Saturday, October 1, 2022 at 08:48• Mart Oude Nijeweeme • Last update: 09:43

Luigi Bruins does not believe that Orkun Kökçü will leave for the European top in the short term. The former attacking midfielder of Feyenoord has joined FC Rijnmond pronounced on the current captain of the Rotterdammers. According to Bruins, Kökçü is the suitable captain for Feyenoord, but it is still too early to talk about a step to the European top.

Bruins, currently playing football with fourth divisionist Smitshoek in Barendrecht, tells a nice anecdote in the podcast about his time at Feyenoord. For example, he earned in a month at the Eredivisionist what he earned in a year at Excelsior. “With my first contract with Excelsior I earned 700 euros a month. That went pretty quickly to 900 and 1400 in the Eredivisie. Then I had another year where I would earn 1900, but that year I went to Feyenoord.”

In his first year at Feyenoord, Bruins made a strong impression, then it quickly went downhill. He looks at the current Feyenoord with great satisfaction. “I think Kökçü is the right captain,” Bruins said. “If you look at which players they have brought in, they are all guys who are new. Normally you don’t make them captain right away. Then you look at the guys who have been there a little longer. And then I think it is good to have a boy who has been with the first for a while, is important and comes from his own youth, captain.”

Bruins currently estimates Kökçü’s level at the European sub-top. “He falls short for the absolute top. He will have to grow into that. I think he will initially look for a European club. Spain or Italy. I think France is just a bit too physical for him. The Bundesliga could also be possible. ” Feyenoord watcher Dennis van Eersel knows that there was serious interest from Italy in Kökçü last summer. “But Feyenoord has made an effort to keep him. That captaincy will have been part of that story,” said Van Eersel.

In rush hour, Bruins prefers Danilo for the time being. The Brazilian currently also enjoys the confidence of trainer Arne Slot, but is gasped in the neck by Santiago Giménez. The latter was accurate four times in his last four games for the Rotterdam team. On behalf of Mexico, he played twice for half an hour against Peru and Colombia last week. “It is very nice for a trainer if he has two good strikers at his disposal. If you score as a striker, you stay standing. That is a kind of unwritten rule,” says Bruins in conclusion.