Ronaldinho hugs van Bommel

Mark van Bommel was sitting in the dressing room after a Barca training when he got the text message on his mobile: you’re selected for the Dutch WC squad. “Ronaldinho, Deco, Eto’o, they were all up and ready to congratulate me on it. That definitely touched me. We won the Liga, the Champions League and then this. Great!”
Van Bommel was quickly accepted when he arrived at Camp Nou. Every new player is tested at the training sessions: 8 against 8 without goals on a small pitch. You can only play one-touch football. The ones that keep on making mistakes in the first two months falls out of grace and will have a hard time getting back in the team hierarchie.
Rijkaard and assistent coach Ten Cate (Ajax new coach next season) were full of praise for the former PSV midfielder. Ten Cate even said: “It’s unbelievable that you don’t play in Oranje! Just keep on going and Marco won’t be able to bypass you.”

Van Bommel, discussing his forced holiday: “Of course they couldn’t say that out loud, but that support really helped me.”
But at the start of the WC, van Basten realised he needed van Bommel in the squad. “I played ok, good for the team. That’s an important aspect, in van Basten’s eyes. He wants midfielders to be the bridge between defense and the strikers. He felt I played too much like a striker. I went over several situations on video with van Basten, where he showed me exactly what he meant. He told me to solve these situations differently. More like a midfielder. The match against S&M was probably on of the best of my career in Oranje.”
So, who exactly has proven to be right? He, or van Basten? “I don’t think in these terms. You just can’t say: see, I am right. Because you need to show it every match. You are never ‘there’.
When van Bommel announced his transfer from PSV to Barca last year, van Basten was one of the first to congratulate him. “It’s a good step up for Mark. He will definitely become a better player at Barcelona. And Oranje will benefit from that.”

“Now I see that I could’ve done much more for PSV. I had a relatively easy role. If the ball came on the side of the opponent, they’d play the ball directly to me. In Barcelona, it’s different. We only have great players. Any one can play the assist, or score the goals. With those three world class strikers, we (midfielders) play a different role than when I played for PSV. I think I was a more spectacular player for PSV, but that’s just not needed at Barca. Just like with Oranje. So, looking back, I can see where van Basten’s criticism came from…”

And with Barca you just have to expect the unexpected. Have you seen Ronaldinho’s pass in the semi finals against AC Milan? Ronnie decides that pass in a split second. And when you see it, you think: it’s impossible! Even I am enjoying all those actions, even when I am playing! And then I think, hang on… I’m part of this team. I can handle this level.”
A year later, and it’s clear that van Bommel has a distinct spot in the hierarchie of Oranje. Davids and Seedorf have probably played their last caps, as long as van Basten is coach. But van Bommel matters now.

Van Bommel also enjoyed the text messages after the Champion League’s finals. Did he get one from van Basten? “I think I did. I’m not too sure, though. I received more than a 100 messages, but I think I did.”
Still, the relationship between him van van Basten is still vulnerable. During a training session, they got into a fierce discussion about the midfield’s pressure play. Typical for a group under pressure. But what did van Basten do? He took van Bommel off and brought (competitor) Denny Landzaat…