Mark van Bommel (47) will soon leave after two seasons at Antwerp. The Dutch coach still had a contract for one year, but will close the door of the Bosuil behind him after this season.
LOOK. Earlier today, Van Bommel did not show his cards
Mark van Bommel has been working as Antwerp’s trainer since the beginning of last season. In his first season, the Dutchman immediately led the Great Old to ‘Den Dubbel’: the championship and the cup. Things are going more slowly this season, although Antwerp still reached the Champions’ Play-offs under Van Bommel and will soon play the cup final. A great opportunity for Van Bommel to bid a fond farewell to the club.
In recent days, the board of Antwerp and Van Bommel sat around the table. The Dutch coach still had a one-year contract, but an early exit had been in the air for some time.
At his press conference today, a sharp Van Bommel did not look into his cards regarding his future. “What does the feeling say now? That we play against Club Brugge on Sunday. If we have something to report sooner, we will do so.”
At the same time, Van Bommel is linked to major clubs abroad. Milan has been mentioned, for example, and in the Netherlands his name has already been suggested at Feyenoord. “I read that too,” was the short answer. And does he see that as a compliment? It made him laugh. “What should you think of that as a trainer?”
Well, a trainer could see it as confirmation of his good work. “Yes, but that does not mean that you will be linked to other clubs. And what is true about that? Perhaps other clubs have asked. I have another year of contract here. Whether we continue, we are discussing that together.”
The outcome of those conversations is therefore not surprising: Van Bommel will leave Deurne-Noord at the end of this season.
Club Brugge
“Back to the match against Club Brugge,” said the press secretary of the national champion. Okay, let’s talk about that then. Van Bommel said that he had not watched the Conference League match against Fiorentina. “I went to bed early.”
When asked about the aura of invincibility at blue-black, he noted that Nicky Hayen’s team had “lost”. “But I get what you mean. We were in that phase last year and Club was not. The situation is reversed. If Brugge hits the ball wrong, they shoot it into the intersection. That’s football. Bruges now has the wind in its sails and we don’t. That does not mean that we accept this.”
The Antwerp coach is therefore still aiming upwards in these Champions’ Play-offs. “We are last and you only look up. You want to finish as high as possible, but you have had to swallow major defeats. I’m not used to that. It’s not that we were completely outplayed. That may sound crazy, but if the opponent wins the second ball every time, wins all 50-50 duels, you look dull, resigned and uninterested. That is certainly not the case, but those little things do give you that impression.”
He said he was not thinking about fielding a B team against Club – with a view to next week’s cup final against Union. “Never done that before. I’ll give you a nice cliché: we never look beyond the next match.”
“We fall into their trap, that has to change”: Van Bommel sees how Union “belongs among the European top in transition”
The mess is in: how Antwerp became the champion of the doubts one year after the title (+)
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