sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Dion-Johan Chai Cools[3] (born 4 June 1996) is a Malaysian professional footballer who plays as a right-back or centre-back for Czech club FK Jablonec and the Malaysia national team. At club level, he has played in Belgium and Denmark for OH Leuven, Club Brugge and FC Midtjylland.

Dion Cools

Cools playing for Malaysia in 2022
Personal information
Full name	Dion-Johan Chai Cools
Date of birth	(1996-06-04) 4 June 1996 (age 26)
Place of birth	Kuching, Malaysia[1]
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s)	Defender
Club information
Current team	Jablonec
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)
National team‡
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 12 November 2022 ‡ 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-years-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 he finished his 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 guaranteed Cools less 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 is 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 documentation regarding his eligibility was completed with FIFA and the AFC.[23] The owner of Johor Darul Ta'zim, Tunku Ismail Idris 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 with 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 12 November 2022[31]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

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[lower-alpha 1]	0	33	1
Club Brugge	2015–16	Belgian Pro League	5	0	3	0	4[lower-alpha 2]	1	0	0	12	1
	2016–17	First Division A	24	3	2	0	3[lower-alpha 2]	0	1[lower-alpha 3]	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
Career total			164	8	18	2	18	1	8	0	210	11

International

As of match played 25 September 2022[33]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

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

• Belgian Second Division play-offs: 2015

Club Brugge

• Belgian First Division A: 2015–16, 2017–18
• Belgian Super Cup: 2016, 2018

Midtjylland

• Danish Superliga: 2019–20

References

External links

• Dion Cools at soccerstats247
• Dion Cools at ultimatealeague

На других языках

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[de] Dion Cools

Dion-Johan Cools (* 4. Juni 1996 in Kuching, Malaysia) ist ein malaysisch-belgischer Fußballspieler auf der Position eines Abwehrspielers. Er ist Nationalspieler Malaysias und steht seit dem 31. Januar 2020 beim dänischen Erstligisten FC Midtjylland unter Vertrag. Momentan ist er von dort an den SV Zulte Waregem in Belgien verliehen

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- [en] Dion Cools

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[es] Dion Cools

Dion Cools (Kuching, 4 de junio de 1996) es un futbolista malayo-belga que juega de defensa en el F. K. Jablonec de la Liga de Fútbol de la República Checa.[1]

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[fr] Dion Cools

Dion-Johan Cools, né le 4 juin 1996 à Kuching, est un footballeur international malaisien. Il évolue au poste d'arrière droit.

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[it] Dion Cools

Dion-Johan Cools (Kuching, 4 giugno 1996) è un calciatore belga naturalizzato malaysiano, difensore dello Jablonec e della nazionale malaysiana.

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[ru] Колс, Дион

Дион Йохан Колс (нидерл. Dion Johan Cools; 4 июня 1996, Кучинг, Малайзия) — малайзийский футболист, защитник чешского клуба «Яблонец» и национальной сборной Малайзии.

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