Orkun Kökcü, who is now in 103 games for Feyenoord, continues to excel at Feyenoord. He was also the man of the match against Heracles, next to Luis Sinisterra. The midfielder was replaced prematurely by trainer Arne Slot as a precaution.
“I got a tap on my calf against Twente and it bothered me for two days. I also started the match with some stiffness, so the trainer chose not to take a risk.” Even before the match, Slot hinted that Kökcü would normally not complete the ninety minutes. “He said ‘give everything you have and if it doesn’t work out, we can switch’. I still had something left, but he switched me anyway,” said Kökcü, laughing for the camera of RTV Rijnmond. “In the end, I’m happy that the team took the win.”
The midfielder also looks back on the game. “We didn’t start the game sharply, another goal was disallowed, but a few minutes later it is in our basket. After that we recovered well and we came up with many opportunities, also in the first half It just lacked a little bit of sharpness, I think.”
Feyenoord’s corner kicks, thirteen in the previous match, hardly pose any danger these days and Kökcü took almost all of them. Today we suddenly saw Fredrik Aursnes take his place behind the ball. “I also had some problems with my calves, but before the game I also said to Fredrik ‘if you want to take a corner, you can just go’. It’s not that I want to claim all corners at all costs It was agreed that I would take them, but there are others who can do it.”
”It’s important that you give energy throughout that game”
Furthermore, it was once again noticeable that Feyenoord has a lot of resilience. The 0-1 deficit did not lead to panic, but there was confidence in a good outcome of the match. “Yes, of course, of course. We can create opportunities at any moment of the game, even if things are not going well. It is important that you give energy throughout the game and then opportunities will arise that you have to use and luckily we have that done.”
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