| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gino Ronald van Kessel[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1993-03-09)9 March 1993 (age 32) | ||
| Place of birth | Alkmaar, Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Forca Kochi | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Kolping Boys | |||
| SV Vrone | |||
| Telstar | |||
| 2008–2012 | AZ | ||
| 2012–2013 | Ajax | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013–2014 | Ajax | 0 | (0) |
| 2013 | →Almere City (loan) | 10 | (1) |
| 2013–2014 | →AS Trenčín (loan) | 25 | (10) |
| 2014 | Arles-Avignon | 14 | (2) |
| 2015–2016 | AS Trenčín | 47 | (23) |
| 2016–2018 | Slavia Prague | 7 | (2) |
| 2017 | →Lechia Gdańsk (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | →Oxford United (loan) | 23 | (3) |
| 2018–2019 | Roeselare | 14 | (1) |
| 2019 | Spartak Trnava | 2 | (0) |
| 2019 | →AS Trenčín (loan) | 13 | (3) |
| 2020 | AS Trenčín | 10 | (3) |
| 2020–2021 | Olympiakos Nicosia | 20 | (3) |
| 2021–2022 | Dalkurd | 0 | (0) |
| 2022 | Gyirmót | 3 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | Michalovce | 33 | (5) |
| 2025– | Forca Kochi | ||
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015– | Curaçao | 25 | (8) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 1 November 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 9 March 2024 | |||
Gino Ronald van Kessel (born 9 March 1993) is a Curaçaoan professionalfootballer who plays as aforward for theSuper League Kerala clubForca Kochi.[2]
Van Kessel joined the youth ranks ofAZ Alkmaar in 2008. In 2012, he finished as top scorer of the 2012Copa Amsterdam with 5 goals.
In the same year, Van Kessel joinedAjax. In 2013, he again became top scorer of the Copa Amsterdam, netting three goals for the Amsterdam side.[3]
Initially, Van Kessel was part of Ajax's reserve squad.
For the 2013–14 season he returned to Ajax. Following his second appearance in the Copa Amsterdam in which he again finished as top scorer of the tournament, Van Kessel was given the number 34 shirt and participated in the Ajax pre-season training camp. He also appeared in a friendly fixture againstSDC Putten, coming on in the second half forTobias Sana in the 1–4 away victory.[4]
In December 2012, Van Kessel was loaned to neighboringAlmere City FC, where he played in the DutchJupiler League for the remainder of the 2012–2013 season. InAlmere he was rejoined with his fellow Ajax teammatesSven Nieuwpoort andHenri Toivomaki, all playing for Almere City on loan from Ajax. During his loan period, he appeared in ten league matches, scoring once.[5]
On 14 July 2013, it was announced that Van Kessel would serve a six-month loan spell inSlovakia, playing forFK AS Trenčín in theSlovak Super Liga until the winter transfer window in January. At Trenčín, a club owned by former Ajax playerTschen La Ling, he was given the number 9 shirt.[6]
He was on the bench in Sweden for his new club'sUEFA Europa League qualifying match againstIFK Göteborg on 18 July 2013 but did not make an appearance in the 0–0 draw. Instead he made his debut for Trenčín in a regular season 2–1 away loss againstSpartak Trnava. Van Kessel started in the striker position, and was substituted off in the 61st minute, after having been cautioned in the 56th minute.[7] He made his continental debut on 8 August 2013, in aUEFA Europa League qualifying match againstAstra Giurgiu, having been brought in forKarol Mondek in the 61st minute, and scoring in the 88th minute.[8] The match ended in a 2–2 resulting in a 3–5 aggregate loss for AS Trenčín, and elimination in the third qualifying round.[9] A few days later, on 11 August 2013, Van Kessel scored his first league goal in an encounter withDAC which ended in a 6–0 victory for Trenčín.[10] On 1 December 2013, Van Kessel returned to Amsterdam with AS Trenčín sitting in second place in their league table at the time of his return, making a total of 16 league appearances, scoring 8 goals, and six assists during league play, having also scored once in the Europa League while playing for the Slovakian side.[11]
On 18 January 2014, his loan was extended until 1 July 2014 for an additional six months completing the season with the Slovakian side.[12]
On 25 August 2014, it was announced that Van Kessel had joined the FrenchLigue 2 side from Avignon, signing a two-year contract with the club.[13] He made his debut for Arles-Avignon in an away match againstNîmes Olympique on 29 August 2014 which ended in a 2–2 draw.[14] On 12 September 2014, he scored his first goal for Arles-Avignon in a 1–0 victory at home againstTours FC.
On 1 January 2015, Van Kessel returned to Trenčín, the club where he had previously won both "MVP" and "Fans Favorite" club awards during his loan spell from Ajax.[15] He made his first appearance of the season on 28 February 2015 in a 2–0 home win againstDukla Banská Bystrica.[16]
In July 2016, Van Kessel joined the Czech sideSlavia Prague becoming one of the most expensive players ever bought by a Czech team with a transfer fee equivalent to €1.2 million.[17] On 21 July 2016, he played his first game with Slavia, scoring a goal and an assist againstLevadia Tallinn in a second qualifying round match of theUEFA Europa League.
On the final day of the 2016–17 winter transfer window, it was announced that Van Kessel would serve out the remainder of the season on a six-month loan spell with Polish clubLechia Gdańsk competing in theEkstraklasa, the top flight of football in Poland.[18] During his half-season in Poland, he only appeared in three league matches, playing for a combined total of 166 minutes.[19]
In August 2017, Van Kessel joined English sideOxford United on loan fromSlavia Prague. He scored a fantastic individual goal just 3 minutes after replacingMarvin Johnson to mark a fairytale debut appearance for the Yellows in a 3–0 home victory overPortsmouth inLeague One.[20]
On 9 August 2018, van Kessel signed for Belgian second division sideK.S.V. Roeselare on a one-year contract.[21]
On 19 July 2019 he returned to Slovakia signing with first-tier sideFC Spartak Trnava. He made one appearance in afriendly match against Bulgarian sideLokomotiv Plovdiv on 25 July 2019.
