Giovanni van Bronckhorst has only one better way to say goodbye for good. That is to score in his last competitive game as well, and finally give The Netherlands the World Cup.
“I hope it will be the most beautiful game of my life,” said van Bronckhorst, who is retiring from football after the tournament but made sure he will go out in style by scoring the first goal in a 3-2 win over Uruguay in the semifinals on Tuesday.
His name has already been scrapped from the teamsheet of his last club, Feyenoord Rotterdam — but the Dutch team though would keep him on until Sunday, and for good reason. The captain gave the Dutch the lead with a blistering 35-metre left-foot drive that sailed past Fernando Muslera and went in off the post to break open the game against Uruguay. van Bronckhorst then claimed the biggest defensive play of the semifinal too, when he rushed back to head a dangerous high ball out of the goalmouth in the 49th minute, with the score at 1-1.
At 35, van Bronckhorst was more than two years older than anyone else on the pitch, yet celebrated like a teenager with the rest of the team, almost an hour after the match. “There were no tears, just joy,” he said. “The last game in my career and it’s a World Cup final, what can you say? It could not be more beautiful.”
Wherever he has gone, van Bronckhorst has reaped success, whether with Rangers, Arsenal or Barcelona. He has won league titles in three countries — Scotland, England and Spain — and the Champions League with Barcelona.
And made friends along the way too. With his success at the World Cup, he already received messages of support from a wide cast of characters, including Thierry Henry and Sol Campbell.
Lionel Messi once even picked him as the best left back in the world. As a defender, he is known for his dashes upfield on the left, clean marking and his tight organisational instincts to read and neutralise opposing plays as they develop. — AP