Belgium have appointed former Netherlands international Mark van Bommel as their new head coach on a two year contract running until the 2028 European Championship, the Belgian football association confirmed on Friday.
The 49 year old succeeds Rudi Garcia, whose contract expires at the end of July and was not renewed despite Belgium reaching the World Cup quarter final earlier this month. In Belgium, Van Bommel is best known for his spell at Antwerp, where he guided the club to a historic league and cup double in the 2022-23 season, and is highly regarded for his tactical expertise, an area in which Garcia had faced criticism, as well as his man management skills.
“It is a great honour to become head coach of Belgium,” Van Bommel said in a statement released by the association. “I would like to thank the Royal Belgian Football Association for their confidence in me. Belgium has outstanding players and enormous potential. Together with my coaching staff, we want to build a team that is disciplined, ambitious and brave enough to compete with the very best.
“Success is never guaranteed, but hard work, honesty and commitment are. We will give everything to help this team improve every day and make the Belgian people proud. I am looking forward to meeting the players, the staff and the supporters, and beginning this new chapter together.”
Van Bommel has also coached at PSV Eindhoven and VfL Wolfsburg. During his playing career he won 79 caps for the Netherlands, featured in the 2010 World Cup final, and played for Barcelona, Bayern Munich, AC Milan and PSV Eindhoven.
The Belgian federation moved quickly to appoint a successor to Garcia, with Van Bommel considered a leading candidate from the outset despite not having worked since leaving Antwerp two years ago. He had previously said he was waiting for a project compelling enough to draw him back into management.
He will be thrown straight into a demanding schedule, taking charge of four matches in the newly expanded September-October Nations League window. His first game in charge comes against Italy in Rome on 25 September, before Belgium host France in Brussels on 28 September. They then face Turkey at home in Liege on 2 October, followed by an away trip to France in Paris three days later.
Fellow former Netherlands international Boudewijn Zenden, ex-Belgium international Maarten Martens and Van Bommel’s former assistant Reinier Robbemond have been named as his assistant coaches, the Belgian federation said.
