Leon de Kogel

Leon de Kogel (born 13 November 1991) is a Dutch football coach and former professional player.

Leon de Kogel
De Kogel with Utrecht in 2010
Personal information
Date of birth (1991-11-13) 13 November 1991
Place of birth Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands
Height 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)[1]
Playing position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 SV Houten (youth coach)
Youth career
Utrecht
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2015 Utrecht 38 (8)
2013–2014 → VVV-Venlo (loan) 29 (14)
2014–2015 → Almere City (loan) 18 (2)
2015–2018 Go Ahead Eagles 68 (27)
2018 Cornellà 13 (2)
Total 168 (53)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Early and personal life

De Kogel was born in Alphen aan den Rijn.[1] By December 2018 de Kogel had two young children.[2]

Career

De Kogel began his career with the youth team of FC Utrecht.[3] He played senior football as a striker for FC Utrecht, VVV-Venlo, Almere City, Go Ahead Eagles and Cornellà, scoring 53 goals in 168 league appearances.[4]

De Kogel's career ended following a serious car accident in Salini, Malta, on 11 June 2018.[5] De Kogel was visiting the island on holiday with friends.[6] De Kogel had to be cut out of the car he was travelling in by the fire service.[3] He underwent hours of surgery, and doctors doubted that he would ever walk again, let alone play football.[3] Four days after the accident his former club FC Utrecht paid for de Kogel to be flown back to the Netherlands, where he spent a further six weeks in hospital.[6] Doctors suggested a prosthetic knee, although de Kogel was opposed to that.[6]

Following the accident his Spanish club Cornellà stopped paying his salary, and the insurance company of the taxi driver responsible for the accident did not make a payout.[7] Settlement was reached with Cornellà in December 2018 following the intervention of both the Dutch and Spanish players' associations.[6] However, de Kogel was still involved in legal proceedings related to the accident in March 2019.[6]

Six months after the accident, de Kogel was still undergoing rehabilitation at a military centre in Doorn, from Monday to Friday every week.[2] In December 2018 de Kogel was considering his future, whether in or outside of football.[2] Later that month he returned to football as a youth coach at SV Houten.[5] Eight months after the accident de Kogel was still walking with crutches.[6]

Due to his financial difficulties, a FC Utrecht fan started a collection for de Kogel.[8] There were donations from fans of numerous clubs, the sale of shirts and pennants,[8] and a charity match between Jong FC Utrecht and Go Ahead Eagles,[3] which de Kogel symbolically 'kicked off'.[9] The total raised was just under €24,000, from donations, sales, and match proceeds.[9] Professional footballer Hakim Ziyech later contributed.[7]

References
  1. Leon de Kogel at Soccerway. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  2. "Het heftige verhaal van Leon de Kogel over zijn auto-ongeluk" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. 4 December 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  3. "Hartverwarmende actie van FC Utrecht voor De Kogel" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. 26 January 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  4. "Profile" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  5. "Het emotionele verhaal van Leon de Kogel: ellende, maar toch het leven vieren" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. 21 December 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  6. Alex Bysouth (3 March 2019). "Leon de Kogel: 'I said goodbye to my kids and my loved ones'". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  7. "Hartverwarmend gebaar Ziyech naar De Kogel" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  8. "Steun aan De Kogel bereikt toppunt bij bijzonder KKD-duel" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. 9 February 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  9. "De Kogel geëmotioneerd: 'Dankzij jullie kan ik weer verder met mijn leven'" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
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