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Legendary Dutch midfielder Mark van Bommel has been appointed as the new head coach of the Belgian national football team, the Royal Belgian Football Association announced on Friday.
The 49-year-old will take over from Rudi Garcia, whose contract was not renewed following Belgium’s exit from the 2026 World Cup. The Red Devils reached the quarterfinals of the tournament before narrowly losing to eventual winners Spain.
The Belgian FA said van Bommel has signed a contract that will see him lead the team through to the EURO 2028 championships in the UK and Ireland.
He will be assisted by former Liverpool and Barcelona winger Boudewijn Zenden, ex-AZ Alkmaar midfielder Maarten Martens, and seasoned Dutch coach Reinier Robbemond.
In a statement, van Bommel called it “a great honour” to take the role and thanked the Belgian FA for putting its faith in him.
“Belgium has outstanding players and enormous potential,” he said. “Together with my coaching staff, we want to build a team that is disciplined, ambitious and brave enough to compete with the very best”.
Van Bommel enjoyed a stellar career that saw him play across the Netherlands’ Eredivisie, La Liga in Spain, the German Bundesliga, and Italy’s Serie A, winning titles in each country.
He was also part of the Netherlands side that reached the final of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where they lost to Spain 1-0 in the final.
Following his playing career, van Bommel moved into the dugout and took coaching roles at PSV Eindhoven and then Wolfsburg in Germany. He was most recently in charge at Royal Antwerp, winning the Belgian Pro League in the 2022-23 season.
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