Dion Cools

Dion-Johan Chai Cools[3] (born 4 June 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Belgian Pro League club Zulte Waregem, on loan from Midtjylland, and the Malaysia national team.

Dion Cools
Cools playing for Belgium U19 in 2015
Personal information
Full name Dion-Johan Chai Cools
Date of birth (1996-06-04) 4 June 1996
Place of birth Kuching, Malaysia[1]
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s) Right-back, centre-back
Club information
Current team
 Zulte Waregem
(on loan from Midtjylland)
Number 5
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– Midtjylland 38 (1)
2022 → Zulte Waregem (loan) 11 (0)
National team‡
2014 Belgium U18 2 (0)
2014–2015 Belgium U19 8 (2)
2016–2019 Belgium U21 18 (4)
2021– Malaysia 6 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10 April 2022
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 28 March 2022

Cools won 28 caps for Belgium at youth level. In 2021, he was called up to represent Malaysia.

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]

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.[17][18]

International career

Cools was born in Malaysia to a Belgian father and Malaysian mother, and moved to Belgium at a young age.[1] 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.[19] 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.[20] He debuted with Malaysia in a 4–0 loss to UAE on 3 June 2021.[21]

Personal life

Cools' partner is Melissa Schelfhout and they had a child named Liam-Zayn Cools.[22][23]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 10 April 2022[24]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
OH Leuven 2014–15[25] Belgian Second Division 26011—6[lower-alpha 1]0331
Club Brugge 2015–16 Belgian Pro League 50304[lower-alpha 2]100121
2016–17 First Division A 243203[lower-alpha 2]01[lower-alpha 3]0303
2017–18 First Division A 353501000413
2018–19 First Division A 151103010201
2019–20 First Division A 2000100030
Total 817110121201068
FC Midtjylland 2019–20 Danish Superliga 50———50
2020–21 Danish Superliga 2112030—261
2021–22 Danish Superliga 1203030—180
Total 3815060—491
Zulte Waregem (loan) 2021–22 First Division A 110000000110
Career total 15681711818020110
  1. Appearances in the Second Division play-offs
  2. Appearances in the Champions League
  3. Appearance in the Belgian Super Cup

International
As of match played 28 March 2022[26]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Malaysia 202140
202220
Total60

Honours

OH Leuven

Club Brugge

Midtjylland

References
  1. "7 European footballers of Southeast Asian origins | Page 4 of 7". Football Tribe Asia. 1 April 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  2. "DION COOLS". FIFPlay. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  3. "Dion-Johan Chai Cools". www.proleague.be. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  4. "OFFICIEEL: Oud-Heverlee Leuven geeft jonge verdediger een kans". voetbalnieuws.be.
  5. "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.
  6. "Dion Cools: It would be an honour for me to represent Malaysia". fourfourtwo.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  7. "Official website Oud-Heverlee Leuven". ohl.be. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  8. "Racing Mechelen vs. OH Leuven - 3 August 2014 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  9. Bogaert, Glenn (27 October 2015). "Dion Cools: "Opnieuw in de schaduw belanden, dat was even slikken"". De Morgen (in Dutch).
  10. Stroobants, Tom (26 May 2015). "Zo vierden spelers en supporters van Oud-Heverlee Leuven de promotie". Voetbalkrant.com (in Dutch).
  11. "Van Rhijn krijgt concurrentie van scorende en gretige back: 'Uitvechten'". www.voetbalprimeur.nl (in Dutch). 30 July 2016.
  12. "Club bereikt akkoord over opvolger Meunier". Het Nieuwsblad (in Flemish). 19 June 2015.
  13. "Geen plaats meer bij Club Brugge, Dion Cools dicht bij vertrek in januari". Het Nieuwsblad (in Flemish). 4 December 2019.
  14. FC MIDTJYLLAND HENTER DION COOLS I CLUB BRÜGGE, fcm.dk, 31 January 2020
  15. Helbo, Benjamin Alexander (17 February 2020). "Dreyers debutant-mål drev FCM til sejr". bold.dk (in Danish).
  16. "FCM HØSTER TRE POINT MOD HORSENS". FCM (in Danish). 14 February 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  17. "Essevee huurt Dion Cools tot het einde van het seizoen". ESSEVEE - SV Zulte Waregem (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  18. Risom, Jens. "Dion Cools udlejes til belgisk fodbold". FC Midtjylland (in Danish). Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  19. Ramalingam, Stuart (1 June 2021). "Dion Cools kini Milik Harimau Malaya". fam.org.my (in Malay).
  20. Hashim, Firdaus (1 June 2021). "TMJ watak utama pujuk Cools". Harian Metro. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  21. "UAE vs. Malaysia - 3 June 2021 - Soccerway".
  22. "Dion-Johan Cools - Please welcome my pride and joy: Liam-Zayn Cools ❤️ | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  23. Saaid, Hamdan (3 January 2022). "Cools lebih tenang bersama Melissa". Harian Metro. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  24. Dion Cools at Soccerway. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  25. "Belgium - D. Cools - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". au.soccerway.com. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  26. "Dion Cools". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
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