Mark Peter Gertruda Andreas van Bommel (born 22 April 1977) is a Dutch

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and former player who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. His

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

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 A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offenc ...

specialist during his PSV days". He played in and won the Dutch

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

with PSV, Spanish

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

with

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

with

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

, and Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

with

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. 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. Van Bommel won the

2005–06 UEFA Champions League The 2005–06 UEFA Champions League was the 51st season of UEFA's premier European club Association football, football tournament, the UEFA Champions League and the 14th since it was rebranded from the European Cup in 1992. 74 teams from 50 footb ...

with Barcelona and was Bayern's first foreign

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. At Bayern, he led the team to two Bundesliga titles, and finished runner-up in the 2010 UEFA Champions League Final. From 2000 to 2012, Van Bommel was part of the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

team and earned 79

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

. He was part of the teams that went to the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

, finished runner-up at the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

and went to

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...

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

Bert van Marwijk Lambertus van Marwijk (; born 19 May 1952) is a Dutch Association football, football manager who is a member of the supervisory board for MVV Maastricht. As a player, he played for the Go Ahead Eagles, AZ Alkmaar, AZ, MVV Maastricht, MVV and For ...

. He then managed in his own right at PSV,

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg (), is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of Wolfsburg. I ...

and

Royal Antwerp Royal Antwerp Football Club (commonly referred to as Royal Antwerp or simply Antwerp) is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Antwerp. They compete in the Belgian Pro League, the top flight of Belgian football. Founded in 1 ...

, winning the

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023 ...

and

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (; ; ) is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Royal Belgian FA. The competition started in 1908 with provincial selections as the "Belgian Provinces Cup". Starting from 1912 only actual clubs were allowed ...

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

with the latter in

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

Club career

Van Bommel started his amateur career at local club RKVV Maasbracht before earning a professional contract with

Fortuna Sittard Fortuna Sittard (; ) is a professional football club from the municipality of Sittard-Geleen, Netherlands. The club currently plays its football in the 12,500 capacity Fortuna Sittard Stadion and features in the Eredivisie. The club was establi ...

in 1992. His colleagues at Fortuna who would later join PSV alongside him were

Wilfred Bouma Wilfred Bouma (; who was born on 15th June, 1978 is a Dutch former professional association football, footballer who played most notably for PSV Eindhoven, Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa and the Netherlands national football team, Netherlands nat ...

and Kevin Hofland.

PSV

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

titles and two

Johan Cruyff Shield The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footbal ...

s with the club. He was also named

Dutch Footballer of the Year The title Dutch Footballer of the Year ( Dutch: ''Voetballer van het Jaar'') has been awarded in the Netherlands since 1984. The award is determined by a poll of Dutch professional footballers playing in the First (Eredivisie) and Second (Eerste Di ...

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

who at the time managed the

side

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

, but Van Bommel opted to stay at PSV until the end of the 2004–05 season. After the club's

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

semi-final loss to

and with the Eredivisie title in PSV's hands at the end of April, he confirmed he would join

in May 2005 after the club won its own domestic league.

Barcelona

Seeking to strengthen his already title-winning squad,

Frank Rijkaard Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard (; born 30 September 1962) is a Dutch former footballer and former manager who played as a defensive midfielder. Regarded as one of the greatest midfielders in footballing history, Rijkaard was described by British broa ...

signed Van Bommel on a free transfer for Barcelona. Van Bommel spent the summer prior to his move to Spain learning the

Spanish language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...

in a

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

Eindhoven Eindhoven ( ; ) is a city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, located in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant, of which it is the largest municipality, and is also locat ...

. 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 Xavi () is a Catalan given name, usually used as a nickname for Xavier. Notable people with the name include: Football * Xavi Hernández (born 1980), Spanish football manager and former player * Xavi Andorrà (born 1985), Andorran footballe ...

Edmílson José Edmílson Gomes de Moraes (born 10 July 1976), known simply as Edmílson, is a Brazilian football executive and former professional footballer. He is currently a technical consultant for São Caetano. Either a defensive midfielder or ...

Andrés Iniesta Andrés Iniesta Luján (; born 11 May 1984) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and spent most of his career at La Liga club Barcelona. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he was known ...

Deco Anderson Luís de Souza (born 27 August 1977), also known as Deco (), is a Brazilian-born Portuguese former professional footballer who primarily played as an attacking or central midfielder. Born and raised in Brazil, he acquired Portuguese ...

and

Thiago Motta Thiago Motta (; ; born 28 August 1982) is a professional Association football, football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of club Juventus FC, Juventus. A Midfielder#Defensive midfielder, defensive midfielder, Mott ...

