Who is Giovanni van Bronckhorst? The Champions League winner who might become new Leeds United boss

Giovanni van Bronckhorst is a football manager, currently without a job, being linked with Leeds United.

Leeds United have secured promotion back to the Premier League and a massive summer is in store.

As has been proven by Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton, it’s incredibly difficult for promoted sides to stay up in the top flight.

Spending money on new players is a necessity but it won’t necessarily be enough, as all three of those clubs have brutally learned.

You have to recruit and be coached smartly to survive, which is where questions over Daniel Farke’s future come in.

Though Farke now has three promotions to his name, his record of just six wins in 49 games is appalling and concerns over his ability to keep Leeds up mean the 49ers are ‘considering’ sacking him.

No decision has been made yet but Giovanni van Bronckhorst has emerged as a potential replacement.

Here is everything you need to know about him.

Rangers FC v Heart of Midlothian - Cinch Scottish Premiership — Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images

Who is Giovanni van Bronckhorst?

Van Bronckhorst is a football manager who has enjoyed moderate success at half of his clubs but is currently out of work.

Van Bronckhorst linked with Leeds United job

A report in The Guardian named Van Bronckhorst – along with Davide Ancelotti and Roger Schmidt – among three possible replacements for Farke if Leeds do sack the German.

While working as a pundit on Dutch TV during Barcelona vs Inter in the Champions League, Van Bronckhorst was asked if he’d seen the reports.

He said: “Yes, I read about it. But there’s nothing going on at the moment. Are Leeds a nice club? Definitely. I am enjoying life now, but I think it would be nice to be back on the pitch.”

Was Giovanni van Bronckhorst a footballer?

Yes, Van Bronckhorst was a footballer for nearly twenty years, making over 700 appearances for his five clubs and national team.

Though predominantly a hard-hitting left-back, Van Bronckhorst was also more than capable of moving forward to the wing or even into a defensive midfield position.

He was fantastic going forward, too, registering 72 goals and 86 assists throughout his career for Feyenoord, Waalwijk, Rangers, Arsenal, Barcelona and the Netherlands.

When and where Giovanni van Bronckhorst was born

Van Bronckhorst was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on February 5, 1975. As of May 2025, he is 50 years old.

How tall is Giovanni van Bronckhorst?

The Dutchman stands at 5’10” tall.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst teams managed

The Dutchman has managed four teams so far in his coaching career.

Feyenoord – 2015-2019
Guangzhou R&F – 2020
Rangers – 2021-2022
Besiktas – 2024

Giovanni van Bronckhorst stats

Here are Van Bronckhorst’s stats as a manager in his career so far.

Team	Games	Wins	Draws	Losses	Points per match	Points
Feyenoord U21s	25	11	6	8	1.56	39
Feyenoord	176	109	24	43	1.99	351
Guangzhou R&F	23	8	4	11	1.22	28
Rangers	68	42	11	15	2.01	137
Besiktas	20	10	4	6	1.70	34
Total	312	180	49	83	1.89	589

Giovanni van Bronckhorst honours

Van Bronckhorst has won a massive number of trophies during his time in football, as a player and a manager.

Trophies won as a manager:

Feyenoord

x1 Eredivisie: 2016-2017
x2 KNVB Cup: 2015-2016, 2017-18
x2 Johan Cruyff Shield: 2017, 2018

Rangers

x1 Scottish Cup: 2021-2022
x1 Europa League second place: 2021-2022

Besiktas

x1 Turkish Super Cup: 2024

Trophies won as a player: