It would have been close if Marko Arnautovic had worn Feyenoord’s shirt in the past. The Rotterdammers made an offer of 1.2 million euros for the then FC Twente striker in the past, but saw how Erik ten Hag wiped the offer off the table after consultation with trainer Steve McClaren. Arnautovic got all eyes on him on Sunday evening after he graced his comeback against North Macedonia (3-1) with a goal and an outburst of anger. As a result, UEFA has suspended the Austrian for the match against the Dutch national team on Thursday.
It was Ten Hag who prevented Arnautovic from making the switch to Feyenoord in the past. “Fred (Rutten, ed.) had just left and in that intermediate phase, the technical policy was on my plate,” the Ajax trainer tells. TC Tubantia. “The management of the club agreed with Feyenoord for an amount of 1.2 million and they thought that was a lot of money for a reserve. I did not agree. Then Steve McClaren came and after his presentation I sat in the car with him. “Is that boy good?” he asked. I said: “He’s the best.” To which Steve replied: “Then the deal will not go through”. euros.”
Ten Hag also sees that many eyes are focused on the behavior of the Austrian striker at the European Championship. “If he could have kept his emotions under better control, he would have been a striker for the absolute top,” said Ten Hag. “He has a great ego, but is very social to his immediate environment. He can get people’s blood under their nails, but at the same time you can’t get very angry with him. I remember when he drove that car into the wall “Who is going to pay for that”, asked Fred. “Me”, said Marko. He took his responsibility. That characterizes his character. Now he earns enough, but then he still had to pay it off.”
Arnautovic suspended against the Dutch: ‘An advantage for us’
Arnautovic is said to have insulted opponent Ezgjan Alioski against North Macedonia, while he was also accused of being racist.
Arnautovic played three seasons in the Netherlands with FC Twente, before making the switch to Internazionale in 2009. “To challenge him physically and mentally, we often let Marko play against Douglas in the extra training sessions on Thursday afternoons,” says then trainer Fred Rutten. “Those were great fights between two guys from the street: one from São Paulo and the other from Vienna. If Marco thinks he is being wronged, he gets angry. Then the explosion risk is never far away.”
Related
More sports news