Martin Jol facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Martin Jol

Jol with Ajax in 2010
Personal information
Date of birth	(1956-01-16) 16 January 1956 (age 69)
Place of birth	The Hague, Netherlands
Height	1.88 m
Playing position	Midfielder
Youth career
	JAC ADO Den Haag
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1973–1978	ADO Den Haag	132	(9)
1978–1979	Bayern Munich	9	(0)
1979–1981	Twente	71	(9)
1981–1984	West Bromwich Albion	63	(4)
1984–1985	Coventry City	15	(0)
1985–1989	ADO Den Haag	135	(6)
Total		425	(28)
National team
1980–1981	Netherlands	3	(0)
Teams managed
1991–1995	ADO Den Haag (amateurs)
1995–1996	Scheveningen
1996–1998	Roda JC
1998–2004	RKC Waalwijk
2004–2007	Tottenham Hotspur
2008–2009	Hamburger SV
2009–2010	Ajax
2011–2013	Fulham
2016	Al-Ahly
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Maarten Cornelis "Martin" Jol (born January 16, 1956) is a Dutch football manager and former midfielder. He played over 400 games in his career. He played in the Netherlands, Germany, and England. He also played three times for the Dutch national team.

After his playing career, Jol became a manager. He has managed teams in the Netherlands like Roda JC, RKC Waalwijk, and Ajax. He also managed German club Hamburger SV and English clubs Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham. Later, he managed Al Ahly in Egypt.

Playing Career Highlights

Jol was born in The Hague, Netherlands. He started playing football with an amateur team. Then, he joined his local professional team, ADO Den Haag. In 1973, he became a professional player with Den Haag.

Early Success in the Netherlands

Jol won the Dutch Cup with Den Haag in 1975. They beat Twente in the final. In the 1978–79 season, he played in the Bundesliga for Bayern Munich. After that, he returned to the Dutch Eredivisie to play for Twente in 1979.

Playing for the National Team

While playing for Twente, Jol earned his first cap for the Netherlands national football team in October 1980. He played three times for the senior national team. He also played in the 1980 Mundialito in Uruguay.

Time in English Football

In 1981, Jol moved to England to join West Bromwich Albion. He reached the semi-finals of two major cup competitions in 1981–82. In 1984, he signed with Coventry City. He later returned to Den Haag in 1985. That year, he won the Dutch Footballer of the Year award in the Eerste Divisie league.

Coaching Journey

Martin Jol's coaching career began in 1991. He started with the amateur team of ADO Den Haag. He helped them reach the highest local amateur division.

Success in the Netherlands

Next, Jol moved to SVV Scheveningen, another amateur team. He led them to win the national non-league championship. After that, Jol managed the professional Eredivisie team Roda JC for two years. In 1997, he won the Dutch Cup with Roda. This was their first trophy in 30 years!

From 1998 to 2004, Jol managed RKC Waalwijk. He took over when they had only three points at the bottom of the league. He saved them from being relegated in his first year. Later, they even competed for a spot in European competitions. He was named the Dutch Football Writers Coach of the Year in 2001. He also won the Dutch Players and Coaches Coach of the Year award in 2002.

Managing Tottenham Hotspur

RKC Waalwijk first said that Jol would not become assistant manager at Tottenham Hotspur. But a few days later, in June 2004, he joined Tottenham. He became assistant to the new coach, Jacques Santini.

Santini left after only 13 games. So, on November 8, 2004, Jol became the new manager of Tottenham. In his first season, he made the team play better. He won the FA Manager of the Month award in December 2004. Tottenham finished ninth in the Premier League. This meant they just missed out on a spot in the UEFA Cup.

In August 2005, Jol signed a new three-year contract with Tottenham. They won the Peace Cup before the 2005–06 season. During that season, Tottenham stayed in the top six places in the league. They were often in fourth place, which is a UEFA Champions League spot. On the last day, many players got sick. Tottenham lost to West Ham United. They finished fifth, but still qualified for the UEFA Cup. This was their highest league finish since 1990.

The 2006–07 season saw Tottenham beat Chelsea in the league for the first time since 1990. They reached the semi-finals of the Football League Cup, losing to rivals Arsenal. They also reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup and the FA Cup. Tottenham finished fifth in the league again, qualifying for the UEFA Cup for a second year in a row. Jol was the first Spurs manager to do this since Keith Burkinshaw.

In the summer of 2007, Tottenham spent about £40 million on new players. It was said that some of these players were chosen by the Director of Football, not by Jol. Jol was sacked by Tottenham on October 25, 2007. This happened during their 2–1 loss to Getafe in the UEFA Cup. News of his sacking was known around the stadium even before the game ended. Jol found out when his nephew told him about a text message.

Jol during his period as Tottenham manager.

Managing Hamburg in Germany

From the 2008–09 season, Jol coached the German Bundesliga club Hamburger SV. Hamburg finished fifth in the league. This meant they qualified for the UEFA Europa League for the next season. Hamburg also reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup and the German League Cup. They lost both semi-finals to Werder Bremen.

Leading Ajax in the Netherlands

On May 26, 2009, Jol was announced as the new head coach of Ajax. He took over from Marco van Basten. Jol was happy to return to his home country. He officially signed a three-year contract on May 28, 2009.

Ajax had a great season, scoring 106 league goals. This was the most by any Dutch team since the 1997–98 season. They also had the best defense in the league. Ajax won their final 14 games of the season. They finished with 85 points. However, they lost the title by one point to Steve McClaren's Twente.

Jol did win the Dutch Cup with Ajax. This was his first trophy since winning the same cup 13 years earlier with Roda JC. They beat Feyenoord 6–1 over two games. In 2010, Jol led Ajax to the Champions League for the first time since 2005–06. On December 6, 2010, Jol resigned as manager of Ajax. Ajax was in fourth place at the time.

Managing Fulham in England

On June 7, 2011, Jol signed a two-year contract to manage Premier League side Fulham. He joined the club after Mark Hughes left. Jol's first game was a 3–0 win against NSÍ Runavík in the UEFA Europa League. His first Premier League game was a 0–0 draw against Aston Villa.

In his first season, Jol led Fulham to ninth place in the Premier League. They earned 52 points. They had good wins against Arsenal, Newcastle United, and Liverpool. They also drew with Manchester City and Chelsea. They beat local rivals Queens Park Rangers 6–0 at home and 1–0 away.

In his second season, Fulham finished 12th. Jol extended his contract for another year. However, Jol was sacked as Fulham manager on December 1, 2013. This happened after six losses in a row.

Time with Al Ahly in Egypt

On February 24, 2016, Jol became the new coach of the Egyptian Premier League club, Al-Ahly. He was sacked on August 19, 2016, due to poor performance in the 2016 CAF Champions League. The next day, Al Ahly held a farewell party for Jol. They thanked him and celebrated winning the premier league title.

Managerial Statistics

Honours and Awards

As a Player

ADO Den Haag

• Eerste Divisie: 1985–86
• KNVB Cup: 1974–75

Individual Awards

• Player of the Year, KNVB Second Division (Eerste Divisie) 1985

As a Manager

SVV Scheveningen

• Overall Amateur League National Champion season 1995/1996

Roda JC

• KNVB Cup: 1996–97

Ajax

• KNVB Cup: 2009–10

Al Ahly

• Egyptian Premier League: 2015–16

Individual Awards

• Eredivisie Manager of the Year: 2000–01
• Premier League Manager of the Month: December 2004

Images for kids

• 

  Jol during his period as Tottenham manager.

See also

In Spanish: Martin Jol para niños