Martin Jol Biography

Martin Jol, born 16 January 1956 in the city of The Hague in the Netherlands, is a Dutch former footballer and football coach. During his playing career, he played for many European clubs in Netherlands, Germany and England, but he has spent most of his playing days with the Dutch club ADO Den Haag.

Jol started his professional coaching career with Roda JC and later was the manager of RKC Waalwijk between 1998 and 2004. He was employed as an assistant coach at Tottenham Hotspur FC in 2004. A few months later, he took over as head coach at Tottenham when Frenchman Jacques Santini stepped down. A fanatical Tottenham supporter since childhood, Martin Jol rapidly returned the club to the top flight of English football.

The fans nicknamed him Tony Soprano and The Godfather for his gangster-boss-like appearance and composure, his somewhat cigar-smoking voice and his snappy comments, which were often spiced up with slapstick humour.

During the 2005/2006 and 2006/2007 seasons, Tottenham finished in fifth place. Following a weak start in 2007/2008, Jol was fired on 25 October 2007. The autobiography Martin Jol: The Inside Story was published in England just a month later. Jol became the new coach of Hamburger SV in April 2008. After a successful spell at Hamburger SV, Martin Jol was hired as the new coach of AFC Ajax on 22 May 2009, where he replaced Marco van Basten.

During his spell with the team, Ajax won the Dutch Cup and qualified for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. However, on 7 December 2010, Jol resigned as the coach of Ajax. On 7 June 2011, Martin Jol was introduced as the new coach of

.

All You Need to Know About Martin Jol Biography

In the summer of 2006, during the World Cup in Germany, Martin Jol was a BBC commentator (BBC Five Live) and also wrote columns for The Times. He is known for his tactical skills and his ability to develop young talent and the attacking football that his teams play. 

Martin Jol Information

Now that we know him better, in this section of

Martin Jol biography

, we will share some general information about him such as

Martin Jol nationality

to let you know him even more.

Martin Jol Bio

• Full Name: Maarten Cornelis Jol

• Nickname: Tony Soprano

• Profession: Professional Football Coach

Martin Jol Physical Stats

• Weight: 85 Kg

• Height: 1.88 m

• Eye Color: Dark Brown

• Hair Color: Grey

Martin Jol Football Information

• Position: Midfielder

• Jersey Number: 4

• Professional Debut: 1973

Martin Jol Date of Birth and Personal Info

• Date of Birth: 16 January 1956

• Birth Place: The Hague, Netherlands

• Zodiac Sign: Capricorn

• Nationality: Dutch

In this section of

Martin Jol biography

stay tuned as we want to share some information about

Martin Jol childhood

and more.

Martin Jol Early Life

In 1964, Martin Jol joined the Hague soccer club JAC when he was eight years old. By the age of twelve, he was being invited to the Dutch Youth Team. This was exciting news since he was still a member of the amateur club JAC. When he was fifteen years old, he debuted in the first senior team of JAC.

A few months later, Jol transferred to ADO. He played in the first youth team of ADO. From this team, 9 youth players progressed to the professional level. There he played with Johnny Dusbaba, Tscheu La Ling, Leen Swanenburg and Martin Toet, among others.

In 1973, Jol's professional playing career started at FC Den Haag. When he was seventeen years old, he already caught the attention of Feyenoord, who considered the requested transfer fee of 150,000 Dutch guilders too high. At that time, AFC Ajax also showed interest. With Den Haag, he played on different positions and ended up as right back.

On 20 January 1974, Martin Jol debuted in the Eredivisie during a home game for FC Den Haag against Ajax. Jol was sold in 1978 for a record transfer sum of 650,000 guilders (by ADO standards) to FC Bayern Munich in Germany, following a rejected 500,000 guilder bid from Ajax by FC Den Haag. He signed a two-year contract in Bavaria.

He was selected by national coach Ernst Happel as one of the final 25 players for the

in Argentina in 1978. However, Happel eventually decided to take Wim Suurbier along, in part because Jol was struggling with several minor injuries that spring.