, featuring in 24 domestic matches and a further 12 in cup competitions. His only season with Barcelona was largely successful as the club won

and the 2005–06 Champions League. He won his third trophy with the club on 20 August 2006 as Barça beat city rivals

Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as RCD Espanyol, is a Spanish professional sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spa ...

in the

2006 Supercopa de España The 2006 Supercopa de España was a two-leg Spanish football match played on 17 and 20 August 2006. It was contested by 2005–06 La Liga champions Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital ...

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

Bayern Munich

On 26 August 2006, Bayern Munich team manager

Uli Hoeneß Ulrich "Uli" Hoeneß (; born 5 January 1952) is a German football executive and former professional player who played as a forward. He played for the West Germany at one World Cup and two European Championships, winning one tournament of each ...

announced Van Bommel would be joining the Bundesliga club. Media reports speculated that the move was influenced by the ongoing

Owen Hargreaves Owen Lee Hargreaves (born 20 January 1981) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was known as a hard-working and "solid defensive midfielder who worked tirelessly to win the ball" and provide his teammates with posses ...

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

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

n 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 Rudolphus Antonius "Roy" Makaay (born 9 March 1975) is a Dutch professional football coach and former footballer. As a forward, he was known for his goal-scoring ability as a result of his "aerial prowess and quick drives to the net where he can ...

and

Mehmet Scholl Mehmet Tobias Scholl (born Mehmet Tobias Yüksel; 16 October 1970) is a German Association football, football manager and former player. He played most of his career as an attacking midfielder for FC Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich. During his care ...

. In the 2007–08 season, he won his first silverware with club as Bayern claimed a

of the Bundesliga title and

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

. After

Oliver Kahn Oliver Rolf Kahn (; born 15 June 1969) is a German football executive and former professional player who played as a goalkeeper. He started his career in the Karlsruher SC Junior team in 1975. Twelve years later, Kahn made his debut match in t ...

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 Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal (; born 8 August 1951) is a Dutch former association football, football player and former manager who currently serves as an advisor for AFC Ajax, Ajax. At club level, he served as manager of AFC Ajax, Aj ...

, Van Bommel led Bayern to the second league and cup double of his time at the club during the 2009–10 season. The team also reached the 2010 UEFA Champions League Final, but a defeat by

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Since 1 ...

denied Bayern its first ever treble. He played 123 matches in the German top-flight.

Milan

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 Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa, Liguria. Sampdoria was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the ...

in the

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

quarter-final. On 29 January 2011, Van Bommel made his

debut against

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

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 Massimiliano "Max" Allegri (; born 11 August 1967) is an Italian professional Association football, football manager and former professional player. He is currently manager of Serie A club AC Milan. During his playing career, Allegri played in ...

's squad, contributing greatly in convincing 3–0 wins against

Napoli Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...

and city rivals Internazionale. He was a starter in the match against

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

on 7 May 2011 that brought Milan their 18th ''

Scudetto The ''scudetto'' (; Italian for 'little shield') is a decoration having the colors of the flag of Italy which is sewn onto the jersey of the Italian sports clubs that won the highest level championship of their respective sport in the previous ...

''. On 17 May 2011, Milan announced that Van Bommel had extended his contract for one more year. In the second season of his stint at Milan, he continued to be a starter and occupied the defensive midfielder position throughout the season. He decided not to stay with Milan for another season, despite being offered a new contract.

Return to PSV

On 29 April 2012, Van Bommel announced that he would sign a contract with PSV, who confirmed the signing on 14 May. After a disappointing season in which PSV finished second in the

and lost the

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...

final to AZ, Van Bommel announced his retirement from professional football on 12 May 2013. In an interview after his last professional game (against

Twente Twente ( , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Germanic people ...

in a 3–1 loss during which he was sent off after receiving two yellow cards), Van Bommel expressed an interest in a coaching career. He cited his desire to make way for younger players to shine and rest his body, specifically his injured left knee.

International career

Van Bommel's debut for the

was a 4–0 on 7 October 2000 against

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. However, he did not make an appearance in a major tournament until 2006, with the Netherlands failing to qualify for the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

and injury preventing him from playing during

UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...

in Portugal. Mark van Bommel 20120611

National team manager

Marco van Basten Marcel "Marco" Van Basten (; born 31 October 1964) is a Dutch former football manager and player who played as a striker for Ajax and AC Milan, as well as the Netherlands national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all t ...

was dissatisfied with Van Bommel's defensive performance in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification match against

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and he was subsequently not selected for the rest of the qualification series. With many Dutch football observers believing Van Bommel's international career to be over, he was selected back into the Dutch side for the

. At the

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams represe ...

