So who the hell is Bert van Marwijk anyway?

Johan Derksen sheds some light…

When 16 years old the future manager of Oranje played in a sold out De Kuip stadium in Rotterdam against a youth team of Tottenham Hotspur. I was there. It was the 60s, and Feyenoord organized infamous youth tournaments. The fans and the public came to the stadiums in the thousands. As a player, it was one big party. I was 19 years old, a veteran in the youth team, and loved going to these tournaments. You’d go to the red light district, I saw the Swinging Soul Machine live, you’d go to every watering hole in town… Magic.

All my team mates were surprised when coach Brand took B-junior Bert van Marwijk along to the Feyenoord tournament. He didn’t even have the right socks. On all official photos of that tournament, you can spot Bertje with white socks instead of red. It was May 19, De Kuip was packed. Go Ahead Eagles vs Tottenham Hotspur. And to every one’s shock, coach Brand gave the introverted youngster a starter spot. Bert was lean and tall, with long hair. We didn’t agree with him playing, but in those days as a player, you’d shut up. It didn’t take long for me, left back, to see why Van Marwijk played. I could pass the ball into him all the time, he had magnificent tricks and became the man of the match. And mind you, the Spurs had future big names like Peter Collins, John Pratt, Steve Perryman, John Cutbush, Ray Evans and Jimmy Neighbour in their team. Van Marwijk made Perryman look like a clown. He’d pass him, take him on, trick him and would give the assist to Blijenberg, which turned out to be the winning assist and goal. No one had any worries about the skillful left winger, who jumped up in the hierarchy that day. The introverted geek turned into a self-conscious player with a big mouth.

Bert van Marwijk is born in De Worp, near Deventer, in 1952. A famous little community. It was the place where Van Morrison played his first Dutch gig, with Jan Akkermans and Cuby + Blizzards as supporting act.

When 12 years old, Van Marwijk went to a Go Ahead Eagles talent day and was picked immediately. The fragile Van Marwijk was a tremendous talent. He was a classic. Fast, full of trickery, a wonderful cross and a deadly shot in his left. But, he could never leverage from all that tealent. He had three knee-operations as a youngster plus a hernia. The physically troubled winger couldn’t perform optimally. Despite all this, Feyenoord wanted him. His manager at Eagles, Barry Hughes, heard this rumor and crashed Van Marwijk’s home on the morning of the Feyenoord negotiations. He gave Van Marwijk a tremendous do-or-die contract for three years. Van Marwijk stayed in Deventer.

Van Marwijk played his first and only Oranje game against Yugoslavia in Belgrado in 1975. Oranje lost 3-0. His old coach Brand was by then coach at AZ Alkmaar and signed Van Marwijk for a record sum. But soon the outspoken Van Marwijk clashed with manager Hans Kraay and he decided to move to Maastricht. He would play seven seasons for the MVV team (with legends like Willy Brokamp and Jo Bonfrere). He played one season for Fortuna Sittard and ended his career in Belgium. The future Oranje manager started at the bottom of the coaching ladder. He started as youth coach at MVV, coached the youth of amateurs Meerssen (his home town) and ran a sports-shop in the same town. His first head coach job was in Belgium at FC Herderen. After that it was four years the amateurs of Limmel in Maastricht and the first team of Meerssen. In 1997 he moved to Fortuna Sittard, whose star player was youngster Mark van Bommel. Other players in those days were Kevin Hofland and Wilfred Bouma. His daughter Andra met the young captain Van Bommel and now Bert van Marwijk is grandfather of Van Bommel’s kids. In 2000 Rob Baan signed Van Marwijk as the corwn prince of Dutch football at Feyenoord. Four years later he moved to Borussia Dortmund, with the UEFA Cup in his luggage. In Germany, he did well with a group of youngsters but left in 2006 after a conflict with his management.

In July 2007 he returned to De Kuip, and on his name and reputation Feyenoord was able to dig into new money, enabling the club to sign players like Van Bronckhorst, Makaay, De Cler, Hofland and Landzaat. When the KNVB approached him to succeed Marco van Basten, Van Marwijk couldn’t resist the challenge. He hopes to leave De Kuip with the National Cup as a last prize.

Van Marwijk’s consistent personality is highly suited for the job of team manager. He has status and his private life is spotless. He is still married to his highschool sweetheart Marian, he lives a simple, sober life and has one passion. Bert loves fast sports cars. He has two potential stumbling blocks to look out for. For one, his son-in-law Mark van Bommel. It’s a public secret that he feels the Bayern Munich midfielder belongs in Oranje. He will need to navigate cautiously with this, though, since most internationals are happy that the dominant and irritating Van Bommel is no longer part of the group. Secondly, Van Marwijk has a history with Robin van Persie. The current star of Oranje was constantly in clashes with Van Marwijk at Feyenoord. Finally, Van Marwijk will have to learn to cope with the public opinion. Oranje isn’t his, it’s of the people. But, like any team manager, he will start with a lot of credit. And I wish him all the wisdom and success!