Bert van Marwijk; great image and available

Bert van Marwijk will succeed Marco van Basten next summer. Why is the current Feyenoord coach the ideal man for the job?

KNVB director Henk Kesler is clear: Bert van Marwijk is the favorite mainly because of his impeccable public relations. The Feyenoord coach hardly ever loses it, doesn’t run along side the lines, never curses, doesn’t offend people and is capable of giving a clear and calm football analysis.

Since Dick Advocaat and Louis van Gaal embarassed the KNVB with their blind fury in KNVB-suits, the clean cut image of the Oranje team manager is crucial. As a response to those two four years ago, the KNVB chose a myth in the person of Marco van Basten.

Van Marwijk is no myth, but has an impeccable image and a sympathetic personality. And, according to the media, he has a great tv-head.

The Feyenoord coach is a bit surprised with this image. In his active playing days the one-time international was known to be headstrong, opinionated and pigheaded. “Most people who meet me need some time to get to know me,” he once said.

Guus Hiddink and Frank Rijkaard may have topped the KNVB lists but both coaches were simply unavailable. Not ready and chained to lucrative contracts. Bert van Marwijk had this clause in his contract allowing him to make the jump should the chance come. “I didn’t know the KNVB would think of me this quick. I just put that clause in because I’m 55 years old now, and I don’t expect to be working in this job for more than ten years. It’s hard to take this decision now, after half a season, but then again…opportunities sometimes come out of nowhere and you have to be prepared to seize them.”

And then there’s the dilemma’s. Bert is Mark van Bommel’s father-in-law. A sensitive subject. The Bayern Munich player would love to return to Oranje, but Van Bommel is a player who will force himself into the hierarchy. And the big question will be whether the current internationals will allow him to dominate. Most Oranje players aren’t that unhappy without the former PSV captain, who never won a popularity contest. Van Marwijk has to handle this subject with care, but he can’t ignore the Bayern midfielder.

The conflict Van Marwijk had with Van Persie, a youngster at Feyenoord then, grew a beard by now. The player Van Persie has matured and has already acknowledged the mistakes he made in Rotterdam, while Van Marwijk undoubtedly learned a lot since as well. Still, a good one-on-one seems to be unavoidable.

Bert van Marwijk is above all a pure football coach. The Deventer-born coach doesn’t need comedy one-liners or instant amateur psychology like Leo Beenhakker. Van Marwijk thinks in terms of team processes and variance in training sessions and not in opportunistic hollering…

He gained respect with his work methods among players and colleagues. It was no coincidence that Feyenoord was able to sign a couple of big names over the last summer period. Van Marwijk is hailed for his professionalism and all his teams, Fortuna Sittard, Feyenoord and Borussia Dortmund played much better than they did before or after his reign. And the fundaments were laid on the training pitch.

But, the big question remains, how many guarantees does that give Oranje? As team manager you don’t have time to work at a team in a structured fashion and opportunism is normal. Quick decisions, with 16 milliion assistant team managers breathing in your neck, amongst the niggest and richest ego’s. Hiddink knew how to play that game. Van Gaal didn’t. Whether Bert van Marwijk can, is the big question…

For what it’s worth… Van Marwijk only played one international game for Oranje. A wee bit less than world class striker Van Basten. As a coach he won the UEFA cup with Feyenoord and he reached the national cupfinal with Fortuna. But, he never won the title in Holland and in the Champions League they may have heard his name, once or twice.

But then again, Martin Jol and Co Adriaanse also didn’t win big prizes. But Bert never worked in the top. Feyenoord and Borussia Dortmund are big names in Europe, with a huge history and a massive fan-base but in the last decades both clubs were mere sub-top clubs in Europe.

In his first Feyenoord period he also got the name to have trouble cooperating with complicated, dominant personalities (Bosvelt, Van Hooijdonk, Van Persie). Van Marwijk always countered these claims and he is obviously a couple of years wiser. In Dortmund, he worked in tempestuous circumstances and is respected among the current generation of players.

And his Feyenoord coat of arms doesn’t seem to be an issue at all. And so, after Ernst Happel (1977/78) and Thijs Libregts (1988/89) Van Marwijk will be the third team manager with a Feyenoord heart.