Mark van Bommel says he had no doubts about becoming Belgium’s new head coach, despite the Netherlands also searching for a new coach.
Belgium appointed Van Bommel last month as the replacement for Rudi Garcia. The Dutchman spoke about his decision during his first press conference as Belgium coach on Friday.
He made it clear that he did not consider waiting for an opportunity with his home country.
“Did I want to wait for the Dutch national team? No, not at all. I didn’t even think about that,” Van Bommel said.
The 49 year old believes managing a national team is one of the biggest jobs a coach can have.
“As a coach, being in charge of a national team is one of the best jobs there is. You work with the best players in a country. And there aren’t that many really top countries.
“I am very happy to be here. It is different from coaching a club, but this challenge suits me well.
“In the past two years, I have had many offers, but none that I was convinced of. Things have moved very quickly here. Coaching a country, and certainly Belgium, is an honour. Every coach wants to do this.”
Belgium reached the World Cup quarterfinals last month. Garcia left his position after his contract was not renewed.
Belgium then moved quickly to appoint Van Bommel.
As a player, Van Bommel represented major European clubs including Barcelona, Bayern Munich and AC Milan. He also played for the Netherlands in the 2010 World Cup final.
His focus with Belgium is now on winning.
“As a footballer and a coach, you always want to win,” he said.
“You don’t know what will happen along the way, but you want to go as far as possible. In the Netherlands, they often say: ‘We are going to be world champions’. However, there are quite a few factors involved.
“So I don’t want to go around shouting that we are going to win the European Championship, even though that is the reason why we are playing.”
Van Bommel’s first task will come in the Nations League.
Belgium will face Italy in Rome on September 25 in his first match in charge. They will also play Turkey twice and France once during the September and October international window.
Another major issue for the new coach is the future of Thibaut Courtois.
The goalkeeper said after the World Cup that he wanted to take a break from international football. Van Bommel plans to speak with him before making any decision.
“We are going to talk to Thibaut first without passing judgment. He has given his opinion, and at this moment, we are not going to decide about it. That wouldn’t be right if you have only spoken to each other once,” Van Bommel said.
“Perhaps he has already revised his opinion. As soon as he is back in full training, we will fly there and talk.”
Van Bommel now has little time before his first competitive match. He wants Belgium to compete for major honours but is not ready to make big promises before his journey begins.
