Martin Jol facts for kids
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Jol in 2025.
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Maarten Cornelis Jol | ||
| Date of birth | 16 January 1956 | ||
| Place of birth | The Hague, Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | 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) | |
| International career | |||
| 1980–1981 | Netherlands | 3 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 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 | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Maarten Cornelis "Martin" Jol was born on January 16, 1956, in the Netherlands. He is a famous Dutch football coach and a former midfielder. Martin Jol played over 400 games during his career. He played for teams in the Netherlands, Germany, and England. He also played three times for the Netherlands national team. After his playing career, he became a coach. He managed teams like Roda JC, RKC Waalwijk, and Ajax in his home country. He also coached German club Hamburger SV, English clubs Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham, and Al Ahly in Egypt.
Contents
Playing Career Highlights
Martin Jol was born in The Hague, Netherlands. He started playing football for an amateur team. Then, he joined his local professional team, ADO Den Haag. He became a professional player with Den Haag in 1973. In 1975, he helped his team win the Dutch Cup. They beat Twente in the final.
Playing in Germany and England
In the 1978–79 season, Jol played in Germany for Bayern Munich. After that, he returned to the Netherlands. He played for Twente starting in 1979. While at Twente, he played his first game for the Netherlands national team in October 1980.
In 1981, Jol moved to England. He joined West Bromwich Albion. In the 1981–82 season, his team reached the semi-finals of two big cup competitions. He then signed with Coventry City in 1984.
Return to Den Haag
Martin Jol went back to ADO Den Haag in 1985. In 1985, he won the Dutch Footballer of the Year award in the Eerste Divisie league. This was a great achievement for him.
He played many games for his country at different levels. He played for schoolboy teams, 'B' teams, Under-21, and Under-23 teams. He also played three times for the senior national team. He even took part in the 1980 Mundialito tournament in Uruguay.
Coaching Career Journey
Martin Jol's coaching journey began in 1991. He started with the amateur team of ADO Den Haag. He helped them reach the highest amateur league.
Early Coaching in the Netherlands
After ADO Den Haag, Jol coached Scheveningen for one season. There, he won the national non-league championship. Next, he managed Roda JC, a professional team in the Eredivisie, for two years. In 1997, he led Roda JC to win the Dutch Cup. This was their first trophy in 30 years!
From 1998 to 2004, Jol managed RKC Waalwijk. When he joined in November, the team was at the bottom of the league. He saved them from being moved to a lower league in his first year. In the following years, 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
In June 2004, Martin Jol became an assistant coach at Tottenham Hotspur in England. Just 13 games later, the main coach left. On November 8, 2004, Jol became the new manager. In his first season, he made the team play much better. They won five league games in a row, which was their best run since 1992–93. He won the FA Manager of the Month award in December 2004.
Jol led Tottenham close to qualifying for European competitions. They finished ninth in the Premier League. In August 2005, he signed a new three-year contract with Tottenham.
Success and European Qualification
Tottenham won the Peace Cup before the 2005–06 season. They beat teams like Lyon in the final. In the league, Tottenham stayed in the top six for most of the season. They were even 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, missing out on the Champions League.
However, Jol led Tottenham to their highest league finish since 1990. This meant they qualified for the UEFA Cup through the league. The team also let in only 38 league goals, their fewest since 1971.
The 2006–07 season was also successful. 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. Jol became the first Spurs manager since Keith Burkinshaw to qualify for European football in two seasons in a row.
Leaving Tottenham
In the summer of 2007, Tottenham bought many expensive players. The club expected the team to finish in the top four. However, Tottenham lost their first two games. News spread that the club was talking to another manager. This made Jol's position difficult. He was eventually let go by Tottenham on October 25, 2007. This happened during a game against Getafe. Jol found out about it when his nephew told him about a text message.
Coaching Hamburger SV
From the 2008–09 season, Martin Jol coached German club Hamburger SV. Hamburg was at the top of the league for some time. They finished fifth, which qualified them for the Europa League. Hamburg also reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup and the German League Cup. This was a great achievement for the club.
Managing Ajax
On May 26, 2009, Martin Jol became the new head coach of Ajax in the Netherlands. He was happy to return to his home country. He signed a three-year contract on May 28, 2009.
Ajax started the season well, winning their first two games. They ended the season with a very strong defense. They let in the fewest goals of any Dutch team in five years. They also scored 106 league goals, which was amazing! This meant Ajax had a goal difference of +86.
Jol's team won their last 14 games of the season. They finished with 85 points. However, they lost the league title by just one point to 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. In the summer of 2010, Fulham tried to hire him, but Ajax did not let him leave. Jol also led Ajax to the Champions League for the first time since 2005–06. On December 6, 2010, Jol resigned as manager of Ajax. The team was in fourth place at that time.
Coaching Fulham
On June 7, 2011, Martin Jol signed a two-year contract to manage Fulham in the Premier League. He was very happy to join the club. His first game was a UEFA Europa League match against NSÍ Runavík from the Faroe Islands. Fulham won 3–0. His first Premier League game was a 0–0 draw against Aston Villa.
In his first season, he led Fulham to ninth place in the Premier League. They earned 52 points, close to their record. They had important wins against teams like 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.
Overall, it was a good first season for Jol at Fulham. They finished only 12 points away from qualifying for the Europa League. In his second season, Fulham finished 12th. Jol's contract was extended for another year. However, he was let go as Fulham manager on December 1, 2013. This happened after six losses in a row.
Managing Al Ahly
On February 24, 2016, Martin Jol became the new coach of Al-Ahly, a club in the Egyptian Premier League. On August 19, 2016, Jol was let go because of the team's performance in the 2016 CAF Champions League. The next day, Al Ahly thanked Jol for his work and celebrated winning the premier league title.
Managerial Statistics
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Roda JC | 1996 | 1998 | 57 | 29 | 7 | 21 | 50.88 |
| RKC Waalwijk | 1998 | 2004 | 209 | 79 | 44 | 86 | 37.80 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 5 November 2004 | 25 October 2007 | 148 | 67 | 38 | 43 | 45.27 |
| Hamburger SV | 1 July 2008 | 30 June 2009 | 53 | 32 | 7 | 14 | 60.38 |
| Ajax | 1 July 2009 | 6 December 2010 | 77 | 50 | 16 | 11 | 64.94 |
| Fulham | 7 June 2011 | 1 December 2013 | 113 | 38 | 28 | 47 | 33.63 |
| Al Ahly | 24 February 2016 | 19 August 2016 | 31 | 20 | 6 | 5 | 64.52 |
| Total | 688 | 315 | 146 | 227 | 45.78 | ||
Awards and Achievements
Martin Jol has won several awards and trophies both as a player and as a manager.
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
See also
In Spanish: Martin Jol para niños
