Van Bommel to lead the Netherlands

The Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk has courted controversy by naming his son-in-law Mark van Bommel as the side's new captain before their opening Euro 2012 qualifier against San Marino tomorrow.

The midfielder, who came to epitomise the Netherlands' rugged style in their run to the World Cup final in July, takes over from Giovanni van Bronckhorst who retired after the 1-0 defeat to Spain.

"We discussed it with the technical staff for minutes before we decided," Van Marwijk said. "Mark is the right age and position to do it, while he did the job in the past at PSV and now at Bayern Munich."