Cornelis Wilhelmus "Cor" Kools (20 July 1907 – 24 September 1985) was a Dutch football player and manager who played his entire career for NAC Breda

NAC Breda

NAC Breda , simply often known as NAC, is a Dutch professional football club, based in Breda, Netherlands. NAC Breda play in the Rat Verlegh Stadium, named after their most important player, Antoon 'Rat' Verlegh. They play in the Dutch Eredivisie and are known by the fierce and fanatic support of...

. Kools played 16 international matches for The Netherlands

Netherlands national football team

The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...

, scoring three times, and participated in the 1928 Summer Olympics

1928 Summer Olympics

The 1928 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Amsterdam had bid for the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games, but had to give way to war-victim Antwerp, Belgium, and Pierre de...

. Kools is also a member of honour of NAC Breda. He died in Breda

Breda

Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. As a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance...

.

Youth career

Kools was born in the town Teteringen

Teteringen

Teteringen is a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the municipality of Breda, about 4 km north of the city centre.Teteringen was a separate municipality until 1997, when it became part of Breda....

, nowadays part of Breda and joined NAC Breda at the age of twelve. When playing as a youth player for NAC Breda, he developed himself as an all-rounder, who could be placed on every position in the field. His technical skills and his leadership skills made him soon a captain.

Senior career

At the age of 18, Kools made his debut on 7 March 1928 in the home match against MVV.In 1931 Kools’ career seemed to stop, because he sustained a serious knee injury in the match against NOAD Tilburg. After a surgery in Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

, Kools was able to play associated football again, but his international career was over. Kools played football until 1941. His entire career he played for NAC Breda, in which he won twice the championship in the 1e Klasse Zuid, reached the semi finals of the KNVB Cup

KNVB Cup

The KNVB Cup is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association since 1899. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside of the Netherlands, it is often referred to as the Dutch Cup...

 and was one time a runner-up for the Dutch national championship.

International career

In March 1928 Kools was invited to play for the Dutch national squad. On 28 April 1928 he played his first international match in Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

 against Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

, in which he scored 1 goal. The Netherlands won this match with 2-0. Later that year he played 2 matches against Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 and Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

 in the 1928 Summer Olympics

1928 Summer Olympics

The 1928 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Amsterdam had bid for the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games, but had to give way to war-victim Antwerp, Belgium, and Pierre de...

, held in Amsterdam. Until November 1930 he played in every match of the Dutch national team. Due to a serious knee injury he sustained in 1931, he had to end his international career.

Manager career

Kools was two times part of the elftalcommissie of NAC Breda, a committee responsible for training and selecting the 11 best players to play for NAC Breda’s first squad. Kools first term in this committee was from 1934 till 1944. His second term was from 1945 till 1947. After his football and manager career, Kools stayed involved with NAC Breda until 1974.