After brutal foul: son of Bayern legend could make his debut against Germany

In May 2010, Bayern Munich had once again wrapped up the league title and stepped out on to the town hall balcony at Marienplatz for the celebrations. It was one of the better parties: Arjen Robben wore his curious football hat and coach Louis van Gaal delivered his legendary title speech ("Who has the best defence?"), along with a "kiss to all mums".

Here's a little quiz: who could feature in Thursday's Nations League game between the Netherlands and Germany who was also on that balcony? And no, Thomas Muller is not making a surprise comeback for Germany. The answer is Ruben van Bommel, son of Bayern's captain at the time, Mark. There are wonderful photos of his father holding the then five-year-old boy and his two siblings Thomas and Rene by the balcony railing.

Ruben is now a 22-year-old left winger from PSV Eindhoven. New national coach Xavi has called him up to the Netherlands squad for the first time for the upcoming internationals. It is the provisional high point of a still young career that has already been shaped by some hard setbacks.

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How Ruben van Bommel found his way back to PSV Eindhoven

As Mark van Bommel brought his successful professional career to an end at PSV in 2013, Ruben, then eight years old, joined the club's academy. In 2018, his father took charge of the first team but PSV sacked him at the end of 2019. The following summer, his son, now 15, also had to go. Ruben was seen as a talent, but also as too small and slight.

Next came a move to the youth ranks of second-tier side MVV Maastricht, where his brother Thomas had also played. Their grandfather Bert van Marwijk had turned out there too in the 1970s and 1980s. "The move from PSV to MVV is a major step backwards in every respect. Some talents collapse completely after disappointments like that," his former PSV youth coach Edwin de Wijs said later. "But he turned the setback into drive and motivation." Van Bommel himself said: "Looking back, it was good for me to leave the PSV academy."

By 2022, he had made his professional debut for Maastricht, side by side with his brother Thomas. There was no longer any sign of a lack of height. Instead of 1.66 metres when he left PSV, he now stood at 1.92 metres. While his father once patrolled defensive midfield, Ruben is at home on the left wing.

Van Bommel delivered 20 goal contributions in his very first professional season in Maastricht. Because of his dribbling and his sense of space, TV pundit Hans Kraay Jr., a former professional, compared him to Argentine superstar Angel Di Maria. In 2023, van Bommel moved to AZ Alkmaar, and in 2025 he finally returned to his youth club PSV for 16 million euros. "I always dreamed of that," he said on arrival.

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Ruben van Bommel recently caused outrage with brutal foul

He registered four goal contributions in his first eight matches, then tore his cruciate ligament in the big game against Ajax Amsterdam of all matches. Van Bommel only made his comeback in this summer's pre-season. He immediately reclaimed his regular spot on the left wing and has impressed with strong performances so far this season. Yet the curly-haired attacker also caused outrage with an incident that could have come from his father, nickname: "Aggressive Leader".

At the start of September against Ajax, he crudely checked his opponent Aaron Bouwman in an aerial duel and triggered a wild melee. At times, the scene was reminiscent of Toni Schumacher's notorious challenge on Patrick Battiston in the semi-finals of the 1982 World Cup. To everyone's amazement, van Bommel got away with a yellow card for his brutal foul. Ajax's German goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was there live too, by the way. They will meet again in Thursday's Nations League duel.

Should van Bommel make his debut for the Oranje, he would become the third international in the family after his father and his grandfather. Mark van Bommel, however, would miss this big moment because of scheduling reasons. After his dismissal by PSV, he coached Wolfsburg and Royal Antwerp before taking over the Belgium national team this summer. He will make his debut on Friday in an away game in Italy.

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