Top facts about Phillip Cocu, The Maestro

Phillip John William Cocu was born 29 October, 1970 in the Netherlands. He is one of the best midfielders in the history of Dutch football.

Phillip Cocu’s age

is 51 now. He is a former player of the Dutch national team and the football manager of the English Derby County club.

Cocu was pursued by many clubs in Europe and eventually joined Derby County as their manager in 2019 after

left his post.

Cocu played for clubs like SBV Vitesse, PSV Eindhoven, and

. Starting his career as a left-winger, Cocu played in multiple positions throughout his playing career.

Cocu is one of the top Dutch footballers who has shown a lot of skills during his career as a player and as a head coach, along with great people and well-known names.

Cocu was a skilled footballer who worked well with his teammates and played an effective role for his teams.

Here are some facts about Phillip Cocu:

The first

fact about Phillip Cocu

is that he started playing football in local clubs in the Netherlands. At Barcelona, Phillip Cocu was led by Dutch coaches such as Louis van Gaal and Frank Rijkaard.

Phillip Cocu early life

Former Netherlands international, Phillip Cocu, was born in Eindhoven but grew up in Zvinar.

Phillip Cocu's parents

are Peter and Reina.

About

Phillip Cocu’s childhood

, it should be mentioned that he spent his childhood in the Netherlands, in the cities of Zvinar and Eindhoven, and started his early football career playing for local clubs in the mentioned cities. He later moved to Vitsse to continue playing football.

Phillip Cocu was not one of the most expensive players during his career. During his career as a footballer, the player played a total of 598 games and scored 122 goals.

He is on the list of the players who have played 100 national games for their country, which is an important fact about Phillip Cocu.

Phillip Cocu personal life

About

Phillip Cocu's personal life

, it should be mentioned that he is currently single and divorced from his ex-wife Karin. Phillip Cocu was married to Karin and the couple had three children, Delano Cocu, Raul Cocu, and Senna Cocu before getting divorce.

Phillip Cocu professional career

Phillip Cocu initially played for several local clubs in the Netherlands, and after shining in local clubs, he was considered by Alkmaar.

He joined

at the age of 17. Cocu's good games at Alkmaar made him progress in football and move to the famous Eindhoven club. Barcelona and Al Jazeera were other clubs that Cocu could choose from among the various interested clubs in the Europe.

Phillip Cocu club career

In 1995, Phillip Cocu joined PSV, where he won the KNVB Cup and the Eredivisie title in 1997. Phillip Cocu played for Barcelona between 1998 and 2004. There, he became club captain, won La Liga in 1999 and played two Champions League semi-finals. He left the club in 2004 as club record holder for the most league appearances by a foreign player.

During his second stint at PSV, Cocu won another three Eredivisie titles and reached the Champions League semi-finals. After a year at Al Jazira, Cocu retired from professional football.

Az Alkmaar and Vitsse

Phillip Cocu started his first professional career at the Dutch club Alkmaar. He joined the club at the age of 17. Cocu scored her first goal two weeks after joining Alkmaar in a FA Cup match against Fortuna Sitard. He scored his first goal after the game in March against SVV in the Dutch league.

In the 1989-90 season, he appeared as a consistent player in almost every league game. At the end of the season, Cocu joined the newly promoted Vitesse team.

Cocu made just eight appearances in his first season with Vitsse after suffering a broken leg. He was better in the second season of his presence in the Vitsse team than last season. He played in most of the team's matches and scored three times.

He scored his first goal in August 1991 against Vitsse for ADO Den Haag. At Vitsse Arnhem, Cocu changed from a left winger to a midfielder and played in that position. In 1992, Cocu made her European debut against Dari City.

Vitsse and Phillip Cocu were eventually eliminated from the Champions League this season by Real Madrid. In the Dutch League, Vitsse finished fourth. Cocu also played in all league games, scoring more goals in his third season with Waits.

Ajax boss Louis van Gaal was interested in buying Cocu, but

were unable to meet the transfer fee. After years on the Waits team, he finally chose to play in Barecelona.