, Van Bommel played in three of the games for his country (all except the match against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, where both teams had already sealed their passage to the knockout stage of the tournament). He was substituted twice in these three matches. His position in the team was as right-half. His duties were mainly to play the anchor role in the Dutch three-man midfield in their usual 4–3–3 formation. A notoriously hard-tackling competitor, he was the first of many players booked in the second-round defeat against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, dubbed "The Battle of Nuremberg" by the press. After the World Cup, Van Bommel was not called up for the

Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

qualifiers against

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

and

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. In September 2006, after his move to Bayern Munich, he was added to Van Basten's squad to face

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

; however, Van Bommel stated (alongside

Ruud van Nistelrooy Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (; born 1 July 1976), commonly known as Ruud van Nistelrooy (), is a Dutch professional Association football, football manager and former player who is the current manager of EFL Championship club Leic ...

) he would not play for ''Oranje'' as long as Van Basten was in charge. After Van Basten left to manage

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

, new Netherlands head coach (and father-in-law)

recalled Van Bommel, which led to his return in the Dutch national team. Van Bommel was part of the starting line-up in the Dutch team for the

2010 World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

, managed by Van Marwijk. Van Bommel was selected by Van Marwijk to succeed

Giovanni van Bronckhorst Giovanni Christiaan "Gio" van Bronckhorst (born 5 February 1975) is a Dutch Association football, football manager and former player who last managed Süper Lig club Beşiktaş J.K., Beşiktaş. Originally a midfielder, he moved to left-back lat ...

as the new captain of the Netherlands, despite initial claims he did not want to be the new captain, having been absent from the national team for two years. He captained the side for the first time in a 5–0 away win against

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

. Against San Marino, Van Bommel captained the Netherlands to a record-breaking 11–0 victory in

on 2 September 2011. Following the Netherlands' elimination from the

Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

, Van Bommel retired from international football. He scored ten goals in his 79 international appearances.

Managerial career

Early years

Van Bommel started his coaching career as an assistant manager in January 2014, joining the Netherlands U17 national team under

Maarten Stekelenburg Maarten Stekelenburg (; born 22 September 1982) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Stekelenburg began his career at Ajax, playing 282 matches over nine seasons in his first spell there and winning nine honours ...

. On 1 September 2015, he joined his father-in-law

at the Saudi Arabia national team, serving as assistant there for two years. On 25 April 2017, he was appointed head coach of the PSV youth (U19) team. On 23 March 2018, he reunited with van Marwijk at the Australia national team, assisting him at the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

PSV Eindhoven

On 22 June 2018, Eredivisie champions

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...

announced Van Bommel as manager on a three-year deal. He replaced

Phillip Cocu Phillip John-William Cocu (born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch professional football manager and former midfielder who was most recently the manager of Vitesse. Cocu was born in Eindhoven but raised in Zevenaar, playing youth football for local cl ...

, who had left for Fenerbahçe. He made his senior managerial debut in the

2018 Johan Cruyff Shield The 2018 Johan Cruyff Shield was the 23rd edition of the Johan Cruyff Shield (), an annual Dutch football match played between the winners of the previous season's Eredivisie and KNVB Cup. The match was contested by PSV Eindhoven, champions of the ...

against

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...

on 4 August, losing on penalties after a goalless draw. A week later in his first Eredivisie game, PSV won 4–0 at home to

FC Utrecht Football Club Utrecht () is a Dutch professional association football, football club based in Utrecht. The club competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football league system, Dutch football, and plays its home matches at the Stadion ...

. After 14 consecutive victories at the start of the season, his side lost 2–1 at Feyenoord. On 16 December 2019, Van Bommel was sacked by PSV with the team in fourth, following a loss to Feyenoord.

VfL Wolfsburg

On 2 June 2021,

unveiled Van Bommel as the club's new head coach, replacing the departing

Oliver Glasner Oliver Glasner (born 28 August 1974) is an Austrians, Austrian professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the manager of Premier League club Crystal Palace F.C., Crystal Palace. A Defe ...

on a two-year contract. On his debut in the

first round on 8 August, he used six substitutes instead of the permitted five in a 3–1 extra-time win over

SC Preußen Münster SC Preußen Münster (English: Prussia Münster) is a German sports club based in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia which is mostly recognised for its Association football, football section. The football team currently plays in the 2. Bundesliga w ...

, resulting in disqualification. Six days later, he won 1–0 at home in his first Bundesliga game, against

VfL Bochum Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as VfL Bochum (), is a Football in Germany, German professional association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. They currently play ...

; the goal came from compatriot

Wout Weghorst Wout François Maria Weghorst (born 7 August 1992) is a Dutch professional association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Eredivisie club AFC Ajax, Ajax and the Netherlands national football team, Net ...

. Four consecutive wins meant that Wolfsburg topped the table in September, but a run of form including eight winless games in all competitions resulted in his dismissal on 24 October.

