thrice and the UEFA Super Cup in 1972 and 1973.
| Position | Defender |
| Height / weight | 1.84 m / |
| Born | 24 Mar 1949 |
| Nationality |
Netherlands
|
| Nickname | Rudi |
| Team History | |
AS Cannes
|
1984 - 1986 |
SSC Napoli
|
1980 - 1984 |
Ajax
|
1968 - 1980 |
| Vancouver Whitecaps (NASL) | 1980 |
Professional Career
In total, he made 339 appearances with Ajax. In 1980, he made 14 appearances with the Vancouver Whitecaps. From 1980-1984, he played for Napoli, making 107 appearances. His last two seasons as a player were spent with Cannes. He retired in 1986.
Concurrent to his club career, Krol also played for the Netherlands and they twice made it to the finals of the FIFA World Cup, in 1974 and again in 1978.
A few years after he hung up his cleats, he returned to the sport, this time in a manager capacity. The first time he managed was Mechelen. From 1990 to 2020, he managed 19 teams, including a number of National Teams, like that of the Netherlands and Egypt. He also served as an assistant manager for his former team, Ajax, from 2002-2005.
Career Highlights:
Player
Ajax
- Eredivisie - 1969–70, 1971–72,1972–73, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80
- KNVB Cup - 1969–70, 1970–71,1971–72, 1978–79
- European Cup - 1970–71, 1971–72,1972–73
- UEFA Super Cup - 1972, 1973
- Intercontinental Cup - 1972
Netherlands
- FIFA World Cup runner-up - 1974,1978
- UEFA Euro third place - 1976
Individual
- FIFA World Cup All-Star Team - 1974,1978
- UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament -1976
- FIFA XI - 1979
- Ballon d’Or – third place - 1979
- Guerin d’Oro (Serie A Footballer ofthe Year) - 1981[15]
Coach
Ajaccio
- Ligue 2 third place - 2007
Zamalek
- Afro-Asian Club Championship - 1997
- Egyptian Premier League - runner-up1998, 2008
- Egypt Cup - 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 -2013
- CAF Confederation Cup - 2013
- Tunisian Cup - runner-up 2012
Esperance
- Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 -2014
Raja Casablanca
- UNAF Club Cup - 2015
Kuwait SC
- Kuwait Premier League - 2019–20
Egyptian Olympic Team (U23)
- All African Games - gold medal 1995
Egypt
- 1996 African Cup of Nations - secondround
Netherlands (assistant coach underFrank Rijkaard)
- UEFA Euro 2000 - semi-final
Individual
- PSL Coach of the Season - 2010–11
Team History:
International Career
- 1969–1983 - Netherlands
Management Career
- 1989–1990 - Mechelen
- 1990 - Servette
- 1991–1993 - Netherlands U-21(Assistant)
- 1994–1995 - Egypt U-23
- 1995–1996 - Egypt
- 1997–1999 - Zamalek
- 1999 - Al-Wahda Abu Dhabi
- 1999–2001 - Netherlands (Assistant)
- 2002–2005 - Ajax (Assistant)
- 2006–2007 - Ajaccio
- 2007–2008 - Zamalek
- 2008–2011 - Orlando Pirates
- 2012–2013 - CS Sfaxien
- 2013 - Tunisia
- 2014 - Espérance de Tunis
- 2014 - Al-Ahli Tripoli
- 2015 - Raja Club Athletic
- 2016 - Club Africain
- 2018–2019 - CS Sfaxien
- 2020 -Present Kuwait SC
