Vitesse will have to compete against Rapid Wien next week without Lois Openda. The attacker was on edge and received a yellow card in the final phase of the first game against the club from Austria (2-1 defeat). Afterwards, in the studio of ESPN fierce criticism of both Openda and Thomas Letsch. The analysts blame Openda for a lack of self-control, as they watched an interview with the trainer in surprise. Letsch did not know that Openda was suspended for the return in Arnhem.
Letsch admits that Openda received a ‘stupid’ yellow card. “Is he suspended now? Oh, not good. He’s important, of course, but that can’t be an excuse. I have no idea about possible suspensions at Rapid, but they took a lot of yellow cards.” Rapid received seven yellow cards, two of which were for Filip Stojkovic. “Maybe they have some suspended players now too. We have to accept it and work on the things we can influence ourselves.” Stojkovic, Rapid’s right-back, is the only player to be suspended from the club.
Pierre van Hooijdonk has few good words to say about Letsch’s interview. “This is incredibly amateurish, that as a coach you are not aware of the status of yellow cards of your team, and especially of the best players.”Has he been suspended?‘Come on, hey! I think that’s madness at its best.” Danilho Doekhi also had to be informed by reporter Aletha Leidelmeijer of the absence of Openda in the return; the captain called the suspension ‘a sin’. “And we saw Doekhi, he didn’t have any either. idea… So apparently nobody was aware”, Van Hooijdonk sighs.
“I think it’s really madness, both from the coach, the player and the people around them,” concludes the former attacker. Fellow analyst Arnold Bruggink believes that this is a case of collective failure. “In general, people around him point this out to the trainer in advance. From: ‘Trainer, keep in mind…’ That’s what the team manager or the assistant coach has to do, so basically they’ve all failed .” Openda went on the receipt in minute 89. The Belgian, who scored Vitesse’s only goal but also missed several good opportunities, collided with Emanuel Aiwu and wanted to get a story. Then a conflict arose with Kelvin Arase. Referee Donatas Rumsas thought Openda’s reaction was over the line and handed out yellow.
Presenter Jan Joost van Gangelen calls Openda’s response to the conflict ‘oil, oil, oil dom’. “What a chick,” he adds. Together with Arnold Bruggink, Van Gangelen points out that Openda often has disciplinary problems. He received a red card against FC Groningen last month, when he allowed himself to be provoked by Mike te Wierik and handed out an elbow strike. Openda was then sidelined for two games due to a suspension. “Especially if you have just been suspended by an elbow strike, you have to stop and behave,” sighs Marciano Vink.
Van Hooijdonk and Van Gangelen believe that Letsch should have warned Openda in advance that Rapid players would try to lure him out of the tent, partly because he would be suspended if the next yellow card was shown. After all, he had already been dealt two cards in the group stage. “But in principle you start from the professionalism of a player,” says Vink. “It is precisely he should have kept his mouth shut now. But I think it is in Openda anyway. Some things are difficult to get out of a player. You can say it in advance, but I do not know whether a player is there during the match, in the heat of the momentstill thinking about it.”
In his match interview afterwards, Openda says he does not know why he was booked. “Anyway, I remain focused on the upcoming match in the Eredivisie,” said the attacker. “If we play again next week like in the second half, we have a chance. I’m going to support them.” Van Gangelen believes that Openda is ‘easy to talk about’. “But of course he’s just annoying to players and he’s ruining it for the team.” Van Hooijdonk agrees. “He is annoying to opponents, but also to your own players. He is the one who can and should make the difference. You are at least thirty percent less without him.”
The great chance of Lois Openda in minute 80 can be seen from minute 4:40.
The analysts also believe that Openda missed too many opportunities in Vienna. Ten minutes before the end, he encountered keeper Paul Gartler in a one-on-one situation, just in front of the goal. “You just have to let it slide off your foot towards the far corner, but he takes it too full,” says Vink. “He shoots it against the keeper. That’s just a shame. He also had a nice chance from a header, but was shocked that he was not offside. Vitesse had dots of opportunities. It is actually a miracle that they did not get a draw have achieved.”