Koku Philippe is a Dutch footballer who at one time was one of the most famous in the world. The defensive midfielder has become a legend not only for his national team, but also for one of the strongest clubs in the world - Barcelona. His biography is full of various events and striking successes, so you need to focus on it properly. Koku Philip - this one, the player who allowed to shape modern football in the form in which everyone knows today.
Carier start
Koku Philip began his career as a football player in his country of birth - Holland. There he went to the football academy of the AZ club, with which he signed his first professional contract in 1988. There he spent only two seasons - in the first he was just starting to unfold, and in the second he had already become a strong base player. In total, he spent 52 matches for the club, scoring nine goals in them. But there is no point in counting the number of goals, since Koku’s position does not have to score them - he has completely different tasks. He must destroy enemy attacks in the center of the field, and he coped with this task perfectly. This was noticed by another Dutch club, Vitesse, into which the twenty-year-old footballer joined in 1990. Koku Philip took the first step towards the major achievements that awaited him in the future.
Career at Vitesse
As everyone is well aware, Vitesse was never one of the first forces in Holland, but Koku played great for his club, regardless of his level. He demonstrated an excellent game for five seasons - at first they did not entrust him with a place at the base, so in the first season the player spent only eight matches. But then he became an integral part of the team, and in total played 153 matches, scoring 28 goals in them. Naturally, such a game did not go unnoticed, and the 25-year-old defensive midfielder acquired the Dutch top club PSV. More precisely, he signed a contract with him - during his entire career Koku did not leave a single club without having worked out his contract to the end. So Philip Koku is a football player whose loyalty to his obligations is only respected.
First trophies
In 1995, it became clear that Philip Koku is a football player whose photographs will be on the front pages of football magazines. And so it happened - the defensive midfielder immediately became a key player in the club, for which he played 126 matches in three seasons, scoring 42 goals. But the most important thing is that during his three years at the club he collected many trophies - once PSV became the champion of the country, once - the owner of the Holland Cup, and also twice won the Johan Cruyff Cup . However, the Dutch championship was never one of the most prestigious in Europe, so after three years, the 28-year-old Dutchman went on a promotion and moved to the Spanish “Barcelona”, where he also immediately became one of the leaders.
Spanish adventure
At Barcelona, Philippe Coco, whose biography is described in this article, spent the most time — as much as six years. During this time, he played 292 matches, scored 37 goals, and most importantly - in 1999, he won the Spanish championship with the club, which in those days had not yet won the recognition that he has now. Koku became one of those who began the era of the current “Barcelona”.
Return to PSV
When Koku worked out his contract at Barcelona and became unnecessary for the club, as he was replaced by new stars, Philip decided to return to his homeland. There he signed a three-year contract with PSV, for which he had already spoken for a lot - and, as usual, worked it out completely. During these three years, the veteran played 133 matches and scored 31 goals - incredible indicators for a player of that age in which most players are already ending their careers.
Ending a career in the UAE
But Koku did not stop there either - having won three more league titles with PSV and one cup, Philip moved for a year to the Al Jazeera club from the UAE, where he earned some more money for a happy old age before announcing about retirement at the age of 38.
Coaching career
Naturally, it was clear that such a person would not be able to live without football, so immediately after completing the player’s career, Koku began to develop a coaching career. At first he was an assistant coach in the Dutch national team, in the PSV youth team, then he became an assistant coach at PSV, after which he already received the position of head coach. At the moment, he just takes the post of coach of this club.