Orkun Kökçü says he made an error of judgment during the summer break. The Feyenoord attacking midfielder went on holiday after his European Championship participation with Turkey and was not fully fit when he returned to Rotterdam. He has had a conversation with trainer Arne Slot, who is critical of his lack of fitness. Analyst Kenneth Perez of ESPN also signals the problem in the aftermath of the won friendly game against Atlético Madrid (2-1).
“It could be better, but I think he played an excellent game on Thursday and tonight”, Slot also refers to the won duel with FC Luzern (0-3) in the third Conference League preliminary round. “He’s getting more accurate on the ball and that’s because he’s getting fitter. He didn’t come in fit and he was connected later, so he also needed a while. I would have liked him to come in a bit fitter. That away game against FC Drita is It has been a good lesson for him to realize that he has to come in fitter. If he is fit and runs at a higher pace, he has more room to release and he is also cleaner on the ball.”
Kökçü was criticized after the games against Drita, but now seems to be getting in better shape. “I didn’t play much, although I did train. After that I also took ten days of vacation. Then it became too tight for me”, Kökçü refers to his preparation time. Whether I think that’s bad of myself? It’s true that I can also train during my vacation, but it’s different… This year we have a different approach. We train much more intensively and harder. to have been smart, but I thought I could still get fit in two weeks.”
“I was wrong about that and I will do better next time,” continues the youth exponent. “What more can we expect from me now? I just have to tap a fixed level every game and not drop through the lower limit anymore. The level just has to go up and I have to be sharper. If I get even fitter, I can join more often and I’ve also set a goal for myself: to get in top shape. And yes, to become more aggressive in possession. I’m working on that a lot now and I’m training extra, so I hope to be as fit as I want to be soon .”
Although Slot is pleased with Kökçü’s game, analyst Perez thought he played ‘moderately’ and suffered ‘far too much’ loss of possession; he lost the ball fifteen times, the most of all Feyenoord players. “Maybe that’s because he has the feeling that he has to give all the through balls. You have to give a through ball when the space is there. It’s about his pace, as Slot says. He does have insight. He can play football. “Everything is going at veteran pace and that doesn’t suit a 20 year old boy. It all has to be much fresher and more dynamic. Look at today’s midfielders, they really don’t play like that. He has to make sure he gets content and becomes more dynamic. Otherwise he has to line back and play purely at number 6, like Sergio Busquets.”