He was subsequently loaned out on a 6-month loan spell to his former club AS Trenčín.[citation needed]
On the final transfer day of the winter transfer window for the2019–20 Slovak First Football League, Van Kessel was transferred to his former club following a successful six-month loan spell. He played a total of 26 matches for Trenčín that season, scoring six goals.
In July 2020, Van Kessel left for two seasons toOlympiakos Nicosia.[22][23] In March 2021, his contract was terminated in connection with theCOVID-19 pandemic in Cyprus, returning to the Netherlands in search of a new club.[24]
On 16 August 2021 it was announced that Van Kessel had signed with Swedish clubDalkurd FF, competing in theEttan Fotboll Division 1, the third tier of professional football in Sweden.[25]
On 20 January 2022, after having made zero appearances for Dalkurd, Van Kessel moved to HungarianNB I sideGyirmót FC Győr on a free transfer.[26]
On 6 September 2023, Van Kessel joinedMFK Zemplín Michalovce on a free transfer.
After being released by Zemplín, Van Kessel joinedCA Pulpileño on 21 March 2025.
On 24 May 2015, it was announced that Van Kessel had received his first International call-up by head coachPatrick Kluivert to representCuraçao in the2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match againstCuba on 7 June 2015.[27] He made his first appearance in a 0–0 draw at home on 10 June 2015, coming on as a 69-minute substitute.[28] He made his debut on 10 June 2015 in the home leg against Cuba which ended in a 0–0 draw, coming on as a 69th-minute substitute forQuenten Martinus. Curaçao were able to defeat Cuba based on the away goal rule following a 1–1 draw inHavana, thus qualifying for theThird round of CONCACAF qualification.[29]
Curaçao were eliminated from qualifications in the third round byEl Salvador, losing both matches 1–0 with Van Kessel playing the full 90 minutes in both matches, failing to qualify for the2018 FIFA World Cup inRussia.[30] On 26 March 2016, Van Kessel scored his first goal for the national team in his sixth match for Curaçao in a2017 Caribbean Cup qualification match against theDominican Republic.[31] Curaçao advanced to the second round, with a 2–1 win. In the following round, the team defeatedGuyana (5–2) and theU.S. Virgin Islands (7–0) advancing to the third round. Van Kessel scored twice against Guyana, while scoring a hattrick against the U.S. Virgin Islands.[32]
On 11 October 2016, Curaçao finished the third qualifying round ahead of the2017 Caribbean Cup atop of their group, finishing ahead ofAntigua and Barbuda andPuerto Rico, thus qualifying for the final tournament, as well as the2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup. It was the country's first berth to the finals of the Continental tournament since the dissolution of theNetherlands Antilles, and their first time to the tournament since1969.
Having appeared in all qualifying matches, Van Kessel finished as joint top scorer of the qualification rounds of the tournament, together with his teammateFelitciano Zschusschen, with 7 goals each.[33] As a result, he was subsequently nominated for the2016 CONCACAF Best XI selection, losing to contendersAndré-Pierre Gignac andBryan Ruiz in the process.[34]
| Season | Club | League | Cup | Continental1 | Other2 | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Ajax | 2012–13 | Eredivisie | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | |||
| Almere City (loan) | 2012–13 | Eerste Divisie | 10 | 1 | – | – | – | 10 | 1 | |||
| AS Trenčín (loan) | 2013–14 | Corgoň Liga | 24 | 10 | – | 1 | 1 | – | 25 | 11 | ||
| Arles-Avignon | 2014–15 | Ligue 2 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | 11 | 2 | |
| AS Trenčín | 2014–15 | Fortuna Liga | 14 | 6 | 4 | 2 | – | – | 18 | 8 | ||
| 2015–16 | 33 | 17 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 0 | – | 40 | 24 | |||
| Total | 47 | 23 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 32 | ||
| Slavia Prague | 2016–17 | Czech League | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | – | 14 | 4 | |
| Lechia Gdańsk (loan) | 2016–17 | Ekstraklasa | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 3 | 0 | |
| Oxford United (loan) | 2017–18 | EFL League One | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Career total | 100 | 39 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 122 | 51 | ||
1IncludesUEFA Champions League andUEFA Europa League matches.
2IncludesJohan Cruijff Shield,Slovak Super Cup andCoupe de la Ligue matches.
| Curaçao national team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals | |||
| 2015 | 4 | 0 | |||
| 2016 | 6 | 7 | |||
| 2017 | 8 | 0 | |||
| 2018 | 1 | 1 | |||
| 2019 | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 25 | 8 | |||
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 March 2016 | Ergilio Hato Stadium,Willemstad, Curaçao | 6 |  Dominican Republic | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2017 Caribbean Cup qualification |
| 2 | 1 June 2016 | 7 |  Guyana | 2–1 | 5–2 | ||
| 3 | 4–1 | ||||||
| 4 | 7 June 2016 | 8 |  U.S. Virgin Islands | 1–0 | 7–0 | ||
| 5 | 3–0 | ||||||
| 6 | 5–0 | ||||||
| 7 | 5 October 2016 | 9 |  Antigua and Barbuda | 3–0 | 3–0 | ||
| 8 | 23 March 2018 | 19 |  Bolivia | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
AS Trenčín[37]
Slavia Prague[37]
Curaçao[37]
Individual
Curaçao squads | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||
