Giovanni van Bronckhorst facts for kids
Van Bronckhorst celebrating the Turkish Super Cup as manager of Beşiktaş in 2024
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 5 February 1975 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Rotterdam, Netherlands | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78m | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Midfielder, left-back | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1981–1982 | RVV LMO | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1982–1993 | Feyenoord | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1998 | Feyenoord | 103 | (22) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1994 | → RKC Waalwijk (loan) | 12 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2001 | Rangers | 73 | (13) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2004 | Arsenal | 41 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | → Barcelona (loan) | 34 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2007 | Barcelona | 71 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2010 | Feyenoord | 88 | (8) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 422 | (52) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–2010 | Netherlands | 106 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams managed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2019 | Feyenoord | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | Guangzhou R&F | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Rangers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | Beşiktaş | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Giovanni Christiaan van Bronckhorst (born 5 February 1975) is a famous Dutch football manager and former player. He used to play as a midfielder and later became a left-back. His last job as a manager was with the Turkish club Beşiktaş.
During his playing career, Giovanni played for several big clubs. These included RKC Waalwijk, Feyenoord, Rangers, Arsenal, and Barcelona. He was a very important player when Barcelona won the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League. He played in every Champions League match that season, including the final game.
Giovanni also played for the Netherlands national team 106 times. He represented his country in three FIFA World Cups (1998, 2006, and 2010). He also played in three UEFA European Championships (2000, 2004, and 2008). He was the captain of the Dutch team in the 2010 World Cup final. After this, he was given a special award called the Order of Orange-Nassau. The 2010 World Cup final was his very last match as a player.
After he stopped playing, Giovanni became a coach. He helped the Dutch under-21 team and later Feyenoord. In May 2015, he became the main manager for Feyenoord. In his first season, he won the KNVB Cup. In 2017, he led the club to win their first Eredivisie title in 18 years! In 2021, he went back to Rangers as their manager. He helped them reach the UEFA Europa League final and win the Scottish Cup. In 2024, he joined Beşiktaş and won the 2024 Turkish Super Cup right away.
Contents
Giovanni's Playing Career
Starting Out: Early Years
Giovanni van Bronckhorst started playing football when he was six years old. He joined a local youth team in Rotterdam called Linker Maas Oever. The next year, he moved to the youth academy of Feyenoord, a bigger club.
When he was 15, in 1990, Feyenoord offered him a professional contract, which he accepted. He won the Dutch Youth League with Feyenoord in 1991. However, it was hard for him to get into the main team. So, he was loaned to RKC Waalwijk. He played his first professional league game there in 1993.
He returned to Feyenoord for the 1994–95 season. He only played ten games that year. But the 1995–96 season was his big breakthrough. He played almost every match for Feyenoord. He played alongside famous players like Henrik Larsson.
Feyenoord struggled to win the league title for several years. Important players like Henrik Larsson also left the team. So, Van Bronckhorst decided to look for a new club. He chose to join Rangers in Scotland. He moved there in 1998.
Playing for Rangers
Giovanni van Bronckhorst scored a goal in his very first game for Rangers. This was on 22 July 1998, in a UEFA Cup match. Rangers won the game 5–3.
He scored 22 goals for Rangers in total. Most of these goals came when he played in midfield. He then moved to Arsenal for a fee of £8.5 million. He signed a five-year contract with Arsenal.
One of his goals was in the 2000 Scottish Cup Final. Rangers won that final 4–0. He was also nominated for a top player award in 2000. In October 2000, he got a groin injury while playing for his country. He returned to play in March 2001 but got injured again.
Time at Arsenal
Arsène Wenger, the manager of Arsenal, signed Van Bronckhorst in June 2001. He wanted Giovanni to play in midfield with Patrick Vieira. However, Giovanni's time at Highbury started with a serious knee injury. This kept him out of action for several months.
Despite his injury, Giovanni won the Premier League title in 2001–02 with Arsenal. He also won the FA Cup in 2001–02 and 2002–03. In total, he played 64 games for Arsenal and scored two goals.
Success with Barcelona
Before the 2003–04 season, Van Bronckhorst had a chance to join Barcelona. He moved there on a one-year loan deal. He would work with the new coach, Frank Rijkaard.
He changed his playing position to a left-back. He helped Barcelona improve a lot in the second half of the season. In May 2004, Van Bronckhorst officially moved from Arsenal to Barcelona. He signed a three-year contract.
He won the Liga title in the 2004–05 season. He played some of his best football and scored four goals. In 2005–06, he helped his club win the Liga title again. They also won the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League. He was the only player who played in every Champions League match that season. In Spain, he used "Gio" as the name on his shirt.
Back to Feyenoord
Giovanni still had one year left on his Barcelona contract in 2007. But he returned to Feyenoord on 27 June 2007. This was because of a special rule in his contract. It said he could join Feyenoord for free.
Soon after, the coach Bert van Marwijk made him the captain of the club. He became a very important player for the team. He helped bring stability to a team that had many injuries. At the end of his first season back, he led Feyenoord to win the 2007–08 KNVB Cup. They won the final 2–0 against Roda JC.
International Football
Playing for the Netherlands
Giovanni van Bronckhorst played for the Netherlands Olympic team in 1996. However, the team did not qualify for the 1996 Olympic Games. He played his first full international game in August 1996. He started for the Oranje against Brazil.
Giovanni scored his first goal for the Netherlands in August 1996 against South Africa. He was part of the Netherlands team for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. But he did not play during the tournament. He also played very little in Euro 2000.
In Euro 2004, manager Dick Advocaat played Giovanni as a left-back. The Netherlands reached the semi-finals but lost to Portugal.
