Feyenoord: worst team since years…

There was a unanimous conclusion after Deportivo-Feyenoord: the latter doesn’t have any business playing in the European cup. “Nine goals conceded, three games and zero points. That tells the story,” was Verbeek’s sad end-statement.

Depor, the sports paper in Galicia, said: “This is the worst team we’ve seen for a long time. Including the cup match against Elche, one of the secundo liga’s worst teams.”

And the grades in the papers didn’t lie: Wijnaldum was the best Feyenoord player with 4 (out of 10). The rest got a 3 while Tiendalli was awarded with a 2.

Skipper Van Bronckhorst: “We need to focus on the Eredivisie now. We were doing well in our national competition, we should forget that or throw that away.”

The only positive in Spain was Andy Slory’s return, who had a good second half, while Theo Lucius returned from injury to replace Tiendalli. “Dwight wasn’t doing too well, but I could have subbed many more players,” was Verbeek’s reaction.

El Ahmadi and Wijnaldum were subbed out of precaution, Verbeek mentioned. “Georginio is really spread thin, lately. “We need to be very cautious with him, he is approaching his limits physically.”

Roy Makaay, who was cheered on by his old fans, was devastated. “I really wanted to impress here, as you can imagine. But this Depor is basically a couple of levels too good. I have to be honest.”

Makaay was appalled by the behaviour of the “fans”. “I did see it yeah, in the corner of my eye. I was shocked. The fans here don’t do that. Watching a game is a family outing.”

The UEFA will address this problem in the next couple of days. After the short outbreak of riots, the fans settled down a bit and the feared riots and fights in the city never happened. Feyenoord manager Gudde: “I have no idea what the UEFA will do. I am not sure if our reputation in the past will play a role. We have to wait and see. A handful of morons could easily damage the club big time. It’s so sad.”

Feyenoord may well decide never to allow fans to travel abroad. “We are considering all options, but I need to know the facts before I can really make a statement. I won’t react from the hip, that’s as bad as what those hooligans have done.”

This weekend Feyenoord plays Vitesse and wants to revenge itself. And, Verbeek emphasizes, he wants to keep the pressure on in the national league.

El Ahmadi is one of the question marks for Sunday, after he was subbed due to a calf injury.