Another champion for Barça
desire to win, strength, skill, and a powerful capacity for joining in with the attack and scoring goals are just a few of the outstanding features of Mark Van Bommel's game, and the player will be joining Barça for the 2005-06 season.
Mark Van Bommel is Frank Rijkaard's first new signing for the 2005-06 season. The Dutch midfielder will add even more strength to a squad that has already shown what it is capable of doing by winning the league title. Van Bommel's arrival suggests that things can only get better for the Spanish champions.
The new signing is a great all-rounder who will add more depth to Barcelona's already impressive midfield. His powerful physique (he is 1.87 metres tall and weights 84 kilos) is complemented by extraordinary skills, strength in the air and outstanding tactical awareness.
Van Bommel is a regular in the Dutch national side and has captained PSV. He is renowned for his playmaking abilities in the centre of the park, and is an expert at containing possession. He is intelligent, a great passer of the ball and has a powerful right-footed shot, which he uses both for long range efforts and when he moves up to join the forwards in the opposing area.
Goalscorer
Wherever he plays, Mark Van Bommel is always a useful back-up for the forwards. This season, for example, he scored 14 goals in 13 Erisdivisie games, and was the second highest scorer for his team behind the centre forward Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink with 19.
These goals have included plenty of his trademark long-range shots, as well as free kicks, headers and goals scored from the far post.
Winner
Mark Van Bommel also has a strong desire to win. Since he joined PSV from Fortuna Sittard in the 1999-2000 season, Barça's new star has won 4 leagues and 3 super cups in Holland.
This season he has proved an ideal partner in midfield for ex-Barcelona player Philip Cocu, and led his team to the semi finals of the Champiosn League where they were narrowly defeated by AC Milan.