Dion-Johan Chai Cools (born 4 June 1996) is a Malaysian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or a full-back for Thai League 1 club Buriram United and the Malaysia national team.
At club level, he has played in Belgium and Denmark for OH Leuven, Club Brugge and FC Midtjylland.
Cools has represented Belgium at youth level with 28 caps, but later chose to play for the Malaysian national football team at senior level.
He made his senior debut for Malaysia on 3 June 2021.
Cools was born in Kuching, Sarawak to a Belgian father, Hans Cools and a Malaysian mother, Xylina Chai.
The couple relocated to Belgium more than 20 years ago, following their marriage.
Dion was named by his parents after Johan Cruyff and Dion Dublin, the latter being a former player for Coventry City and Manchester United.
Cools started his career with Tempo Overijse, but soon moved to OH Leuven as a 9-year-old.
2010
In 2010, he joined the Anderlecht youth team.
2013
After a season, he returned to the OH Leuven youth academy in 2013.
2014
He signed his first professional contract with the club in July 2014 after completing secondary school.
On 3 August 2014, Cools made his debut in the first team of OH Leuven, competing in the Belgian Second Division.
He was in the starting lineup for the away match against Racing Mechelen.
2015
In May 2015, he participated with OH Leuven in the final round for promotion.
Cools did not miss a single minute of the final round and won promotion to the Belgian First Division A again with the club.
On 23 June 2015, Cools signed a four-year contract with Club Brugge.
He won two Belgian national titles and twice the Belgian Super Cup.
2016
Cools became a starter under head coach Michel Preud'homme in the 2016–17 season due to poor performances by former Dutch international Ricardo van Rhijn, who had initially become the starter after the departure of regular right-back Thomas Meunier to Paris-Saint Germain.
Cools also remained a starter under new coach Ivan Leko, with whom he was reunited after his time with OH Leuven.
Cools would, however, later become benched after the emergence of Clinton Mata at the position.
2020
On 31 January 2020, Cools signed a three-year contract with Midtjylland in the Danish Superliga.
He made his debut for the club on 17 February in a 2–0 win over Lyngby.
Cools scored his first goal for the club on 14 February 2021, the only goal of the match in a win over Horsens in the Superliga.
Initially, Cools played regularly under coach Brian Priske but suffered a foot injury that kept him out of action for three months.
During his recovery, Priske left the club, and the incoming coach did not feature Cools as prominently in the team.
Despite working to regain his position, another injury, this time to his pelvis, further disrupted his progress.
Off the field, Cools faced challenges adapting to life in Denmark, citing a lack of social interactions and the country's long, wet winters as contributing factors.
Cools and FC Midtjylland have mutually agreed to cancel his contract with the club on 9 September 2022, making him a free agent.
On 4 January 2022, Cools was loaned out to Zulte Waregem by Midtjylland until the end of the 2021–22 season as Cools was looking for more playing time, according to Midtjylland's director of football.
During his stint at this club, Cools playing time was inconsistent and he found integrating back into Belgian football challenging.
He questioned whether his mindset was right for playing back home again, and he admitted to not playing with complete freedom.
The team was also in a difficult period as they were fighting against relegation.
Therefore, his performance and overall experience at Zulte Waregem were mixed.
On 12 September 2022, Cools signed for Czech Republic club, FK Jablonec on a short-term deal.
He stated that the motivation behind the move is to get more playing time as his former club, Midtjylland, decided to switch to a different playing system, which curtailed his playing time.
On 3 January 2023, Cools signed a one and half-year contract with Buriram United in the Thai League 1 on a free transfer.
He made his debut for the club on 22 January in a 3–0 win over Sukhothai after selected to the starting eleven against the club and played full 90 minutes of the match.
On 22 April, Cools lift the 2022–23 Thai League 1 title after securing a win 2–1 against Chiangrai United.
In his first season, he helped the club to win the domestic treble.
On 18 February 2024, Cools scored his first league goal in a 4–3 away win against Trat.