In this section of

Martin Jol biography

stay tuned as we want to share some information about Bayern career.

Bayern Munich

He played a match with

in the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam on 7 November 1978. It was the farewell match of Johan Cruijff. In that match, Ajax lost 0-8. During his first season in Munich, Jol had a conflict with coach Gyula Lóránt. Bavarian side tried to sell Jol in Holland and in the season 1979/1980 he joined

for three years.

He was selected by national coach Jan Zwartkruis for the Dutch national football team in October 1980, when he made his debut on 11 October 1980 during a friendly match against West

in Eindhoven. He was also part of the Netherlands national team selection in 1981, where he participated in the mini-World Cup in Uruguay. There, he played against Italy (1-1) and

(2-0).

West Bromwich Albion

In the middle of the 1981-1982 season, Martin Jol transferred to the English West Bromwich Albion, the second club in Birmingham. West Bromwich paid FC Twente one million guilders for this transfer. While in England, he began to play as a defensive midfielder and also grew a beard. By the end of the 1983/1984 season, his time at Birmingham was up and the club put him on the transfer list.

Coventry City

In spite of interest from bigger clubs, Jol made a move to the modest Coventry City managed by Brian Gould, with the assurance that he would be able to move to another club at the end of his contract. With Coventry, Jol played only a few matches. Before the season ended he left on a loan basis to his old club FC Den Haag, where chairman Dé Stoop and coach Rob Baan were in charge. He subsequently signed a two-year contract there.

Back to the Netherlands

In the 1984-1985 season, in which FC Den Haag competed in the First Division, they reached the playoffs. He was shown the red card in the away match against De Graafschap for an elbow strike. He became suspended for the rest of the season and the club failed to gain promotion. However, in the 1985-1986 season the club was undefeated in the First Division and Jol went back to the

with FC Den Haag. In addition, he was voted best player of the First Division.

During the 1986/87 season, Jol and FC Den Haag reached the KNVB Cup final, which took place at Zuiderpark Stadium. The match was won 2-4 by Ajax, with Johan Cruijff as a coach and Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard in the team. However, the results in the league were not what they should have been, and the team was relegated back to the first division in 1988 in the playoffs.

In the summer, Co Adriaanse was named coach, with whom Jol had a troubled relationship. Nevertheless, the team was promoted to the Eredivisie in 1989, again through the playoffs. Afterwards, Jol decided to retire from playing football.

Martin Jol Profile

Following his active career as a player, Jol concentrated on his career as a coach. Martin Jol passed his B-Level Coach I examination in 1991 and was appointed coach of the highest amateur side of ADO Den Haag. In just a few years' time, he was promoted from the Second Division to the premier league. He earned the highest coaching certificate (CBV) in 1996.

ADO (amateurs)

During the 1991/92 season, he was promoted from the Second Division KNVB to the First Division KNVB. In the following 1992/92 season, he was promoted from the First Division of the KNVB to the Dutch Football League. During the season 1993/'94, the team finished second in the premier league A Sunday KNVB. He won the District Cup (amateurs) in the 1994/'95 season.

SVV Scheveningen (amateurs)

During the 1995/96 season, SVV Scheveningen won the championship in the Saturday premier league A under Martin Jol. The team became overall Dutch Champion in the Saturday big league and overall Dutch amateur champion.

Roda JC

Jol became coach at his first professional football club,

, in October 1996. His first match on the bench of Roda JC was the 3-0 home win against De Graafschap on November 2 1996. Between 12 April and 12 May 1997, Jol’s team won four consecutive matches in the league against Sparta Rotterdam, AZ Alkmaar, RKC Waalwijk and

, respectively.

Roda JC finished the season in sixth place, with 55 points in 34 games, narrowly missing on qualification to European competitions that season through the league. With the club, he won the KNVB Cup in May 1997 by defeating sc Heerenveen 4-2 in the Feyenoord Stadium in Rotterdam, which immediately qualified them for European football. This was Roda JC's first major prize in the club's history.

