Mark van Bommel

Mark Peter Gertruda Andreas van Bommel (born 22 April 1977) is a Dutch football coach and former player who played as a midfielder.

He is currently the manager of Belgian side Royal Antwerp.

His FIFA World Cup profile describes him as "a tackling machine and expert ball-winner, but he also boasts a fine array of passes and a powerful shot, having been a free-kick specialist during his PSV days".

He played in and won the Dutch Eredivisie with PSV, Spanish La Liga with Barcelona, German Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, and Italian Serie A with Milan.

Van Bommel started his amateur career at local club RKVV Maasbracht before earning a professional contract with Fortuna Sittard in 1992.

His colleagues at Fortuna who would later join PSV alongside him were Wilfred Bouma and Kevin Hofland.

Van Bommel was signed by PSV in 1999 where he formed a midfield partnership with Swiss international Johann Vogel.

Van Bommel won four Eredivisie titles and two Johan Cruyff Shields with the club.

Between 2000 and 2011, he won eight national championship titles in four competitions: four with PSV, two with Bayern, one with Barcelona and one with Milan.

From 2000 to 2012, Van Bommel was part of the Netherlands team and earned 79 caps.

He was also named Dutch Footballer of the Year in 2001 and 2005.

In his final season with PSV, having assisted the team to the Dutch league title and a Champions League semi-final place, Van Bommel was expected to join his father-in-law Bert van Marwijk who at the time managed the Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund, but Van Bommel opted to stay at PSV until the end of the 2004–05 season.

Van Bommel won the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League with Barcelona and was Bayern's first foreign captain.

After the club's UEFA Champions League semi-final loss to Milan and with the Eredivisie title in PSV's hands at the end of April, he confirmed he would join Barcelona in May 2005 after the club won its own domestic league.

Seeking to strengthen his already title-winning squad, Frank Rijkaard signed Van Bommel on a free transfer for Barcelona.

Van Bommel spent the summer prior to his move to Spain learning the Spanish language in a convent in Eindhoven.

Similar to his role at PSV where he was largely used as a holding midfielder, utilising his ball-winning skills to complement the more skillful players already at the club.

As per his squad role, throughout the league campaign he was rotated with fellow midfielders Xavi, Edmílson, Andrés Iniesta, Deco and Thiago Motta, featuring in 24 domestic matches and a further 12 in cup competitions.

His only season with Barcelona was largely successful as the club won La Liga and the 2005–06 Champions League.

He was part of the teams that went to the 2006 FIFA World Cup, finished runner-up at the 2010 FIFA World Cup and went to UEFA Euro 2012.

He began managing as a youth coach and assistant to his father-in-law and former international manager Bert van Marwijk.

He then managed in his own right at PSV, VfL Wolfsburg and Royal Antwerp, winning the Belgian Pro League and Belgian Cup double with the latter in 2022–23.

He won his third trophy with the club on 20 August 2006 as Barça beat city rivals Espanyol in the 2006 Supercopa de España.

Six days later, however, it was announced that Van Bommel had joined Bayern Munich.

On 26 August 2006, Bayern Munich team manager Uli Hoeneß announced Van Bommel would be joining the Bundesliga club.

Media reports speculated that the move was influenced by the ongoing Owen Hargreaves transfer saga, but Hoeneß insisted the club intended to go forward with both players.

Bayern Munich paid 6 million euro to Barcelona in the deal.

Soon after joining the Bavarian side, Van Bommel proved to be a key player for them, providing strength in the middle of the pitch.

Due to his terrific performances during his first season at Bayern, he was voted the Bayern Player of the Year for 2006–07, beating out longtime fan-favorites Roy Makaay and Mehmet Scholl.

In the 2007–08 season, he won his first silverware with club as Bayern claimed a double of the Bundesliga title and DFB-Pokal.

After Oliver Kahn retired in 2008, Van Bommel was selected as captain, becoming the club's first ever non-German captain.

Under the management of compatriot Louis van Gaal, Van Bommel led Bayern to the second league and cup double of his time at the club during the 2009–10 season.

At Bayern, he led the team to two Bundesliga titles, and finished runner-up in the 2010 UEFA Champions League Final.

The team also reached the 2010 UEFA Champions League Final, but a defeat by Internazionale denied Bayern its first ever treble.

He played 123 matches in the German top-flight.

On 25 January 2011, Van Bommel signed a six-month contract with Milan on a free transfer after terminating his contract with Bayern.

He was given the number four shirt, and the day after, he made his debut in a 2–1 victory against Sampdoria in the Coppa Italia quarter-final.

On 29 January 2011, Van Bommel made his Serie A debut against Catania but was sent off after receiving a second yellow card early in the second half.

Soon after, however, he adapted to Italian football and became a regular in Massimiliano Allegri's squad, contributing greatly in convincing 3–0 wins against Napoli and city rivals Internazionale.

He was a starter in the match against Roma on 7 May 2011 that brought Milan their 18th Scudetto.