Yuri Cornelisse

Early career

Cornelisse started playing football in the youth department of AFC '34 at age 8, and later moved to the youth academy of AZ, before returning to AFC '34. He started his professional career with TOP Oss, where he played for two seasons. His performances attracted the attention of Belgian club Anderlecht, who eventually signed him in. In Belgium, Cornelisse soon suffered a fracture in his metatarsal bone in an exhibition game against his former club TOP Oss in pre-season. This prompted him to return to the Netherlands because, on the one hand, his rehabilitation took more time than planned and, on the other hand, because manager Arie Haan had been fired and his successor Jean Dockx brought about nine new players to Anderlecht. This meant that Cornelisse was free to leave the club, after making no official appearances, and he moved to RKC Waalwijk.

RKC Waalwijk

In his first season at RKC, 1999–2000, the club finished 10th but qualified for the then UEFA Intertoto Cup. The team was coached by future Tottenham Hotspur and Ajax manager Martin Jol. Cornelisse made 33 total appearances that season, in which he scored seven goals. He made his European debut in the Intertoto Cup against English club Bradford City on 16 July 2000. His club would be knocked out with the score finishing 0–3 on aggregate. In his third season at the club, RKC were represented in the Intertoto Cup once again, but were knocked out by German club 1860 Munich in the third round,…

Notes

He is the elder brother of Tim Cornelisse, and the uncle of Enzo Cornelisse, both also professional footballers. He retired from football to become a police officer.