# Jens Cools

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**Jens Cools** (born 16 October 1990) is a Belgian professional [footballer](/source/Association_football) who plays as a [defensive midfielder](/source/Midfielder_(association_football)#Defensive-midfielder) for [Belgian Division 3](/source/Belgian_Division_3) club [ASV Geel](/source/A.S._Verbroedering_Geel). He gained two caps for the [Belgium under-21 team](/source/Belgium_national_under-21_football_team).

## Career

### Westerlo

In the 2009–10 season, Cools was promoted from the youth academy to the first team of [Westerlo](/source/K.V.C._Westerlo), the club from the municipality where he grew up.[2] He made his professional debut one season later. After having played for six seasons in the first team, Cools' contract expired at the end of the 2015–16 season, as a result of which he left Westerlo on a [free transfer](/source/Free_transfer_(association_football)).[2] A key player of the club during his time there, Cools managed to make 161 appearances for the club, in which he scored 12 goals.[1]

### Waasland-Beveren

On 1 July 2016, Cools moved [Waasland-Beveren](/source/Waasland-Beveren) after having been convinced by their manager [Stijn Vreven](/source/Stijn_Vreven). Cools signed a two-year contract.[3] He made 51 appearances for the club during his two seasons there, in which he scored two goals.[1]

### Pafos

After two seasons, he chose to accept an offer from Cypriot club [Pafos](/source/Pafos_FC).[4] He experienced a strong season there in which he scored six goals in 25 appearances.[1]

### Eupen

After playing in Cyprus for one season, Cools expressed a wish to return to his home country.[5] On 16 July 2019, [Eupen](/source/K.A.S._Eupen) announced that he had signed a three-year contract with them.[6] In his first season there, he made 27 appearances and scored one goal.[1]

In October 2020, he tested positive for [SARS‑CoV‑2](/source/Severe_acute_respiratory_syndrome_coronavirus_2) during the [COVID-19 pandemic](/source/COVID-19_pandemic_in_Belgium).[7] Despite being sidelined for some time with the disease, Cools made 26 appearances and scored one goal during the 2020–21 season,[1] as Eupen finished mid-table in a disappointing 12th place.[8]

### Al-Riyadh

On 26 July 2022, Cools joined Saudi Arabian club [Al-Riyadh](/source/Al-Riyadh_SC).[9][10] In December 2022, he was released by the club due to repeated injuries.[11]

### Lierse

On 7 January 2023, Cools signed a year-and-a-half contract with [Lierse](/source/Lierse_Kempenzonen).[12]

## International career

Cools was called into the Belgian under-21 squad in March 2011. He made his debut for the [Belgium under-21s](/source/Belgium_national_under-21_football_team) on 24 March, replacing [Luis Pedro Cavanda](/source/Luis_Pedro_Cavanda) in the 82nd minute of a 1–0 win against [Scotland](/source/Scotland_national_under-21_football_team).[13][14]

## Career statistics

### Club

Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Total Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Westerlo 2010–11 Pro League 21 0 5 0 – – – – 26 0 2011–12 15 0 0 0 – – 1 0 16 0 2012–13 Proximus League 26 3 2 0 – – – – 28 3 2013–14 29 3 4 2 – – – – 33 5 2014–15 Pro League 28 0 0 0 – – – – 28 0 2015–16 28 4 2 0 – – – – 30 4 Total 147 10 13 2 0 0 1 0 161 12 Waasland-Beveren 2016–17 First Division A 36 4 1 0 – – – – 37 4 2017–18 13 1 1 0 – – – – 14 1 Total 49 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 51 5 Pafos 2018–19 Cypriot First Division 25 6 3 1 – – – – 28 7 Career total 221 21 18 3 0 0 1 0 240 24

## References

1. ["Waasland-Beveren haalt Jens Cools weg bij Westerlo"](https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20160506_02276060) (in nl-BE). *Het Nieuwsblad*. 2016-05-06.

1. Collard, Timothy (2016-06-17). ["Één van de opmerkelijkste transfers in België: "Na 19 jaar was het tijd om de stap te zetten""](https://www.voetbalkrant.com/nieuws/2016-06-17/jens-cools-een-van-de-opmerkelijkste-transfers-in-belgie-na-19-jaar-was-het-tijd-om-de-stap-te-zetten?) (in Dutch). *Voetbalkrant.com*

1. ["Jens Cools 2 jaar naar Paphos"](https://www.rtv.be/artikels/jens-cools-2-jaar-naar-paphos-a57526) (in Dutch). *RTV*. 2018-08-05.

1. t'Sjoen, Arjan (2019-07-19). ["Jens Cools is terug in België: "Ik wil met Eupen een goed seizoen draaien in 1A""](https://www.voetbalkrant.com/nieuws/2019-07-19/jens-cools-is-terug-in-belgie-ik-wil-met-eupen-een-goed-seizoen-draaien-in-1a) (in Dutch). *Voetbalkrant.com*

1. Elst, Maarten (2019-07-16). ["Eupen haalt ervaren Jens Cools terug naar België"](https://www.gva.be/cnt/dmf20190716_04512751) (in nl-BE). *Gazet van Antwerpen*

1. Wens, Nils (2020-10-22). ["Het coronavirus vindt nu ook zijn weg naar KAS Eupen: middenvelder heeft positief getest"](https://www.voetbalkrant.com/nieuws/2020-10-22/jens-cools-is-besmet-met-het-coronavirus) (in Dutch). *Voetbalkrant.com*

1. ["Benat San José stopt bij Eupen, ex-speler Luis Garcia in beeld als opvolger"](https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20210426_96458788) (in nl-BE). *Het Nieuwsblad*. 2021-04-26.

1. ["جينس كولس يمثل #مدرسة_الوسطى"](https://twitter.com/AlRiyadh_fc/status/1551931620424310788)

1. ["JENS COOLS HEEFT EEN NIEUWE CLUB GEVONDEN... IN DE WOESTIJN"](https://www.voetbalkrant.com/nieuws/2022-07-26/jens-cools-gaat-voor-al-riyad-spelen). 26 July 2022.

1. ["الرياض يخالص كولس"](https://arriyadiyah.com/791952) [Riyadh released Cools] (in Arabic). *arriyadiyah.com*. [KSA Sport](/source/KSA_Sport). 28 December 2022.

1. ["JENS COOLS NAAR LIERSE"](https://www.lierse.com/nieuws/jens-cools-naar-lierse) (in Dutch). Lierse. 7 January 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.

1. ["Belgium U21 1-0 Scotland U21"](https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/scotland/9435567.stm). *BBC*. 24 March 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2022.

1. ["Internationale wedstrijden – KBVB"](https://static.rbfa.be/project/publiek/rencinter/en/wed_7291.htm). *RBFA*. Retrieved 3 December 2022.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jens Cools](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jens_Cools) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jens_Cools?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.