Mark van Bommel back in football after two years: “He was really in demand.”
1 min readIt will not have escaped anyone that PSV icon Mark van Bommel was officially presented by the Belgian football association on Friday afternoon as the new national team coach of De Rode Duivels. Van Bommel will have the Belgian team under his care for at least until the 2028 European Championship.
Because of this, the PSV icon returns to football after two years. Previously, Van Bommel was employed by Royal Antwerp FC from 2022 to 2024, after which, in 2024, it was decided to end the collaboration between the former midfielder and the Antwerp club.
Yet during his absence Van Bommel had the clubs to choose from. That is what Marcel van der Kraan says in the podcast Kick-off from De Telegraaf.
According to Van der Kraan, the former PSV player consciously made the choice to be without a club for a while. ''I spoke with Van Bommel last year; back then there were also some opportunities for him to work abroad. Those were very serious clubs. He himself chose not to take the job'', the journalist says.
According to Van der Kraan, the injury sustained by Ruben van Bommel also played a role in the fact that Mark made the choice not to take up the offer from various clubs. ''The moment his son was so badly injured, he said: 'I want to guide him properly and I want to be on top of things to make sure he comes back completely well.' So he could have worked anywhere. But he deliberately kept the boat and took a club. He was really in demand'', says the journalist.
According to the reporter, Mark van Bommel may be exactly the kind of person the Belgians need. ''He is a real winner. Maybe the Belgian national team could use someone like him now,'' that is what it sounds like.
The journalist also understands that the name of the former PSV player was not quickly brought up for Oranje. ''Slot, Ten Hag all fall into a category of people who stand for Dutch football and maybe have already achieved a bit more internationally than Van Bommel. Antwerp is not of the caliber of Liverpool and Manchester United'', Van der Kraan concludes.
Comments5
"Hij was echt wel in trek" lol, natuurlijk. Van Bommel met die winnaarsmentaliteit en ervaring in de Eredivisie, dan wil elke club hem. Maar eerlijk: België heeft wel spelers die hem moeten willen volgen, anders wordt het een mid seizoen.
Dat Ruben van Bommel verhaal verklaart alles. Je kan niet anders dan respect hebben dat hij prioriteit gaf aan zijn zoon en niet meteen weer een klus pakte. Toch jammer dat PSV hem niet langer in ons ecosysteem hield.
Ik denk dat de KNVB-vergelijking een beetje flauw is. Ja, Oranje zoekt misschien al "een winnaar", maar PSV heeft ook altijd gezien dat Mark op details en discipline bouwt. Als hij dat doorzet bij België, kan dat echt gevaarlijk worden.
Duidelijk verhaal tbh, als je echt zegt dat hij clubloos koos, dan was dat geen toeval. Zo iemand die "boot afhouden" doet terwijl er serieuze opties lagen, dat is pure controle. 👀
Waardoor ik dit juist mooi vind tbh: hij zegt letterlijk dat hij bewust clubloos was, maar "hij was echt wel in trek". 🥶🔥 Dat past bij zijn mentaliteit als speler.