Roger Schmidt sees an opportunity for ‘other players to earn status’ at PSV. The people of Eindhoven are dealing with an injury wave: players such as Jordan Teze, Philipp Max, Noni Madueke, Cody Gakpo and Eran Zahavi are sidelined, which means that Schmidt has to call on other pupils. Attackers such as Ritsu Doan and Bruma benefit from the situation and have proven their value for the team in recent weeks.
Bruma (twice) and Doan both scored before the international match against Fortuna Sittard (1-4 win). Then Bruma scored against Vitesse (2-0) and Sturm Graz (2-0); Doan provided the assist for Bruma’s goal on Thursday evening and received the necessary compliments from analysts afterwards. “There are other players who can now earn status in our squad,” Schmidt said. “In the past they didn’t always confirm what people expected after their transfers, but that’s not what I’m looking at now. I judge the players in the here and now. There have been reasons why PSV once bought them, if you go to Ritsu for example. Doan and Armindo Bruma are watching. These are players who need a lot of confidence to reach a high level.”
Bruma doubles the lead! (2-0) ??#veronicainside #uel #psvstu pic.twitter.com/5khHWBnKu0
— Veronica Inside (@veronicainside) Nov 25, 2021
It is difficult for attackers to prove themselves at PSV, Schmidt notes. “We just have good players in this line and a very competitive situation. Then players sometimes fall by the wayside. Now Ritsu Doan and Bruma are basic players and they can take advantage of their opportunities,” the trainer notes. They will get another chance to do that on Sunday, when PSV visits sc Heerenveen. PSV last won an away game against Heerenveen in December 2011; after that, eight consecutive games failed to win in South Friesland. Schmidt is familiar with that statistic and hopes to break with it.
“Those are things that come to life at a club and I understand that,” he says. “There is a lot of talk about it, but of course every game is new. We have 90 minutes to create the best chances and then there is the best chance of winning. Last year it was not easy to play against them. In my experience they are dangerous in attack, also with a central defender who is strong and quick.”