FC Bayern Forum

28.08.2006 <div class="abstand_unten_20"> </div> Bayern have completed the signing of Netherlands midfielder Mark van Bommel. The 29-year-old was formally introduced at a news conference by general manager Uli Hoeneß and coach Felix Magath after passing a medical in Munich on Monday morning.

"We can announce a done deal," Hoeneß told the assembled media. Van Bommel had scored "100 percent" in the medical tests, "because he's in extremely good physical shape," the Bayern board director continued. The Dutch dynamo signed a three-year contract ahead of the official unveiling. He will be assigned the same squad number 17 which he wore for Barcelona last season.

<b>'Just before closing time'</b>

"This is a big day for me. I'm proud to be playing here and wearing a Bayern Munich shirt from now on," declared the player, who arrived in Munich on Sunday. Describing Bayern as "my favourite club ever since I was a kid," van Bommel nevertheless insisted it had initially been "no easy decision" to quit Barcelona after just one season. "But if Bayern come calling, that makes it simple."

Head coach Magath said he was "delighted we've completed a fantastic transfer just before closing time." Van Bommel's experience and strong personality made him ideal as "a leader of our young team." The Netherlands international was not a classic playmaker, the Munich boss continued, "but he's a different type of player to anything we currently have in midfield."

<b>Personal decision</b>

The star signing will train with his new team-mates for the first time at 4pm on Tuesday, where he is set for a reunion with Roy Makaay. The pair have been close friends since meeting while on Netherlands U-21 duty, and have been in regular touch recently. "Obviously, Roy told me a few things about the club, but the decision to come here was my own," van Bommel explained.

The 29-year-old had also consulted his father-in-law, Dortmund coach Bert van Marwijk, before finalising his move to the Munich giants. The respected Borussia boss would rather have seen his son-in-law switch to the Ruhr valley, "but I wanted to come to Bayern. Dortmund are a very good club, and I'm sorry for him," the father-of-three declared with a grin.

<b>Aiming high</b>

The powerful midfielder collected no fewer than four winners' medals in his solitary season with Barcelona, "but that chapter is now closed," the 1.87 metre, 84 kilogram player declared. "It wasn't a bad year for me, and I was holding down a regular place by the end." However, coach Frank Rijkaard favoured "different options" for the coming season.

The player is now intending to pursue similar success with his new club. "I want us to retain the championship and the Cup, and then we'll see what we can do in Europe," the 2005-6 Champions League winner exclusively told <b>fcbayern.de</b>. "It's difficult to say where we stand as a team right now, but I'm confident about our Champions League campaign. Bayern always put out a team capable of competing in Europe."