Érick Gutiérrez wants to return to PSV, but he is definitely not positive about Mark van Bommel
1 min readIn 2018 Érick Gutiérrez joined PSV, and in Eindhoven Gutiérrez was reunited with his friend Hirving Lozano. During that period, Mark van Bommel had just been appointed as the new head coach after Phillip Cocu left for Fenerbahçe SK.
Despite a strong debut by the Mexican midfielder against ADO Den Haag on 15 September 2018, Gutiérrez initially didn't quite come off the ground. According to the former PSV player, this was partly due to a difficult relationship with Van Bommel.
About that, the midfielder tells in the book ¡Viva Futbol! by Jesper Langbroek. ''It started brilliantly during my debut against ADO Den Haag. I was reunited with Chucky Lozano, with whom I played together from the age of eleven at Pachuca, and we scored two goals together. After that, I thought I would be playing a lot, but under Mark van Bommel I didn’t get a chance anymore'', Guti begins.
According to the Mexican, it was difficult to work together with the former PSV captain, who is becoming the new national team coach of Belgium. ''It was difficult to work with him. I was very young, didn't stand up for myself, and I had to endure a lot in that time,'' the midfielder continues.
If the Mexican had already gained more experience in that period, he would have gone to the coach. ''With the experience I have now, I would have approached him sooner and started the conversation, because I felt that I was not being treated fairly and that my hard work was not being rewarded. Luckily I didn’t give up, and I achieved what I wanted to achieve'', Gutiérrez looks back.
In December 2019, Van Bommel was sacked by the club management and in March 2020 the club appointed the German Roger Schmidt as coach. Under Schmidt, Guti got more playing time and the Mexican was even deployed as a center-back by the German due to a number of injuries within the squad.
''I went to play, we won prizes and I captured the hearts of the fans. If you ask me in Eindhoven, I believe they still know me,'' concludes the midfielder, who recently also stated unequivocally that he would like to return to PSV once again.
Comments9
"we wonnen prijzen en ik veroverde de harten van de fans" is exactly why PSV fans still remember him. It also makes you think Van Bommel might have killed a good development path too early, even if his standards were high.
I actually remember die periode en vond het vreemd dat hij na die goals tegen ADO zo snel wegzakte. Onder Schmidt als centrale verdediger en dan prijzen pakken is echt turnaround, dus het probleem lag niet aan zijn niveau. Guti's "eerdere op hem afstappen" is wel een reality check voor iedereen die te lang wacht 🐐
So the story is basically: debut banger, then no minutes, then firing and boom... prices and love from the fans. Fair, but ngl i always wondered if it was attitude too, not just "hard to work with him" 😅
Iets met jeugd en ego. Van Bommel gaf kansen, maar bij sommigen kwam het niet door. Guti zegt dat hij hard werkte en niet beloond werd, dat is pijnlijk, maar het bewijst ook dat een coach-fit echt alles kan zijn. Respect voor Erick dat hij doorpakte 👏
I swear Mark had that stubbornness with some players, and Guti got it. Under Schmidt he not only played more, he even got used CB, that tells you the talent was there all along.
"Kwam niet voor mijzelf op"... ja dat is zo'n statement waar je je gewoon bij afvraagt wat er in de kleedkamer gebeurde. Tbh Van Bommel is altijd intens, maar dit klinkt alsof Erick gewoon te weinig vertrouwen kreeg. Wel mooi dat Schmidt hem weer liet draaien.
"Kwam niet voor mijzelf op" is such a real line, tbh. Maybe Van Bommel expected more maturity straight away, but coaching a kid shouldnt be about freezing him out after one patchy run.
Imo dit is precies waarom je als speler soms vastloopt bij een coach, niet omdat je slecht bent. Gutiérrez had een droomstart vs ADO en dan ineens geen kans. Als hij zegt dat hij niet voor zichzelf durfde op te komen, klinkt het als communicatie die totaal niet klikte.
Reading this still stings, because Gutiérrez had that debut v ADO, then suddenly it felt like the door closed under Van Bommel. If you are young and you dont get a chance, its not exactly confidence-building...