Round-Up: Mark van Bommel

Bayern reached the DFB Cup final and is on track for the fourth German league title in a row. The cornerstone of this national dominance was set with Louis van Gaal in the 2009/10 season. Our Round-Up is devoted to a very important part of that team.

Felix

April 22, 2016

The first foreign captain in the FC Bayern history turns 39. From 2006 to 2011 Mark van Bommel played for the record champions and earned his title as “aggressive leader” by Ottmar Hitzfeld. Not without reason, if you take a closer look at the career of the Dutchman. In the Bundesliga alone he collected 40 yellow cards in 123 games and was sent off with a second yellow card three times, but to reduce him to his hard playing style would be wrong. Van Bommel took responsibility. He was a mainstay in his career, especially for younger players. Especially Bastian Schweinsteiger profited enormously in his career from the former Bayern captain.

Mark van Bommel was able to let his teammates shine and did the so-called dirty work. Occasionally, he had trouble controlling his emotions. In 2008 he was sent off in Hamburg because he applauded for a yellow card and followed that up with an inappropriate gesture. Off the pitch van Bommel was always the opposite. Even when he was sold to Milan in winter 2011 – as the current captain of the team – not a single bad word from him was heard. He was always clear, objective and sympathetic in his statements.

His footballing career was very successful. Eindhoven, Barcelona, Bayern, Milan and again Eindhoven – 651 competitive matches, 87 goals, 80 assists, 146 yellow cards, nine times yellow-red and three red cards. The career of Mark van Bommel is as impressive as his title collection. With each of his clubs he has won the league at least once. In addition to various cup victories his probably greatest sporting achievement was the Champions League title in 2005/06. He was not a regular starter at Barcelona, but he played 2,183 minutes for the Catalans. His best footballing years van Bommel had at Bayern. Twice he won the German Double and in 2010 he came close to crown his time with the Champions League title. Bayern lost the final with 0:2 against Inter Milan. With the Elftal he did not win a title between his debut in 2000 and his career end after the Euro 2012. His greatest success in Oranje was the World Cup final in 2010, which they narrowly lost against Spain. After his career, he was assistant coach of the U19 from PSV Eindhoven. He is currently assistant coach of Saudi Arabia’s national team.

We fondly remember his tackles, his crucial goals against Fiorentina or Real Madrid and a great captain.

We congratulate Mark van Bommel to his 39th birthday!

On a weekly schedule, miasanrot.com provides a 2-for-1 information combo meal. It contains a link list to (hopefully) worthwhile texts about the red giant. Each round-up is dedicated to a former Bayern player who is celebrating his birthday in that week.

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