Giovanni played regularly for the national team in the 2006 World Cup qualification games. In a match against Portugal, he received a red card. This game was famous for having four red cards, a World Cup record.
He scored in a Euro 2008 qualifying match against Slovenia in March 2007. The Netherlands won that game 1–0.
On 9 June 2008, in a group match against Italy, he made an amazing play. He cleared the ball from his own goal line. Then he ran far into the Italian half and crossed the ball to Dirk Kuyt. Kuyt headed it to Wesley Sneijder, who scored. Van Bronckhorst later scored another goal himself. The Netherlands won 3–0 against the World Cup champions.
Before Euro 2008, the captain Edwin van der Sar said he would retire from international football. Van Bronckhorst was then named the new captain.
World Cup Hero
Giovanni was chosen for the Netherlands team for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. On 27 May 2010, manager Bert van Marwijk announced he would be the team captain. In the semi-final against Uruguay, he scored the first goal. The Netherlands won 3–2.
His powerful long-range shot went into the top corner of the goal. Many people thought it was one of the best goals in World Cup history. In November 2022, FIFA even put this goal on its list of the 22 best goals ever.
Van Bronckhorst's last game for the Netherlands and as a professional footballer was the World Cup final against Spain. He was taken off the field in the 105th minute. The score was 0–0 at that time. Spain then scored the only goal of the match in the 116th minute. The Netherlands finished as runners-up. Van Bronckhorst said he was very proud of what the team had achieved.
Becoming a Manager
After he stopped playing in 2010, Giovanni became a coach. On 21 July 2011, it was announced that he would help the new Feyenoord manager, Ronald Koeman. Feyenoord finished second in the league that season.
On 23 March 2015, it was announced that Van Bronckhorst would become the new manager of Feyenoord. This happened after Fred Rutten left the club.
In his first full season as manager, 2015–16, Giovanni led Feyenoord to win the 2015–16 KNVB Cup. They beat Utrecht 2–1 in the final. In his second season, he won the Eredivisie title. This was Feyenoord's first league title in 18 years!
In 2017–18, Feyenoord started the season by winning the 2017 Johan Cruyff Shield. They won on penalties against Vitesse. On 17 December 2017, his team won a big game 7–0 against Sparta Rotterdam. The team also won the KNVB Cup again that season. They beat AZ Alkmaar 3–0 in the final.
On 24 January 2019, Van Bronckhorst said he would leave Feyenoord after the 2018–19 season.
Coaching in China
On 4 January 2020, Van Bronckhorst signed a contract with the Chinese club Guangzhou R&F. In his only season there, his team finished 11th. He left in December to return to his family.
Managing Rangers Again
On 18 November 2021, Giovanni van Bronckhorst became the manager of Rangers again. This was 20 years after he left the club as a player. He took over from Steven Gerrard.
In his first game as Rangers manager, he won 2–0 against Sparta Prague in the UEFA Europa League. In his first Scottish Premiership game, he won 3–1 against Livingston. His team had a great run of seven league wins in a row. But this ended with a 1–1 draw against Aberdeen. Then, a 3–0 loss to Celtic meant Rangers lost first place in the league.
Rangers did not get back first place in the league that season. However, they had a great run in Europe. They reached their first continental final since 2008. They beat big teams like Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig. They lost the 2022 final to Eintracht Frankfurt on penalties. A few days later, Rangers won the Scottish Cup final 2–0 against Hearts. This was their first Scottish Cup since 2009.
Rangers qualified for the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League group stage under Van Bronckhorst. But they lost all six games in that tournament. They also fell nine points behind Celtic in the league. Van Bronckhorst was sacked by Rangers on 21 November 2022.
Coaching Beşiktaş
On 5 June 2024, Van Bronckhorst became the head coach of the Turkish club Beşiktaş. He signed a two-year deal. He won the 2024 Turkish Super Cup in his very first official match with the team. He was sacked on 30 November 2024 after a defeat in the UEFA Europa League.
Off the Field: Personal Life
Giovanni van Bronckhorst was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands. His father, Victor, was Dutch-Indonesian. His mother, Fransien, was Indonesian with roots from the Moluccan islands.
Giovanni is married to Marieke, and they have two sons. In 2008, Giovanni and Marieke started the Giovanni van Bronckhorst Foundation (GvB Foundation). This foundation is based in Rotterdam. It helps children who are moving from primary to secondary school. It teaches them important life skills through sports. This helps them overcome personal and social challenges.
Trophies and Awards
Here are some of the important trophies and awards Giovanni van Bronckhorst won as a player and a manager:
As a Player
Feyenoord
- KNVB Cup: 1994−95, 2007−08
Rangers
- Scottish Premier League: 1998−99, 1999−2000
- Scottish Cup: 1998–99, 1999–2000
- Scottish League Cup: 1998–99
Arsenal
- Premier League: 2001−02
- FA Cup: 2002–03
Barcelona
- La Liga: 2004–05, 2005−06
- Supercopa de España: 2005, 2006
- UEFA Champions League: 2005−06
Netherlands National Team
- FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2010
As a Manager
Feyenoord
- Eredivisie: 2016–17
- KNVB Cup: 2015–16, 2017–18
- Johan Cruyff Shield: 2017, 2018
Rangers
- Scottish Cup: 2021–22
- UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2021–22
Beşiktaş
- Turkish Super Cup: 2024
Individual Awards
- FIFA Puskás Award 3rd place: 2010 (for his amazing goal against Uruguay)
Special Honours
- Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau: 2010 (a special award from the Netherlands)
