Ibrahim Afellay not nervous for Atletico

Ibrahim Afellay has to smile when he hears the question: which PSV player has more experience in the CL than the 22 year old? Afellay answers: “I don’t know. It’s your job to do your own research.”

It’s a weird reality, only two players - the 35 year old Timmy Simons and the 25 year old Brechet have more CL games behind their name than Afellay. The young midfielder has played 16 games among Europe’s finest.

Afellay also has four titles to his name already. And with the current season being still very young, the PSV player is the Man of the Competition at the moment. With three goals and two assists he seems to cash in on his promise.

“I don’t really register a big difference with last season. My name is on the score sheet now, that’s a difference I guess, but that’s also the result of my body getting stronger.”

Until now, he never scored in a CL game. That would be his new goal, and all that against one of Spain’s top teams.

Ibrahin Afellay has to smile when he hears the question: which PSV player has more experience in the CL than the 22 year old? Afellay answers: “I don’t know. It’s your job to do your own research.”

It’s a weird reality, only two players - the 35 year old Timmy Simons and the 25 year old Brechet have more CL games behind their name than Afellay. The young midfielder has played 16 games among Europe’s finest.

Afellay also has four titles to his name already. And with the current season being still very young, the PSV player is the Man of the Competition at the moment. With three goals and two assists he seems to cash in on his promise.

“I don’t really register a big difference with last season. My name is on the score sheet now, that’s a difference I guess, but that’s also the result of my body getting stronger.”

Until now, he never scored in a CL game. That would be his new goal, and all that against one of Spain’s top teams.

Despite PSV’s strong start, it’s hard to say where PSV stands. “We’ve just started. Maybe in a few weeks it’s a good time to assess where we are. It’s too early now. The first CL game can hardly be seen as a the first exam.”

Typical PSV. They don’t like to put pressure on themselves. As coach Huub Stevens said: “PSV is doing wonderful for years now, why would I suddenly feel pressure about it now?”

“We’ve got a young group and they want to move on. These guys have to learn from these games and have fun. This game will be an interesting moment to measure where we stand, but that applies to all games.”

PSV expects their wits to be able to help to beat the Madrid club. Guus Hiddink and Ronald Koeman had a reputation to outsmart their opponents. PSV fans now expect something intelligent from Stevens. “When I saw the draw I said Liverpool was above the rest, head and shoulders. Having seen Atletico in action, I take that back. Atletico is as strong as Liverpool.

Stevens can’t guess what the Madrid team is expected to do in Eindhoven. The Heitinga club can play several systems. “They can play compact counter-football, but they can also press and they are physically strong.

Assistant coach Dwight Lodeweges analyzed the opponent last weekend. “That physical aspect of their game will give us our opportunities. Teams that run a lot also allow a lot of space.”

The level of expectation is not too high in Eindhoven. The Dutch camps don’t want to lose. “It’s a challenge to see where we are,” says Stevens. “Losing the first game will make it hard to reach the next round, but I don’t want to see fear on the pitch. I’m sure we can dominate in certain phases of the game. We won’t be able to dominate the whole match, I think, but we should be able to play our own game. It’s our goal to reach the next round.”