Playing Career
He began his career at Ajax Amsterdam under manager Rinus Michels. In his first season at the club he did not play much. After the departure of left back Theo van Duivenbode in the summer of 1969 to Feyenoord, Krol became a regular player. When Ajax reached the UEFA European Cup in 1971, and won, Krol did not play because of a broken leg. Krol did play in the European Cup finals of 1972 and 1973. While others such as Johan Cruijff and Johan Neeskens left for pastures new, Krol, captain since the departure of Piet Keizer in October 1974, stayed at Ajax until 1980. He moved to the NASL to play for the Vancouver Whitecaps for one season. He then joined Napoli where he played for the next four seasons. His last club before he retired in 1986 was the French club AS Cannes, at the time in Ligue 2 (the French 2nd division).
Internationally, Krol made his debut for the Netherlands in 1969 against England, and would go on to earn 83 caps, retiring from international football in 1983. He was a crucial component in the Total Football side of the 1970s. A versatile defender, he could play in any position along the back four or midfield. In the 1974 FIFA World Cup, in which the Netherlands reached the final, Krol primarily played at left-back. He created Cruijff's goal against Brazil and scored a 25-yard screamer against Argentina. They fell at the final hurdle, losing 2–1 to West Germany.
By the time the 1978 FIFA World Cup came about, Krol had switched to playing as a sweeper and had earned the captain's armband after the retirement of Cruijff. Krol had a fine tournament featuring in the FIFA All Star Team. He was, however, unable to prevent the Netherlands from falling to their second Final defeat, this time losing 3–1 to Argentina. In 1979, Krol would finish third in the European Footballer of the Year competition behind the winner Kevin Keegan and the second placed Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
Krol played for the Netherlands as captain at the 1980 European Championship, but they disappointed, being knocked out in the first round by West Germany and Czechoslovakia. They also failed to qualify for the 1982 FIFA World Cup. He played for part of the qualifying for Euro 84, and played his last international in 1983, in a 1–0 European Championship qualifying defeat against Spain. Krol attained the Dutch caps record on 2 May 1979, when he equaled the total of Puck van Heel. He would become the outright owner of the title, most capped Dutch player, in his next game, his 65th cap, on 22 May 1979. The game was a FIFA Jubilee Match against Argentina which Argentina won on penalties 8–7. He would remain the most capped Dutch player until 29 June 2000, when the then Dutch coach Frank Rijkaard brought on Aron Winter as a substitute during a Euro 2000 game against Italy.
Krol is one of only four players to score both a goal and an own goal in the World Cup; the others being Ernie Brandts (another Dutch player), Mexico's Gustavo Peña and Serbia's Siniša Mihajlović.
Read more about this topic: Ruud Krol
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