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Van Bronckhorst hoping for fairytale finale

The 35-year-old left-back will come up against several friends in the Spanish side after having his best spell during the period he spent with Barcelona from 2003 to 2007.

Captain 'Gio' has scored six goals in 105 internationals, although his first and last are the most memorable.

He opened the scoring in the semi-final against Uruguay with a superb 35-metre drive, arguably the goal of the tournament. His first strike for his country came at the venue of Sunday's final, known in those days as the First National Bank Stadium.

"That goal was exactly like the goal I scored against Uruguay but more memorable about that match was the meeting with Nelson Mandela," he told reporters.

Van Bronckhorst, a product of Feyenoord's youth system, started his professional career in 1993 and moved abroad five years later having spells at Rangers and then Arsenal.

Van Bronckhorst's international debut was against Brazil in 1996 and he was a member of the 1998 World Cup squad although he did not play at the finals under coach Guus Hiddink.

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