Ruud Knol

Ruud Knol (born 13 March 1981) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. He most notably played as a centre-back for Vitesse between 2000 and 2007.

Club career
Knol was born in Zevenaar, in the province of Gelderland and started his career at OBW, where he was spotted by Vitesse scouts. He made his professional debut for Vitesse on 8 September 2000, replacing Theo Janssen in the 80th minute of a 2–2 draw against Willem II. He played six years for Vitesse and was called up once by then Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal for the Netherlands national team. A serious injury threatened his career between 2002 and 2005 but he came back to play for Vitesse.

In December 2006, it was announced that Knol would be leaving Vitesse. His contract was set to expire, and was not renewed due to significant differences between the two parties. Furthermore, Knol expressed his desire for a fresh challenge. Some media speculated that his motivation was financial gain, which he denied. Despite receiving interest from various clubs, including 1. FC Köln and Southampton, Knol remained without a team for an extended period. Then, on 18 August, it was revealed that Knol had signed a two-year contract with Greek club PAOK. After one season in Greece, he returned to the Netherlands to play for Sparta Rotterdam.

Starting from the preseason of the 2011–12 season, Knol maintained his fitness at Vitesse while waiting for an attractive offer from abroad. Vitesse's coach, John van den Brom, had previously indicated that Knol was not in consideration for a contract with Vitesse. As a result, Knol made every effort to find a new club. However, after an unsuccessful trial at Coventry City and other attempts, he decided to retire from professional football.

Coaching career
In July 2012, Knol returned to his former club, Vitesse, initially taking on the role of assistant coach for the under-17 team. However, in July 2013, he assumed the position of head coach for the under-14 team. On 16 January 2017, Vitesse announced that Theo Janssen would immediately become the coach of Vitesse O16. In response, Knol transitioned to the role of assistant coach for the reserve team, known as Jong Vitesse.

Jong Vitesse's stay in the Tweede Divisie was short-lived, lasting only one year. The team, under the leadership of John Lammers and Knol, finished seventeenth, which led to their relegation to the Derde Divisie. During the 2019–20 season, Knol worked as an analyst at De Graafschap.