Dion Cools
Dion-Johan Chai Cools[3] (born 4 June 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a right back for Thai League 1 club Buriram United and the Malaysia national team. At club level, he has played in Belgium and Denmark for OH Leuven, Club Brugge and FC Midtjylland.
| Cools playing for Malaysia in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dion-Johan Chai Cools | ||
| Date of birth | 4 June 1996 | ||
| Place of birth | Kuching, Malaysia[1] | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Right back | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Buriram United | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2002–2005 | Tempo Overijse | ||
| 2005–2010 | OH Leuven | ||
| 2010–2011 | Anderlecht | ||
| 2011–2013 | OH Leuven | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013–2015 | OH Leuven | 26 | (0) |
| 2015–2020 | Club Brugge | 81 | (7) |
| 2020–2022 | Midtjylland | 38 | (1) |
| 2022 | → Zulte Waregem (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 2022 | Jablonec | 8 | (0) |
| 2023– | Buriram United | 5 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2014 | Belgium U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | Belgium U19 | 8 | (2) |
| 2016–2019 | Belgium U21 | 18 | (4) |
| 2021– | Malaysia | 13 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 February 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 September 2022 | |||
Cools has represented Belgium at youth level with 28 caps, but chose to play for the Malaysian national football team at senior level. He made his senior debut for Malaysia on 3 June 2021.
Early life
Cools was born to a Belgian father and Malaysian Hakka mother in Kuching, before the couple moved to Belgium after their marriage more than 20 years ago. He spent time with several Belgian clubs during his youth career before debuting in professional level with OH Leuven in 2014.[1]
Club career
Early years
Cools started his career with Tempo Overijse, but soon moved to OH Leuven as a 9-year-old.[4] In 2010, he joined the Anderlecht youth team.[5] After a season, he returned to the OH Leuven youth academy in 2013. He signed his first professional contract with the club in July 2014 after completing secondary school.[6][7]
OH Leuven
On 3 August 2014, Cools made his debut in the first team of OH Leuven, competing in the Belgian Second Division. He was in the starting lineup for the away match against Racing Mechelen.[8][9] In May 2015, he participated with OH Leuven in the final round for promotion. Cools did not miss a single minute of the final round and won promotion to the Belgian First Division A again with the club.[10]
Club Brugge
On 23 June 2015, Cools signed a four-year contract with Club Brugge. He won two Belgian national titles and twice the Belgian Super Cup. Cools became a starter under head coach Michel Preud'homme in the 2016–17 season due to poor performances by former Dutch international Ricardo van Rhijn, who had initially become the starter after the departure of regular right-back Thomas Meunier to Paris-Saint Germain.[11][12] Cools also remained a starter under new coach Ivan Leko, with whom he was reunited after his time with OH Leuven. Cools would, however, later become benched after the emergence of Clinton Mata at the position.[13]
Midtjylland
On 31 January 2020, Cools signed a three-year contract with Midtjylland in the Danish Superliga.[14] He made his debut for the club on 17 February in a 2–0 win over Lyngby.[15] Cools scored his first goal for the club on 14 February 2021, the only goal of the match in a win over Horsens in the Superliga.[16]
Cools and FC Midtjylland have mutually agreed to cancel his contract with the club on 9 September 2022, making him a free agent.[17]
Zulte Waregem (loan)
On 4 January 2022, Cools was loaned out to Zulte Waregem by Midtjylland until the end of 2021–22 season as Cools was looking for more playing time, according to Midtjylland's director of football.[18][19]
FK Jablonec
On 12 September 2022, Cools has signed for Czech club FK Jablonec on a short-term deal.[20][21] He stated that the motivation behind the move is to get more playing time as his former club, Midtjylland, decided to switch to a different playing system, which curtailed his playing time.[22]
International career
He was called up for 2015 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification by Belgian Under-19 national team coach, Gert Verheyen. He was also eligible to play for Malaysia through his mother's bloodline.
