THERE are not many people better placed to comment on Giovanni van Bronckhorst's move to Rangers as manager than Guillem Balague.

The Spanish journalist regularly met with the Dutchman during his playing stint with Barcelona between 2003 and 2007.

And Balague has opened up on his 'off the record' meetings with Van Bronckhorst which have helped him understand his managerial ethos.

The pair would meet for coffee and to shop during Van Bronckhorst's time in Spain, but Balague revealed the manager was never "obsessed with football".

Instead, he told of the manager's enjoyment of a normal lifestyle which he has taken into his professional management career.

And for Balague, Van Bronckhorst's approach allows him to get the most out of the players at his disposal.

He told Radio 5 Live Sport: "Actually he has been one of the player, well been a player that has spoken the most off the record.

"We used to go for coffees and a little bit of shopping in the city centre. He likes that kind of normal life - this is important.

"He always discussed football in detail but it never felt to me like he was obsessed about the game.

"Now as a manager he has brought that kind of normality to his decisions, he is not obsessed about tactics.

"I think he thinks it is very important to deal with what you have got and to deal well with the personalities."

Van Bronckhorst learned from a number of Dutch coaches, which Balague reckons helped shape his style.

The Spaniard also gave an insight into Van Bronckhorst's attitude towards football - stating he was all about offence and ensure his side are competitive across the board.

Balague went on to discuss the culture change Van Bronckhorst led at Feyenoord where he won a first league title in 18 years for the Dutch side.

And despite a few difficult years following the title triumph, Balague detailed Van Bronckhorst's further experience to prepare him for Ibrox.

The 46-year-old spent time learning from Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola before a short stint in China ahead of his return to Glasgow.

Balague explained: "The kind of managers that he has had kind of tell you as well about what he has been learning; from Dick Advocaat, to Hiddink, Rijkaard obviously Arsene Wenger, Koeman perhaps a little bit less.

"These are Dutch managers that are versatile, they are not obsessed about 4-3-3, about a certain style of play.

"I think he is flexible as a coach and as a manager. He showed at Feyenoord that for him he could just use quick transitions or keep the ball but always, always thinking of scoring more being offensive and always depending on the players you've got.

"Obviously he won the league with Feyenoord for the first time in 18 years, the following two years weren't so great for him after that and he has been learning from (Pep) Guardiola who he admires a lot, went to China but came back early because of the pandemic.

"The thing that I take from his time at Feyenoord as well as winning is how he won and it's not about the style; he changed the culture of the club, made them more competitive and took them to that last step that was hard for them to get.

"And that's the sign of somebody that deals well with people and gets the best out of people. That's the kind of manager I think he is."