Royal Antwerp

On 26 May 2022,

appointed Van Bommel as the club's manager on a two-year contract. He was signed by their

sporting director A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The ...

, his former international teammate

Marc Overmars Marc Overmars (; born 29 March 1973) is a Dutch former professional association football, footballer and former director of football at Belgian First Division A, Belgian Pro League side Royal Antwerp F.C. He was previously director of football a ...

. He won the

in his first season, defeating local rivals

K.V. Mechelen Yellow Red Koninklijke Voetbalclub Mechelen (), often called KV Mechelen (, KVM) or simply by their former French name Malinois /ˌmalɪˈnwɑː/, is a Belgian professional football club based in Mechelen in the Antwerp province. KV Mechelen pla ...

2–0 in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

. He also won the

, securing the title on the final day with a 2–2 draw at

K.R.C. Genk Koninklijke Racing Club Genk (), commonly known as KRC Genk or Racing Genk, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Genk in Belgian Limburg. Racing Genk plays in the Belgian Pro League and have won four championship title ...

via an equaliser from

Toby Alderweireld Tobias Albertine Maurits Alderweireld (; born 2 March 1989) is a Belgian former professional association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football)#Full-back, centre-back. Alderweireld began his professional career at D ...

in the fourth minute of added time; it was the club's first league championship in 66 years. Van Bommel led Antwerp to a second consecutive cup final, losing by a single goal to

Royale Union Saint-Gilloise Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (), also known as Union Saint-Gilloise, Union SG or simply Union, is a Belgian professional Football club (association football), football club from Brussels based in Forest, Belgium, Forest. Founded in 1897 in the ne ...

on 9 May 2024. He defended his record by saying that he was not managing Chelsea or Real Madrid, and that his team had dealt with financial problems and the January sale of Arthur Vermeeren. He left in June 2024 at the end of his contract and was replaced by

Jonas De Roeck Jonas De Roeck (born 20 December 1979) is a Belgian professional football coach and former player. Early life De Roeck was born in Barcelona, Spain, where his father was working as a chemical engineer at the time. As a child he also lived in th ...

Personal life

Van Bommel is married to Andrea, daughter of

, with whom he has three children:

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

, Ruben and Renée. In October 2022, as manager of Royal Antwerp, Van Bommel was threatened in his car by a man armed with a gun. The attacker was demanding a professional contract. He was sentenced to five years in prison.

Career statistics

Club

:Source:

International

:Source:

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Fortuna Sittard *

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (; ) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the Keuken Kampioen Divisie due to sponsorship reasons, while ...

: 1994–95 PSV Eindhoven *

: 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2004–05 *

: 2004–05 *

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Barcelona *

: 2005–06 *

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

: 2005–06 Bayern Munich *

: 2007–08, 2009–10 *

: 2007–08, 2009–10 *UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2009–10 Milan *

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana, also known as the Italian Super Cup, is an annual super cup tournament in Italian football. Founded in 1988 as a two-team competition, it has featured four teams since 2023 (the winners and runners-up of the previous ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Netherlands *

runner-up:

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Individual *

FIFA World Cup All-Star Team At the end of each FIFA World Cup final tournament, several awards are presented to the players and teams who have distinguished themselves in various aspects of the game. Awards *There are currently five post-tournament awards from the FIFA T ...

* Dutch Football Talent of the Year:

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

* Dutch Football Golden Boot:

* ESM Team of the Year: 2004–05

Manager

Royal Antwerp *

Belgian Super Cup The Belgian Super Cup ( ; ; ), ''Pro League Supercup'', is a Belgian club competition played as a single match between the Belgian Pro League champions (also received the Super Cup host) and the Belgian Cup winners. If both teams are the same, ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Individual * Belgian Professional Manager of the Season:

* Belgian Golden Shoe - Coach of the year: 2023

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bommel, Mark van 1977 births Living people People from Maasgouw Footballers from Limburg (Netherlands) Men's association football midfielders Dutch men's footballers Netherlands men's international footballers Netherlands men's under-21 international footballers Fortuna Sittard players PSV Eindhoven players Van Bommel, Mark FC Bayern Munich footballers Van Bommel, Mark 2006 FIFA World Cup players 2010 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2012 players Eerste Divisie players Eredivisie players Van Bommel, Mark Bundesliga players Van Bommel, Mark Dutch expatriate men's footballers Van Bommel, Mark Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Van Bommel, Mark Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Spain Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Germany Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Italy UEFA Champions League–winning players Dutch football managers Eredivisie managers Bundesliga managers PSV Eindhoven managers VfL Wolfsburg managers Van Bommel, Mark Dutch expatriate football managers Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Australia Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate football managers in Germany Expatriate football managers in Belgium Dutch victims of crime