On 1 June 2021, Cools was announced as the newest addition to Malaysia's 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers match against the United Arab Emirates, after paperwork for his eligibility was completed with FIFA and the AFC.[23] The owner of Johor Darul Ta'zim, Tembam is said to play a significant role in convincing Cools to choose Malaysia as the national team he wanted to represent at the senior level.[24] He debuted for Malaysia in a 4–0 loss to UAE on 3 June 2021.[25]
Cools scored his first international goal in Malaysia's final AFC 2023 Asian Cup Qualifiers match against Bangladesh, helping Malaysia secure a 4–1 win,[26] which confirmed Malaysia's AFC Asian Cup qualification for the first time by merit in 42 years.[27] Cools was named as the man of the match.[28]
Personal life
Dion Cools and Melissa Schelfhout had a child named Liam-Zayn Cools,[29] before getting married on 6 May 2022.[30]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 4 February 2023[31]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| OH Leuven | 2014–15[32] | Belgian Second Division | 26 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 6[a] | 0 | 33 | 1 | |
| Club Brugge | 2015–16 | Belgian Pro League | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4[b] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
| 2016–17 | First Division A | 24 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3[b] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 30 | 3 | |
| 2017–18 | First Division A | 35 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 3 | |
| 2018–19 | First Division A | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 1 | |
| 2019–20 | First Division A | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 81 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 106 | 8 | ||
| Midtjylland | 2019–20 | Danish Superliga | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21 | Danish Superliga | 21 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 26 | 1 | ||
| 2021–22 | Danish Superliga | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 18 | 0 | ||
| Total | 38 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 49 | 1 | |||
| Zulte Waregem (loan) | 2021–22 | First Division A | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | ||
| Jablonec | 2022–23 | Czech First League | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 9 | 1 | ||
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Asia | Other | Total | ||||||
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Buriram United | 2022–23 | Thai League 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Career total | 167 | 8 | 18 | 2 | 18 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 213 | 11 | ||
- ^ Appearances in the Second Division play-offs
- ^ a b Appearances in the Champions League
- ^ Appearance in the Belgian Super Cup
International
- As of match played 25 September 2022[33]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malaysia | 2021 | 4 | 0 |
| 2022 | 9 | 1 | |
| Total | 13 | 1 | |
International goals
International senior goals
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 14 June 2022 | Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur | Bangladesh | 2–1 | 4–1 | 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
Honours
OH Leuven
Club Brugge
Midtjylland
References
- ^ a b "7 European footballers of Southeast Asian origins | Page 4 of 7". Football Tribe Asia. 1 April 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- ^ "DION COOLS". FIFPlay. from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
- ^ "Dion-Johan Chai Cools". www.proleague.be. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ "OFFICIEEL: Oud-Heverlee Leuven geeft jonge verdediger een kans". voetbalnieuws.be.
- ^ "Who is Dion Cools - Meet the former Belgium Under-21 star who is eligible to represent Malaysia | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- ^ . fourfourtwo.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ . ohl.be. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ "Racing Mechelen vs. OH Leuven - 3 August 2014 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
- ^ Bogaert, Glenn (27 October 2015). "Dion Cools: "Opnieuw in de schaduw belanden, dat was even slikken"". De Morgen (in Dutch).
- ^ Stroobants, Tom (26 May 2015). "Zo vierden spelers en supporters van Oud-Heverlee Leuven de promotie". Voetbalkrant.com (in Dutch).
- ^ "Van Rhijn krijgt concurrentie van scorende en gretige back: 'Uitvechten'". www.voetbalprimeur.nl (in Dutch). 30 July 2016.
- ^ "Club bereikt akkoord over opvolger Meunier". Het Nieuwsblad (in Flemish). 19 June 2015.
- ^ "Geen plaats meer bij Club Brugge, Dion Cools dicht bij vertrek in januari". Het Nieuwsblad (in Flemish). 4 December 2019.
- ^ FC MIDTJYLLAND HENTER DION COOLS I CLUB BRÜGGE 31 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine, fcm.dk, 31 January 2020
- ^ Helbo, Benjamin Alexander (17 February 2020). "Dreyers debutant-mål drev FCM til sejr". bold.dk (in Danish).
- ^ "FCM HØSTER TRE POINT MOD HORSENS". FCM (in Danish). 14 February 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
- ^ "FCM ophæver med Dion Cools". FC Midtjylland (in Danish). Retrieved 9 September 2022.
- ^ "Essevee huurt Dion Cools tot het einde van het seizoen". ESSEVEE - SV Zulte Waregem (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 January 2022.
- ^ Risom, Jens. "Dion Cools udlejes til belgisk fodbold". FC Midtjylland (in Danish). Retrieved 5 January 2022.
- ^ "Obránce Dion Cools novým hráčem Jablonce!". FK Jablonec (in Czech). Retrieved 12 September 2022.
- ^ "SportPlus on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
- ^ "Dion Cools: Těším se na novou výzvu!". FK Jablonec (in Czech). Retrieved 12 September 2022.
- ^ Ramalingam, Stuart (1 June 2021). "Dion Cools kini Milik Harimau Malaya". fam.org.my (in Malay).
- ^ Hashim, Firdaus (1 June 2021). "TMJ watak utama pujuk Cools". Harian Metro. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
- ^ "UAE vs. Malaysia - 3 June 2021 - Soccerway".
- ^ "Qualifiers Final Round Group E: Malaysia 4-1 Bangladesh". the-AFC. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
- ^ "Malaysia end wait of more than 40 years to qualify on merit for Asian Cup - BERNAMA". prn.bernama.com. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
- ^ "Cools is hot stuff for Malaysia". New Straits Times Malaysia. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
- ^ "Dion-Johan Cools - Please welcome my pride and joy: Liam-Zayn Cools ❤️ | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
- ^ "Dion-Johan Cools (djcools21)". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ Dion Cools at Soccerway. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
- ^ "Belgium - D. Cools - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". au.soccerway.com. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
- ^ "Dion Cools". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
External links
- Dion Cools at soccerstats247
- Dion Cools at ultimatealeague