| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1981-03-13)13 March 1981 (age 44) | ||
| Place of birth | Zevenaar, Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1994 | OBW | ||
| 1994–2000 | Vitesse | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2000–2007 | Vitesse | 105 | (9) |
| 2007–2008 | PAOK | 23 | (0) |
| 2008–2011 | Sparta Rotterdam | 55 | (8) |
| Total | 183 | (17) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2012–2013 | Vitesse U17 (assistant) | ||
| 2013–2014 | Vitesse U14 | ||
| 2014–2016 | Vitesse U15 | ||
| 2016–2017 | Vitesse U16 | ||
| 2017–2019 | Jong Vitesse (assistant) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Ruud Knol (born 13 March 1981) is a Dutch professionalfootball coach and former player. He most notably played as acentre-back forVitesse between 2000 and 2007.
Knol was born inZevenaar, in the province ofGelderland and started his career at OBW, where he was spotted byVitesse scouts.[2] He made his professional debut for Vitesse on 8 September 2000, replacingTheo Janssen in the 80th minute of a 2–2 draw againstWillem II.[3] He played six years for Vitesse and was called up once by then Netherlands coachLouis van Gaal for theNetherlands national team.[4] A serious injury threatened his career between 2002 and 2005 but he came back to play for Vitesse.
In December 2006, it was announced that Knol would be leaving Vitesse. His contract was set to expire, and was not renewed due to significant differences between the two parties. Furthermore, Knol expressed his desire for a fresh challenge. Some media speculated that his motivation was financial gain, which he denied.[5] Despite receiving interest from various clubs, including1. FC Köln andSouthampton, Knol remained without a team for an extended period.[6] Then, on 18 August, it was revealed that Knol had signed a two-year contract with Greek clubPAOK.[7] After one season in Greece, he returned to the Netherlands to play forSparta Rotterdam.[8]
Starting from the preseason of the2011–12 season, Knol maintained his fitness at Vitesse while waiting for an attractive offer from abroad. Vitesse's coach,John van den Brom, had previously indicated that Knol was not in consideration for a contract with Vitesse.[9] As a result, Knol made every effort to find a new club. However, after an unsuccessful trial atCoventry City and other attempts, he decided to retire from professional football.[10]
In July 2012, Knol returned to his former club, Vitesse, initially taking on the role of assistant coach for the under-17 team. However, in July 2013, he assumed the position of head coach for the under-14 team. On 16 January 2017, Vitesse announced that Theo Janssen would immediately become the coach of Vitesse O16. In response, Knol transitioned to the role of assistant coach for the reserve team, known asJong Vitesse.[11][12]
Jong Vitesse's stay in theTweede Divisie was short-lived, lasting only one year. The team, under the leadership ofJohn Lammers and Knol, finished seventeenth, which led to their relegation to theDerde Divisie.[13] During the 2019–20 season, Knol worked as an analyst atDe Graafschap.[14]
| Club | Season | League | KNVB Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Vitesse | 2000–01 | Eredivisie | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | |
| 2001–02 | Eredivisie | 24 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 3 | |||
| 2002–03 | Eredivisie | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2003–04 | Eredivisie | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 4[b] | 1 | 16 | 3 | ||
| 2004–05 | Eredivisie | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| 2005–06 | Eredivisie | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 6[c] | 0 | 33 | 1 | ||
| 2006–07 | Eredivisie | 23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 6[c] | 1 | 29 | 4 | ||
| Total | 105 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 126 | 11 | ||
| PAOK | 2007–08 | Super League | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 0 | ||
| Sparta Rotterdam | 2008–09 | Eredivisie | 26 | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 5 | ||
| 2009–10 | Eredivisie | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 4[b] | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | Eerste Divisie | 17 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 3 | |||
| Total | 55 | 8 | 5 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | 64 | 8 | |||
| Career total | 183 | 17 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 2 | 213 | 19 | ||