Mario Been sees that Tyrrel Malacia is experiencing great growth. As a reporter of The Telegraph the game of the left back of Feyenoord against Fortuna Sittard (1-3 win) appealed to him. For Been, Lutsharel Geertruida was ‘the player of the week’. The right back of the Rotterdam team claimed a leading role on Sunday by scoring twice against the team of Sjors Ultee.
Geertruida was on target for Feyenoord on Sunday, which he shot into a double lead with two goals in the first half when visiting Fortuna Sittard (1-3). Been notices some qualities of the defender in his team of the week. “He has a good sense of position, both defensively and offensively. He knows exactly where to run and thus often creates space, constructively and offensively. And of course he is deadly with set pieces. He has definitely made strides this season.”
The 58-year-old analyst also saw the other side of the defense of Feyenoord Malacia excel. “With Sinisterra in front of him, that boy makes all the difference. Both offensively and defensively, that boy is always on time. He sometimes wants to take a bit too much on his fork, but is making great strides.” The analysts of Studio Football were full of praise for Malacia on Sunday evening. The left back of Feyenoord was described by Ibrahim Afellay as a ‘pit bull’ that wingers do not like to face, while the sharpness of the defender also stood out in Rafael van der Vaart.
“You get so much sympathy for that boy. He is always cheerful and positive,” said Afellay after Feyenoord’s 1-3 victory. Van der Vaart agrees. “He has a nice face. He gives someone a kick and walks away cute. ‘Nice guy!’, I think. He is also so sharp. I can’t remember when we had a left back in the Netherlands who tackles so sharply Oh, I forget Royston Drenthe. He didn’t want to play as a left back at Real Madrid, but he had exactly what Malacia also has. That is very annoying to play against as a winger.”