Kenneth Perez is positively surprised by the start of Feyenoord in the new season. The team from Rotterdam are at the top of the Eredivisie after two rounds and are also almost certain of a place for the main tournament of the Conference League. Feyenoord has not conceded a goal for five official games in a row and also makes a good impression on the analyst from an attacking point of view. ESPN.
“How is this possible, this Feyenoord: from very often mediocre game, to a team that we all love to see football?”, Perez wonders. This was the Weekend. “The reason is simply on the training field.” According to Perez, the crucial questions are what a trainer values and what he wants to see from his team. “A trainer has to inspire his team. I see a team that is very inspired by his trainer and his methodology. All players want to join this train, even after that dramatic match against FC Drita. The players enjoy it and have fun. Then you can achieve a lot. Then you can also put pressure. They have now woken up.”
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Perez refers to an interview that Orkun Kökçü gave earlier this month after the friendly win over Atlético Madrid (2-1). The attacking midfielder then admitted that he was too little concerned with his fitness during his holiday. “We have a different approach this year,” Kökçü said. “There is much more intensive and harder training. In retrospect it turns out not to have been smart, but I thought I could still get fit in two weeks.” Perez can laugh about it two weeks later and finds the interview indicative of the new atmosphere at Feyenoord. “Welcome. You really see the hand of a trainer who has laid the foundation for how he wants to play on the training pitch. I think that’s the big difference this year.”
“They have lost their best player”, Perez refers to Steven Berghuis, who left for Ajax. “It’s not like they have much better players now than last season. It’s just really the trainer. If you look back at the period under Dick Advocaat, you see a world of difference. If a trainer has a defensive approach, then the emphasis is on other things. So the things you emphasize and compliment are not the pressure, playing forward and possession. Those are different things. Many people say that a trainer is only as good as his equipment. A trainer cannot turn a 6 into a 10, but you can see that it can be turned into an 8.”