Ruud Knol

Ruud Knol

Personal information
Full name	Ruud Knol
Date of birth	(1981-03-13) 13 March 1981
Place of birth	Zevenaar, Netherlands
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Centre back
Team information
Current team	Sparta Rotterdam
Youth career
	OBW Zevenaar
	Vitesse Arnhem
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2000–2007	Vitesse Arnhem	106	(8)
2007–2008	PAOK	23	(0)
2008–2011	Sparta Rotterdam	52	(8)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ruud Knol (born 13 March 1981) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a centre back.

Club career

Knol was born in Zevenaar, in the province of Gelderland and started his career at OBW Zevenaar, where he was spotted by Vitesse Arnhem scouts.

Knol made his debut in professional football, being part of the Vitesse squad in the 2000–01 season. He played six years for Vitesse and was called up once by then Dutch coach Louis van Gaal for the Netherlands national football team. A serious injury threatened his career between 2002 and 2005 but he came back to play for Vitesse. In summer 2007 he moved abroad but after only one season in Greece he returned to the Netherlands and joined Sparta.

External links

• Career stats – Voetbal International (in Dutch)