Barcelona

At Barcelona, Cocu sided with his Dutch compatriots, Louis van Gaal, Michael Reisiger, Frank de Boer,

, Budujin Zenden, Ronald de Boer, and Winston Bogard. Cocu made 36 midfield appearances for the club, forming a midfield with Luis Figo and Pep Guardiola, scoring 12 goals, thus playing a key role in Barcelona's La Liga title.

The following season, Phillip Cocu joined Barcelona in the second league after Deportivo La Lacronia. Barcelona and Cocu reached the semi-finals of the Champions League but were eliminated by Valencia.

In 2000, Luis van Gaal left Barcelona, succeeded by Lorenzo Serra Ferrer and Carles Rexach. But in the next two seasons, Barcelona's performance weakened. In those two seasons, Barcelona finished fourth in the league twice.

In 2001, Pep Guardiola left Barcelona and a new midfield, consisting of Cocu,

, and Gabri, was created in the Barcelona team.

In the 2001-2002 season, Barcelona reached the semi-finals of the Champions League again, but Real Madrid barred them from reaching the final and again Cocu failed in the Champions League.

In 2002, Luis van Gaal, Cocu's compatriot, became Barcelona coach again. This time, Phillip Cocu was chosen as the second captain after

.

2002-03 season Barcelona had their worst performance. This season, the team is ranked sixth in La Liga. Subsequently, Phillip Cocu suffered a serious injury in a Champions League match against Inter, which resulted in Cocu being sidelined for two months.

With the expiration of his contract in 2003, he planned to move to Eindhoven but decided to stay in Barcelona for another year.

Season 2003-04 Frank Rijkaard, Cocu's compatriot, became the Catalans' head coach. Cocu scored Barcelona's first goal of the season in the league. He played a total of 36 league games in La Liga and he often played as the team captain. In that season, Barcelona became runners-up.

In early 2004, Barça announced that they did not intend to work with Cocu. The club was able to reach an agreement with Phillip Cocu after he turned down a reduced offer from Barcelona.

After Juan Laporta became the president of Barcelona. A plaque of loyalty was presented to Phillip Cocu to be commended by the club for his efforts.

Eindhoven and Algiers

In 2004, Cocu signed a two-year contract with Dutch side Eindhoven and returned home. He formed a strong midfield with Johann Vogel and Captain Mark van Bommel in midfield.

Eindhoven won the Dutch league. In the Champions League, Cocu scored his team's only goal in the quarter-final against

. Eindhoven reached the semi-finals but was eventually eliminated by

.

When Eindhoven captain Mark van Bommel left the club in 2005, head coach Gus Hiddink chose Cocu as captain. Eindhoven won the league title again and advanced to the second round of the Champions League, which was eliminated by Lyon.

Cocu won the title of second best player that year for his good performance in the league. After the 2005-06 season, Cocu extended his contract with PSV for another year. The team started the 2007 season well, but in the second half of the season, their performance plummeted and the championship title was almost lost.

That season, Eindhoven was second only to Ajax due to a smaller goal difference. Cocu was about to retire after the 2007 season but still received offers from Australia and Al Jazeera in the UAE.

He decided to sign a one-year contract with Al Jazeera in the United Arab Emirates. In his first match, he played against Al-Wasl and immediately scored in his team's 2–1 victory. Cocu played 17 games and scored 4 goals in his first season.

At the end of the season, Cocu said goodbye to football and finally decided to return to the Netherlands for professional football coaching.

Phillip Cocu International career

Phillip Cocu was close to his first national game in 1994. The Dutch coach, Dick Advocaat, put him on the provisional 25-man squad for the 1994 World Cup due to his role in Vitsse, but did not send him along.

Cocu made her debut for the Dutch national team in early 1996 at the age of 25 in a friendly match against Germany.

He scored his first national goal against the Republic of Ireland in June. Hiddink invited Dutch coach Cocu to Euro 1996. He entered the football field as a substitute in two group stage matches. In the quarter-finals of Euro 1996, he was in the starting line-up against

.