The following season started Jol and his team with a 3-1 defeat in the Johan Cruyff Shield and in the opening match of the new Eredivisie season they managed to clinch a 1-0 home win against FC Utrecht. On 18 September 1997, they played against Israeli club Hapoel Beer Sheva and won 1-4 in the first round of the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. With an amazing 10-0 win at home, they made it to the next round with a 14-1 win on aggregate.

In the Round of 16, Roda JC played against the Russian club ND Primorje and managed to advance to the quarter-finals with a 6-0 win on aggregate. However, their progress in the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup was stopped at the quarter-finals where they suffered a heavy 9-1 defeat against Italian club LR Vicenza on aggregate.

In this section of Martin Jol biography stay tuned as we want to share some information about his coaching career with RKC Waalwijk.

RKC Waalwijk

From 1998 onwards, Jol became the coach of

. In his first match as head coach of RKC Waalwijk, they suffered a heavy 5-0 defeat in the second round of TOTO KNVB Beker against Fortuna Sittard. His start in the league wasn’t what he was hoping for, as they lost six of seven league matches between the 11th and 17th matchday.

He finished the Eredivisie in 16th place and thus had to play in the playoffs to stay in the league. RKC Waalwijk and Martin Jol just managed to do this by winning five of their six matches in the league, with only drawing one match with PEC Zwolle.

The following season 1999/2000, things were much better for RKC Waalwijk and Martin Jol as they finished the league on 11th position with 42 points in 34 matches, largely thanks to their five victories in their first eleven matches in the league.

That season, in the TOTO KNVB Beker, the team made it to the quarter-finals with victories against SC Telstar, Twente Enschede FC and FC Eindhoven, but they were knocked out in the next round with a 0-1 home defeat against Vitesse Arnhem.

The 2000/01 season was one of Martin Jol’s best at RKC Waalwijk. After being eliminated in the third round of the UEFA Intertoto Cup with a 3-0 defeat on aggregate against English club

, they started the new Eredivisie season with a 0-1 away win against NAC Breda. Between 3 February and April 2001, they were undefeated in the league, before losing 3-1 against PSV Eindhoven.

The club also won their last three matches in the league against De Graafschap, FC Groningen and Roda JC Kerkrade (his previous team) to finish 7th in the league. That season they failed to qualify for European competitions with goal difference, as the 4th to 7th placed teams all had 59 points. That season, he was also voted Coach of the Year by players and trainers alike.

In the following season, Jol and his team finished 8th in the league with 48 points in 34 matches. In the Dutch Cup, they were knocked out on Round of 16, where they suffered a 1-2 home defeat against PSV Eindhoven. That season, Jol’s side were also eliminated from UEFA Intertoto Cup with a 5-2 aggregate defeat against the German side TSV 1860 Munich.

Jol had a rather quiet 2002/03 season with the club. After a good first half of the season, things started to get worse for Jol and his team, and after five straight defeats in the last five of their Eredivisie matches, RKC Waalwijk finished 9th in Eredivisie with 46 points in 34 matches, two points less than the previous season. In the KNVB Cup, they were knocked out with a 2-1 defeat at the extra time against

.

The 2002/03 season was Martin Jol’s last year at the Dutch club. They had a flying start in the league, winning their first three matches against ADO Den Haag, PEC Zwolle and FC Volendam. Between 4 October 2003 and 28 January 2004, Martin Jol’s team failed to win a single game in the league. The Eredivisie ended for the club with an 11th place finish. In the Cup, they were eliminated by FC Utrecht in the Round of 16.

Waalwijk was a premier league club with the lowest budget. Nevertheless, Jol, together with Marcel Brands as technical director, managed to bring this small club to the middle of the table and eventually even into the top six of the Dutch Eredivisie.

In this section of Martin Jol biography stay tuned as we want to share some information about Tottenham career.

Tottenham Hotspur

Jol was appointed assistant coach at London club

Hotspur in the 2004/05 season when Jacques Santini was the manager. Santini was dismissed on 5 November 2004, whereupon Jol was named the new manager. His first match on the Tottenham bench was the 0-3 away win against Burnley FC in the fourth round of the League Cup.

