Phillip Cocu

Phillip John-William Cocu is a former football player and a professional football manager of Dutch origin. He was born on 29 October 1970 in Eindhoven, Netherlands. He played as a midfielder during his playing years. He currently coaches the PSV club.

Background

Although Cocu was born in Eindhoven, he was raised in Zevenaar as his father switches jobs and he his family had to move there. He started playing football when he was six years old at the local amateur club DCS. There was something special about him right from the beginning. The youth players were not allowed to play until they were seven but an exception was made for him. He played for the club until De Graafschap’s youth academy picked him.

Debut

Cocu started his professional career with AZ. He made his professional debut with the club on 22 January 1989. He played as a left winger at that time. He made his international debut at the age of 25 in an exhibition match against Germany in early 1996. In June, he scored his first international goal in a game against Republic of Ireland.

Rise to glory

Cocu started rising to prominence very early in his career. After making his debut in 1989, he went on to play in almost all the league games of the 1989-90 season. Because of his performances in the early years, he was bought by Vitesse for a handsome amount. In the international arena as well, he started making his mark very early. He began performing well and therefore got included in the first team quickly.

Club career

Cocu started his club career with AZ in 1988 and played for them for two years. In 1990, he was bought by Vitesse and played for them for the next five years. In his second season with the team, he played most number of matches and scored thrice. In 1995, he got transferred to PSV and played for them for three years while winning many titles and competitions.

In 1998, he started playing for Barcelona and stayed with them for the longest part of his career. He stayed with them for six years and had a successful time. He, then got back to PSV and had a successful stint again. At last, he spent one year with the club Al Jazira, from 2007 to 2008.

Records

He left Barcelona with the record of the most number of league appearances by a foreign player for the club. He is also at the fifth spot on the list of the players with most Dutch international appearances.

Over the span of his career, he won Eredivise titles, played Champions League semi-finals and also won La Liga.

Retirement

Cocu retired from professional football in 2008. After his retirement, he joined PSV again as the youth coach and then as an Assistant Manager.

Between 2008 and 2012, he served as the assistant to Bert van Marwijk at the Dutch team. He served as the caretaker manager at PSV in 2012. In 2013, he was appointed as the Manager of the club PSV.