French‑speaking Zenden joins Van Bommel’s staff at belgium’s red devils

Boudewijn Zenden, the 49‑year‑old Dutch former winger, has been appointed alongside Maarten Martens as the right‑hand staff of Mark van Bommel with the Belgium national team, the Rode Duivels. The move was confirmed by our sources on 23 July 2026.

Zenden began his senior career as a flank attacker at PSV, where he played from 1994 to 1998 and earned his first reputation in Dutch football.

His strong performances secured a dream transfer to Barcelona, after which he featured for Chelsea, Liverpool and Marseille, the latter stint giving him fluent French language skills.

During his playing days Zenden also collected 54 caps for the Netherlands national side, establishing himself as a seasoned international.

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In the Dutch national team dressing room Zenden and Van Bommel quickly became friends, a bond that deepened when they completed a coaches’ course together.

When Van Bommel was appointed head coach of PSV in 2018, he added Zenden to his technical staff as a striker coach, reinforcing the link between the two.

Earlier, Zenden served as Rafael Benítez’s right‑hand at Chelsea, where the club won the Europa League with Eden Hazard playing a key role.

After Van Bommel’s dismissal in Eindhoven the pair worked apart – Van Bommel later coached Wolfsburg and Antwerp with other assistants – but they are now reunited as part of the Rode Duivels set‑up, with Maarten Martens also on the bench.

Imar Vandenabeele, a sport journalist, wrote the portrait, published on 23 July 2026. The article also notes the "Google-favorietZenden" tag and mentions Zenden’s occasional analyst work for Ziggo and Pickx.