Friday, March 12, 2021 at 9:12 AM• Rian Rosendaal • Last update: 09:39

Orkun Kökçü acknowledges that as a young player (20) he benefits from help and tips from people who know the football world very well. The midfielder likes a critical approach and in that context former player Saïd Boutahar regularly looks at things that could be improved. Kökçü also likes to be advised by trainer Dick Advocaat on football technical matters.

“Saïd Boutahar, for example, is explicitly looking with me,” Kökçü explains in an extensive interview with the Algemeen Dagblad. “He was once a great talent at Feyenoord, but taking the last step in De Kuip turned out to be too difficult. He points out pitfalls to me, at moments that may be very important to me. But within Feyenoord there are also plenty of people around who Pay attention to that. Our trainer, for example, “the young midfielder refers to his good relationship with Advocaat, who is in his last months as coach of Feyenoord.

In addition to matters on a technical and tactical level, the lawyer always pays attention to the attitude of the players, Kökçü emphasizes. “He thought that I radiated so much fun last season and that it often seemed like playing football this season was an obligation. A happy player outperforms a grumpy boy, is the idea.” Advocaat’s words impressed the still fairly inexperienced Feyenoord player. “I started thinking about that and started working on it. Yes, I will miss him later when he has stopped as a trainer. He is honest and says what it is like.”

Kökçü looks further than Feyenoord, because the European Championship will start in a few months and the midfielder fervently hopes for a place in Turkey’s final European Championship selection. “That chance is certainly there. I made my debut against Croatia last year, since then there has been constant contact with the people of the Turkish Football Association,” said the hopeful international, who hopes to play against the Dutch on March 24, when both countries meet in the qualifying cycle of the World Cup in Qatar. “That would be very special. I can still remember an international match in Konya where Oguzhan Özyakup scored for Turkey against the Netherlands (in 2015, ed.). That was very special. Turkey has many young players who have broken through in the big leagues. We have a strong team, but the Dutch too of course “, concludes Kökçü.