After two straight league defeats against Arsenal and Aston Villa, Tottenham and Jol started an unbeaten run which lasted between 28 November 2004 and 15 January 2005, when they lost 0-2 to Chelsea. Under Jol’s management, Tottenham finished the English Premier League in 9th position.

In the League Cup, they were eliminated by Liverpool, with a 4-5 home defeat in the quarter-finals. in FA Cup, they made it to the sixth round, before being defeated 1-0 against Newcastle United.

Tottenham Hotspur competed in the English Premier League in the 2005–06 football season under Martin Jol. The team had a mediocre, short season, finishing in what was then their best position in the Premier League but leaving both cup tournaments at the quickest possible stage versus lower league opponents, and thus, they played just 40 games.

Tottenham played against Grimsby Town in the League Cup in September, where they lost 1–0 at Blundell Park. The club was drawn against Leicester City in the FA Cup, however, they blew a two-goal advantage and were beaten 3–2 at Walkers Stadium thanks to a stoppage-time goal.

Jol and the club finished the English Premier League in fifth place. If they could’ve won their last match against West Ham United, they could’ve finished in fourth place and won the qualification to the UEFA Champions League.

Expectations were high at the start of the 2006/07 season, as Spurs narrowly missed out on 4th position in the Premier League and UEFA Champions League qualifying at the conclusion of the previous season because of an incident of food poisoning among the team. Nevertheless, the season was plagued by injury issues, especially in defence.

Tottenham's Premier League performance was inconsistent in the first half of the season, albeit there was a memorable home triumph against defending champions Chelsea in November. The team's away form was bad in the first part of the season, but they improved dramatically in the second half, with only two away defeats from January to May, including a close defeat in their last six away games, against Chelsea.

Spurs finished the season in fifth place in the standings, qualifying for the UEFA Cup for the second season in a row, thanks to improved away form, strong home displays, and an overall strong season. Tottenham played interesting and functional football under Martin Jol, making it to the FA Cup quarter-finals before losing 1–2 to Chelsea after drawing 3–3 away.

They also made it to the League Cup semi-finals where they lost 3–1 in extra time to Arsenal having drawn 2–2 at home and losing 3–1 away in extra time. Tottenham reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup, where they played title-holders and future champions Sevilla, but was knocked from the tournament 4–3 on aggregate.

In their first four games in the league in the following 2007/08 season, Martin Jol’s Tottenham lost three matches and thus, had a disappointing start to the season. After another league defeat against Newcastle United and the 1-2 loss against Getafe in the UEFA Cup, he was dismissed from his position as head coach of the team.

Hamburger SV

Jol was appointed coach of Hamburger SV in the 2008/2009 season. He achieved good results during his spell in Germany. In the 2008-2009 season, Hamburg, under the management of Martin Jol, concluded the Bundesliga championship in 5th place. In the German Cup, Hamburg was knocked out in the semifinals by Werder Bremen. They were also eliminated in the Europa League semifinals by the very same Werder Bremen.

Martin Jol’s tenure in Germany, just like his playing spell with Bayern Munich, finished very soon as he decided to move back to his country for a coaching job with

.

AFC Ajax

Jol signed a three-year contract as coach at AFC Ajax on 26 May 2009. In the league, Jol, who had an unprecedented 85 points and a goal difference of 106 for and 20 against, finished second behind FC Twente.

In the first season, he also won the KNVB Cup with Ajax and set the record for the lowest number of goals scored against in home matches, namely four. Moreover, in August Ajax qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in many years.

Jol left Ajax on 6 December 2010, after the Ajax team drew at home in the Arena against NEC (1-1) and Johan Cruyff had created turmoil for many months through his column in De Telegraaf newspaper. In those columns, Cruyff blamed the board and the management for a long period of bad management. Jol was succeeded by Frank de Boer.

Fulham

Jol signed a two-year contract as manager of Fulham Football Club on 7 June 2011, with the option for a third season. The option was exercised, but because of poor performance, Jol was fired on 1 December 2013. During his first season, Jol finished 9th with 52 points, a record for Fulham in addition to playing European football that year. His second season saw him finish 12th with 43 points. His record of remaining unbeaten 5 times on Boxing Day was matched by Mourinho in 2014.

