PSV’s Champions League schedule has given supporters a fixture to circle on the calendar, and club legends Willy and René van de Kerkhof are already looking forward to a return to one of European football’s most iconic grounds.

Peter Bosz’s side will begin its Champions League campaign next Thursday at home against Shakhtar Donetsk before travelling to RB Leipzig and FC Porto in October. The Eindhoven side will then host Club Brugge before facing Real Madrid CF at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in the fifth round of the league phase on November 24.

For PSV supporters, the trip to Madrid carries particular historical significance. The fixture brings back memories of the club’s famous European Cup I semi-final against Real Madrid in 1988, when PSV eventually reached the final and went on to lift the trophy.

Willy van de Kerkhof was part of that historic PSV side and remains particularly fond of the memories from that campaign.

“I will definitely go there with the family. It’s great to be allowed to play there, even if you’ll probably lose. Bernabeu is a fantastic stadium. What Wembley used to be is now Bernabeu,” Willy said on the Willy & René PSV Podcast from Omroep Brabant, as quoted by PSV Inside.

The former midfielder also recalled the dramatic second leg in Madrid, where he watched from the substitutes’ bench as PSV secured its place in the final.

“In the home match I was still playing but at the Bernabeu I was a substitute. I still remember that we all ran onto the pitch ten meters when Edward Linskens scored that legendary equalizer. I still remember how Leo Beenhakker looked when we advanced,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ruben van Bommel’s progress has also been attracting attention around De Herdgang. More than a year after suffering a serious knee injury against Ajax, the PSV winger is approaching his best level again.

Although he has yet to complete a full 90 minutes this season, Van Bommel has already made a significant impact. He was involved in four of PSV’s five goals in the 5-1 victory over FC Groningen on August 23 and subsequently scored a superb equaliser against FC Utrecht.

PSV Head Youth Scout Edwin de Wijs, who previously coached Van Bommel at the academy, believes the winger’s development has been shaped by both setbacks and resilience.

“Of course we saw potential in everything. But Ruben was very late maturing; he has always been quite small with us. Back then he was already incredibly fast, but Ruben just got physically run over by opponents,” De Wijs told Voetbal International, as quoted by PSV Inside.

The youngster eventually left PSV for MVV following the dismissal of his father, Mark van Bommel, as PSV head coach in 2019. De Wijs believes that period proved important for Van Bommel’s physical and mental development.

“But Ruben has always been a huge winner. He turned the setback and the disappointment he had to deal with into drive and motivation.”

According to De Wijs, the move to MVV gave Van Bommel the opportunity to develop without the same physical demands and pressure while continuing to grow as a player.

“Physically, as a small footballer, he has always had to fight against bigger players, and now he had to process this disappointment. In the end, that made him mentally very strong.”

The former youth coach now sees a much more complete player in the PSV winger.

“When I meet him now at De Herdgang, I see a grown-up player who physically may already be Premier League-ready. But even at MVV, he suddenly was already a real man. Nobody could have predicted this. Ruben is now, in everything, the modern player who, apart from all the football-technical and tactical requirements, also has the right mindset. He has the full package,” De Wijs said