Two years later, the Dutch team qualified for the 1998 World Cup, and Cocu became a regular member of the national team. He scored in the group stage matches against South Korea and Mexico and was an effective member of the Dutch team in all World Cup matches.

In the semi-finals, the Netherlands's game against Brazil ended in a penalty shootout. Cocu missed the Dutchman's third penalty. The Netherlands eventually lost the game on penalties and failed to reach the final.

Cocu and the Netherlands hosted Euro 2000 this time around. The Dutch team won all the group matches with Phillip Cocu and won the quarter-final against Yugoslavia. In the semi-finals, the Dutch team lost on penalties to Italy and could not reach the final again.

Phillip Cocu played in the 2002 World Cup but did not succeed. The Netherlands did well in the Euro 2004 qualifiers. Cocu was the captain of the Dutch team in this competition and lost a penalty kick in the quarterfinals against Sweden, but the Netherlands won.

In the semi-finals, the Dutch team was eliminated by Portugal, which hosted the tournament. After Euro 2004, Cocu resigned as captain and handed it over to

.

Cocu was a member of the first team for most of the 2006 World Cup. In this World Cup, the Dutch national team was eliminated by a tough opponent called Portugal. After the tournament, Cocu withdrew from national football to no longer participate in international competitions.

Phillip Cocu Style of play

Phillip Cocu played for various teams during his career as a midfielder and sometimes as a left winger. In his professional position, he was an intelligent and skilled player and had a relatively good technique.

Cocu had a good ability to hold, control, and move the ball. He almost did well as a goal-scoring midfielder, which is an obvious

fact about Phillip Cocu

.

Phillip Cocu Coaching career

Phillip Cocu finally said goodbye to the world of football at Al Jazeera in the UAE after years of working as a footballer in the Dutch and Spanish leagues. He then returned to the Netherlands to take coaching courses and become a reputable coach.

Following his coaching training, Cocu was immediately appointed second assistant to Brett van Marwijk, who was the head coach of the Dutch national team. Cocu later served as assistant coach alongside Eindhoven Under-19 coach Ernest Faber, and in late 2008 coached with Stevens (head coach) for Eindhoven's first team.

After Stevens resigned from Eindhoven in January 2009, Cocu continued to work as an assistant coach with an interim coach.

He played with the Netherlands in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where Cocu was the assistant coach of the Dutch national team, which lost the final to Spain.

In the summer of 2011, Cocu signed a new two-year contract with PSV. When Fred Rutten was sacked as PSV manager in March 2012, there was ample opportunity for Cocu to be appointed interim manager for the remainder of the season.

During his several months as head coach, Cocu brought in a young striker named Memphis Depay and replaced him with Andreas Isaacson.

Despite winning five consecutive games, Cocu and Eindhoven failed to win the title and finished third in the league, so they missed the opportunity to advance to the Champions League because from the Netherlands, only the champions and runners-up can participate in the Champions League.

However, Cocu and the team won the KNVB Cup with a victory over Heracles Almelo in the final.

Following his resignation from the Eindhoven coaching staff in 2013, Dick Advoocatt provides a great opportunity for Cocu to show off her skills as a manager this time around.

In 2014, Cocu was selected as the head coach of Eindhoven and led the team along with Faber (his assistant). In the first season, he performed well and won the Dutch Football League.

Phillip Cocu, who had a good time at Eindhoven during his career as a footballer, wanted to experience that good time as head coach.

He defended the Eindhoven title in the 2015 season. Cocu, who had won the trust of the managers and presidents of Eindhoven, continued his activity in 2016, but this time he could not defend the title of Eindhoven team.

2017 was the year of the end of Phillip Cocu's mission. In the last year of his tenure as head coach of Eindhoven, he won the Dutch Football League title again and gained excellent experience in this team. Cocu decided to leave her favorite club and coach another team.

Fenerbahce

On June 22, 2018, Cocu took over the leadership of

with a 3-year contract. With the Turkish club, he was just one place above the relegation zone, and Cocu was sacked due to his poor performance.

He did not make good use of his experience and skills with Fenerbahce, so he worked as the club's manager for less than a year. So he decided to use his experience at another club. He went to England to lead the County Derby team.

Derby County

On 5 July 2019, after a failure at Fenerbahce, Cocu was announced as the new manager of Derby County in the Championship. He had a mediocre performance at Derby County, saving the team from relegation. At the end of the season, Cocu and Derby County finished in tenth place.

Phillip Cocu Honors

During his career, Phillip Cocu won various honors with various clubs. Cocu won the La Liga title only once in 1998 during her time with Barcelona. After his return to Dutch football, Cocu's successes and honors increased.

Cocu won the Dutch Football League with Eindhoven in 2005, 2006, and 2007. He also won the KVNB Cup with the team in 2004.

Before joining Barcelona, Cocu played briefly for Eindhoven, winning the 1995 KNVB and the 1996 Dutch Football League. Undoubtedly, it was the peak of Cocu's success and his outstanding performance in Eindhoven team. He became one of the top players in the Netherlands with Eindhoven.

In the last year of his football career with Al Jazeera Emirates, Cocu won the title of the UAE Football League.

At the national level, the situation was different. Despite being a skilled and influential player in the Dutch national team, Cocu could not win an honor at the national level, which is a bitter fact about Cocu and her national honors.

Phillip Cocu won the Johan Cruyff Shield Award twice in 1996 and 1997. After his football career, the player won the runner-up position in the 2010 World Cup with the Dutch national team in the role of assistant coach.

He also coached three times, and in 2014, 2015, 2017, his former team, Eindhoven, won the Dutch Football League. In 2011, Cocu won KNVB with the Eindhoven team as head coach.

Some quick facts about Phillip Cocu

An interesting fact about Phillip Cocu is that he played at Barcelona as a midfielder alongside Pep Guardiola (former Barcelona coach).

Another important fact about Phillip Cocu is that as a foreign player, he holds the record for most La Liga games for Barcelona (205 games). This record was broken in 2011 by Argentine superstar

.

Cocu played 101 games for the Dutch national team, scoring 10 goals. In this respect, he is the fifth player to play the most national games for the Netherlands.

As a footballer, Phillip Cocu could not win the Champions League with any team.

Another

fact about Phillip Cocu

is that he was a moral and calm player who avoided quarrels and conflicts in the game. He played alongside greats such as

, Luis Figo, and Xavi.

With Eindhoven, Cocu won the Dutch Football League and the KNVB Cup as a player and coach.

The player did not win any honors with the Dutch national team during his career as a footballer.

Phillip Cocu had the chance to play for Ajax (the most proud team in the Netherlands) but the club could not buy Cocu from Eindhoven.

Cocu is one of the most handsome footballers in world football. He used to wear stylish and branded clothes.

Phillip Cocu started his career as a teenager at Alkmaar when he was just 17 years old.

The final quick fact about Phillip Cocu is that in addition to European leagues, the player has a history of playing in the Old Continent, Asia.

Phillip Cocu social media

About

Phillip Cocu’s social media

, it should be mentioned that he has an active page on Instagram (

) with 118k followers. On this page, he posts photos of his football playing and coaching career.

Phillip Cocu body measurements

Speaking about

Phillip Cocu body measurements

, it should be noted that he is 185 cm or 6 feet tall and weighs 77 kg. His physical characteristics were directly related to his style of play.

Phillip Cocu net worth and salary

About

Phillip Cocu's net worth

, it should be mentioned that we do not have enough evidences on his assets but it is estimated to be around 10 million dollars according to the statistics of 2021. Most of his earnings are from his career as a coach.

According to transfer market statistics, during his football career, Cocu first joined Eindhoven from Wales with free transfers. He then went to Barcelona and returned to Eindhoven with a free transfer. Eventually, the player joined Al Jazeera in the UAE League.

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