Sunday, September 19, 2021 at 10:41 am• Dominic Mostert

Luis Sinisterra is a key player for Feyenoord, but can grow even more mature both inside and outside the lines. On Tuesday evening, after the Conference League game against Maccabi Haifa (0-0), analyst Pierre van Hooijdonk van ESPN that the overview was missing from the attacker at important moments. In conversation with the General Newspaper Former Feyenoord coach Dick Advocaat recalls a controversial moment from last season outside the lines.

After Sinisterra returned from a serious cruciate ligament injury in December 2020, he played three games and was given time off in the last game of the calendar year against sc Heerenveen (3-0 win). Sinisterra was therefore able to travel to Colombia, just in time for Christmas. Due to the corona problem, traveling was strongly discouraged, so Feyenoord wanted to keep the winger’s trip out of attention as much as possible. The club management requested Sinisterra for a low profile hold. He nodded in agreement, but then regularly posted photos from Colombia, such as snaps with his family or from restaurants.

Feyenoord opened the new calendar year on September 10 with an away game against Sparta Rotterdam (0-2). In the run-up to that match, a discussion arose about the participation of the South American trio Marcos Senesi, Lucas Pratto and Sinisterra. Henk van Stee, technical director, was sent photos ‘from many Spartans’ showing the Feyenoord players lying by the pool and expressed his surprise. “I then checked it again and the RIVM clearly says: you just have to quarantine.”

Lawyer recalls the course of events at the time. “Henk van Stee van Sparta had also seen the photos of Sinisterra and immediately raised it in the media,” he remembers. The current Iraq national coach does not blame Sinisterra after publishing the photos. “A young boy, eh. They sometimes forget something in their enthusiasm.” Advocaat thinks Sinisterra is a ‘delicious’ and ‘versatile’ player. “And he’s versatile. He can play as a striker, but I prefer to see him on the sides. His return goes up, but can go even higher. When you’re that quick and you get so many good positions in front of the goal , you can score even more.”