Frank Rijkaard has backed Giovanni van Bronckhorst to bounce back from his Rangers axe by becoming Netherlands boss one day.
Van Bronckhorst and Rangers seemed like a match made in heaven.
The Dutchman was a popular figure as a player at Rangers, racking up 22 goals in 117 games for the Gers.
Van Bronckhorst earned himself a big move to Arsenal in 2001 but some 20 years later, he was back at Ibrox.
Picked as the replacement for Steven Gerrard last season, Van Bronckhorst arrived at Rangers having previously won a league title with Feyneoord.
That made Van Bronckhorst seem like the right man to continue Gerrard’s fine work and, to an extent, he did.
Van Bronckhorst guided Rangers to a Europa League final as well as a Scottish Cup final win, ending last season on something of a high.
This season turned sour for Van Bronckhorst though and it was no surprise when he was given his marching orders in November.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst backed to rebound from Rangers sacking
Van Bronckhorst hasn’t returned to management since then, but you can be sure that he will attract interest in the near future.
Maybe that could come from the Eredivisie; former club Feyenoord could be in the market for a new boss this summer if Arne Slot is poached.
Dutch legend Frank Rijkaard – who worked with Van Bronckhorst at Barcelona – sees big things happening for the 48-year-old moving forward.
Rijkaard has been quoted by the Daily Record as saying that he thinks Van Bronckhorst will become Netherlands boss one day.
Rijkaard talked up Van Bronckhorst’s ability to get the most out of ‘ordinary’ players and believes he will end up becoming the Dutch national team boss in the future.
That may surprise Rangers fans but Rijkaard clearly believes in Van Bronckhorst’s coaching abilities at the top level.
“Yes, I think Gio will be the national coach one day. I have a warm heart for him, I’m happy to see how well he has done as a manager,” said Rijkaard.
“Of course, he had to leave Rangers not so long ago, but that can happen. But I always think he comes across very well. He is still the manager who has won the most trophies recently with Feyenoord and he did it with players that were not from their heyday, they were ordinary. I really thought he was a great representative of Feyenoord,” he added.