Mark van Bommel

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Mark van Bommel
Mark van Bommel
Personal information
Full name Mark Peter Gertuda Andreas van Bommel
Date of birth April 22, 1977 (1977-04-22) (age 31)
Place of birth    Maasbracht, Netherlands
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 1+12 in)
Playing position Central Midfielder/Defensive Midfielder
Club information
Current club FC Bayern Munich
Number 17
Youth clubs
19??–1992 RKVV Maasbracht
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1992–1999
1999–2005
2005–2006
2006–
Fortuna Sittard
PSV Eindhoven
FC Barcelona
FC Bayern Munich
153 (13)
169 (46)
024 0(2)
056 0(8)   
National team2
2000–2006 Netherlands 040 0(7)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of May 17, 2008.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 12:00, 25 June 2006 (UTC).
* Appearances (Goals)

Mark Peter Gertuda Andreas van Bommel (born April 22, 1977 in Maasbracht) is a Dutch footballer who currently plays for FC Bayern Munich. He is also the son in law of Feyenoord Rotterdam and former Borussia Dortmund coach Bert van Marwijk.

Contents

[edit] Career

Van Bommel started his amateur career at local club RKVV Maasbracht before earning a professional contract with Fortuna Sittard in 1992. His other colleagues at Fortuna at that time who would later join PSV Eindhoven alongside him were Wilfred Bouma and Kevin Hofland.

[edit] PSV Eindhoven

Van Bommel was signed by PSV in 1999 where he formed a midfield partnership with Swiss international Johann Vogel. He won three Eredivisie titles and two Johan Cruijff Shields with the club. He was also named Dutch Player 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, he 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 2004/2005 season.

After the Champions League semi-final loss to AC Milan, he was linked with a move to FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and AC Milan. With the Eredivisie title in PSV's hands at the end of April, he confirmed he would join FC Barcelona in May 2005 after the Catalonian club captured La Liga.

[edit] FC Barcelona

With Frank Rijkaard as his new coach at Barcelona, Van Bommel played 24 matches, scoring twice in his first season and winning La Liga and the 2005-06 UEFA Champions League.

[edit] FC Bayern Munich

On August 26, 2006 Bayern Munich team manager Uli Hoeneß announced van Bommel would be joining the Bavarian side. 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[1]. Bayern Munich paid $7.7million to Barcelona in the deal.

Since joining the German side, van Bommel has proved to be a key player for them, scoring a solid 6 goals in 30 appearances, providing strength in the middle of the park. Due to his terrific performances during his first season at Bayern, he was voted the Bayern Player of the Year for the 2006/07 season, beating out long time fan-favorites Roy Makaay and Mehmet Scholl[2].

[edit] International career

His debut for the Dutch national team was on October 7, 2000 against Cyprus which was won 4-0. However, for 'Oranje', he did not make an appearance in a major tournament until 2006, with the Dutch national team failing to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and injury preventing him from playing during Euro 2004 in Portugal.

The Dutch national team manager Marco van Basten was dissatisfied with Van Bommel's defensive performance in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Romania and 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 2006 FIFA World Cup.

In the 2006 World Cup, Van Bommel played in all the games for his country except the match against Argentina as both teams had already sealed their passage to the knockout stage of the tournament. His position in the team was as right-half. His duties were mainly to play the anchor role in the Dutch 3-man midfield in their usual 4-3-3 formation.

He was the first of many players booked in the second-round match Dutch team defeat against Portugal dubbed 'The Battle of Nuremberg' by the press. After the World Cup, Van Bommel was not called up for the Euro 2008 qualifiers versus Luxembourg and Belarus. In September 2006, after his move to Bayern, he was added to Van Basten's squad to face Bulgaria; however Van Bommel stated (alongside Ruud van Nistelrooy) to no longer intend to play for 'Oranje' as long as Van Basten is in charge.[1] Van Bommel has won 40 caps and has scored 7 goals for the Dutch national team.

[edit] External links


[edit] Honours

Club Titles

[edit] References


Awards
Preceded by
Flag of the Netherlands Boudewijn Zenden
Dutch Football Talent of the Year
19981999
Succeeded by
Flag of the Netherlands Arnold Bruggink
Preceded by
Flag of the Netherlands Ruud van Nistelrooy
Dutch Footballer of the Year
20002001
Succeeded by
Flag of the Netherlands Pierre van Hooijdonk
Preceded by
Flag of Brazil Maxwell
Dutch Footballer of the Year
20042005
Succeeded by
Flag of the Netherlands Dirk Kuijt
Preceded by
Flag of Brazil Maxwell
Dutch Golden Shoe Winner
2005
Succeeded by
Incumbent