Al-Ahly

It was revealed on 24 February 2016 that Jol would become head coach of the Egyptian club Al-Ahly. Having signed a contract for 2.5 years, he was able to win the national title in his first season with the club. However, in August 2016, Jol tendered his resignation from Al-Ahly.

ADO Den Haag

On 24 December 2019, ADO Den Haag revealed that Jol would be the new technical director of the club. The club was at that time in 17th place after 18 Eredivisie matches.

Style of Play

As a coach, Martin Jol is a huge fan of the 4-2-3-1 system, however, during his tenure at Ajax Amsterdam, he mostly utilized the 4-3-3 Defending. While coaching the English club Tottenham, he was also using the 4-4-2 double 6 too.

Reception

As a player, during his prime days, Martin Jol was considered as one of the most talented footballers in his country, and he even made it to the

national team, however, he never was able to establish himself as one of the best Dutch footballers.

After starting his career as a coach, he proved himself as a good coach, able to develop young players and demonstrate good and attacking football. Jol is the only Dutchman to have been active both as a player and as a coach in the Netherlands, Germany and England. He has over 300 matches in the Eredivisie (then called First Division) and in the Bundesliga to his name.

Martin Jol outside Football

In 2007, Martin Jol published his autobiography book “Martin Jol: The Inside Story”, which was written by English author Harry Harris.

In May 2021, it was reported on Dutch media that Martin Jol wants to buy his youth club ADO Den Haag. It was reported that Martin Jol, along with real estate millionaire Ed Maas are talking about an agreement with the current ADO owner, the Chinese United Vansen (UVS).

In May 2018 Martin Jol was a guest jury member at the final of the music contest Scheveningen Lied in the Netherlands.

Martin Jol Personal Life

In this section of Martin Jol biography, we will take a look into his personal life and share some info about

Martin Jol life story

and

Martin Jol religion

.

Family, Children and Relationships

Martin Jol has married his wife Nicole for a very long time. Nicole Jol was always in the background: she doesn't seem to like the football world in which her husband Martin Jol has been active since the beginning of their marriage.

Only one time Nicole spoke to the press in Germany, just after her husband left Hamburger SV. In a conversation with Bild, Nicole said that she was shocked by the sudden departure and that she was sorry that she and Martin had to leave Hamburg.

This was all because Martin was going back to work for his second love, Ajax. "You don't anticipate something like that. I was ready to stay in this super city for many years." In the end, they only lived in Hamburg for a total of one year. "It was a very intense, exciting year for me. I got to love Hamburg. I could really feel good and at home here."

Besides Nicole and Martin, their daughter Marit Jol also had to bid farewell to everyone and everything. "It is very unfortunate for her. When she said goodbye to her class, she was very brave, but she started crying in the corridor. She didn't want to leave." But still, the Jol family returned to the Netherlands.

Philanthropy

At the time of writing this article, there are no reports of any charity activities regarding Martin Jol on English or Dutch media.

Legal Issues

So far, there are not any reports about legal disputes or issues of Martin Jol in the media.

Martin Jol Career Statistics

In this section of Martin Jol biography, we will take a look at his career stats on the international and club level.

Club

For 16 years between 1973 and 1989, Martin Jol played for many clubs in Europe, appearing in a total of 425 league matches and scoring 28 goals.

International

Martin Jol has played a total of 3 matches for the Netherlands national team, failing to score any goals.

Managerial

He has a win ratio of 45.78 percent as a football coach, with 315 wins, 146 draws and 227 defeats in a total of 688 matches as of 13 June 2016.

Martin Jol Honors

His only title won as a player was the KNVB Cup he won with ADO Den Haag during the 1974-75 season.

As a manager, Jol has won the KNVB Cup with Ajax and Roda JC and was crowned champion of the Egyptian Premier League with Al Ahly.

His most notable individual award is the 2000-01 Eredivisie Manager of the Year.

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