PSV in trouble!

April 9th, 2008 | by: Jan | Comments(6)

Afellay already knows he is out for Fiorentina

Preparing for the important second leg against Fiorentina, PSV bumped into some problems. Jefferson Farfan is suspended and Ibrahim Afellay has an ankle injury.

Afellay was the man of the match for PSV last week against the Italians.

Afellay knew it before the scan: “I felt it, I knew I wouldn’t make it. You can always take risks, but that isn’t even an issue. It would be totally irresponsible. Too bad, but that’s how it is.”

This means that coach Sef Vergoossen will have to replace both his wingers. Dzsudszak and Bakkal will be their capable replacements. “These boys are powerful and threatening and mentally strong. I don’t see a problem with these replacements.”

Vergoossen isn’t sure which Fiorentina players will start, but he does know that they’ll stick to their system. “They could adapt a bit, but I don’t think so. We don’t have to make a lot of alterations. We’ll built in different responses if they do decide to change their tactics.’

With the 1-1 score from last week, PSV can settle in the game and wait how the game will evolve. If no side scores, PSV will reach the semi finals. Caution is going to be vital. “You can expect pressure from Fiorentina. And that’s fine, we don’t need to run to their goal with our whole team. The pressure is actually on them. But, that’s basically all. The differences at this level are so small, that there are no guarantees. We will train behind closed doors tomorrow and practice set-pieces and corners. We need to leverage from those, Fiorentina can be very sloppy in those situations.”

Vergoossen doesn’t think the group feels any extra pressure. “No, this group is too experienced for that. But, that this is a crucial week is palpable.”