Sunday, October 24, 2021 at 6:54 PM• Mart van Mourik • Last update: 19:00

Marco van Basten reacted remarkably hard to the dismissal of Mark van Bommel on Sunday evening. The day after the 0-2 home defeat of VfL Wolfsburg against SC Freiburg, Van Bommel was informed of the dismissal in a personal conversation with the club management. For Van Basten, the club’s decision does not come as a surprise in the least. In addition, the analyst leaves Ziggo Sports know that he does not have a high regard for Van Bommel as a trainer.

“Would I be watching? Certainly!” begins Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who is also a guest analyst. “It was a nice step for him; a nice club in Germany. He had started well, only the results were less in recent weeks. It’s just the way it is in football now: you have to perform continuously, and basically right from the start. That doesn’t just apply to Mark, but to every trainer. And certainly at clubs that want to compete for the national title. If it then goes less, then it can go quickly for a trainer. I think it’s a shame for Mark,” said Van Bronckhorst.

Van Basten was less surprised by the dismissal, and moreover provides strong criticism of Van Bommel. “I don’t rate him highly as a good trainer, but that’s my experience with him. Of course he always had different ideas than I did, but it’s mainly the way he comes across as a trainer. I don’t think he has much substance as a trainer. I am talking about the football technical and football tactical aspect, football matters. Often when he spoke he talked about all kinds of things except football. At some point, players will also see through that. So I personally don’t care too much about it. But for the rest, a lot of respect,” concludes Van Basten.

The dismissal of Van Bommel was also discussed during the half-time of the duel between Ajax and PSV ESPN. Arnold Bruggink said when asked that the club’s decision comes as a surprise. “It’s remarkable and very fast. The early days were still very good. I know the technical director fairly well and there must be something else going on there, it cannot be otherwise. Otherwise you won’t fire him now,” said the analyst.