And Mark van Bommel, the man behind the player…

Is it possible for a pro player of Bayern Munich to be a good father?
“Well, I have to juggle my time. I’m not home enough, to say it simply. And I do feel guilty about that. Midweek games against Lisbon, competition in the weekends, Oranje games… It’s full on. You live in hotels, airplanes, training complexes… Everything in my life is football and it was like that since I was 14 years old or so. Seasons fly by, you live constantly in the fast lane. Or in a tunnel. I can’t remember when we last went out shopping for clothes, for instance… I haven’t been out for dinner with my wife in years! I’m happy when I’m home, you know. I love playing with my kids or lying about on the sofa. I need to do that too, I need to rest a lot.”

How far do you go with that?
“Too far, I’m afraid. I am extreme in that and I have these silly beliefs. I don’t want to go into town before a match, scared I will over-expose my leg-muscles. It’s too silly to confess, but I have that. I can be overconcentrated and over-focused. I once refused to set the xmas tree, afraid I would stretch a muscle, hahahaa… I put too much pressure on and I have to watch that. I never wanted to throw my boots away. My football shoes are my lucky charms, and once I had a pair that almost fell off my feet, that’s how old they were. I wanted to postpone the moment of buying new shoes. Didn’t want to jinx my success.”

You were an only-child. Were you spoiled?
“Yes and no. I didn’t want for anything. My dad had a liquor store and worked a lot. After dinner, we’d always play football together. When I came home from school, I’d grab my ball and go for the town square to play football. When there were more lads at another square, we’d take the bike and go there. I’d come home at seven at night. These days, I don’t think I’d allow my kids alone on the streets till seven pm… All that stuff you read…the world has changed, you know.”

Xavi was almost kidnapped in Barcelona and recently there’s been a lot of break ins at football players’ homes…
“Apparently, people follow you. See you as a target. I find it has changed me a bit. When we played away games with Barca, I’d always had extra security at home. They broke into Dirk Kuyt’s home in 2007, these things start to enter your mind. I always look in my rearview mirror when I come home. It’s second nature. Sometimes I take another route home. I’m not big on going out at night. I read too many papers I suppose…”

Weren’t you supposed to take over your dad’s business?
“At first yeah… And I was keen to. But I knew at a young age I wanted to be a football player. We’d go on holidays to Spain and I had three shirts. A Germany jersey of Kalle Rummenigge, a Barca jersey with Laudrup’s name and a Paolo Rossi Azurri jersey. Oh, and a Oranje jersey…”

With Marco van Basten? No…
“Yes, actually, hahahaaa…

Any friends outside of football?
“Well, it’s somewhat diluted now. I’ve always been the lad who didn’t have time because he had a game the next day, you know? It was a full time job. In the train, going to training, matches in the weekend… When your mates go out, you stay home. And when I moved to Eindhoven and later Barcelona and now Munich, all you get is a text every now and then…”

Are you a good civilian?
“I think so. I have never been booked for speeding. I’ve never stolen anything. Not even candy at school!”

And that’s how you raise your kids?
“Well, I was alone as a kid. We have three kids. It’s sometimes hard to find out who started what. I’m not that good at that, my wife is much better in raising them. I’m not home too often so I find it hard to be tough on them. And those kids, they sense that… They come to me when they want something.”