Lock knows how to cut himself off from championship madness: ‘Netflix set up’
NOS Football–
Lock knows how to cut himself off from championship madness: ‘Netflix set up’
Feyenoord coach Arne Slot realizes that it is actually impossible for his players to escape the rising championship fever in Rotterdam. Visiting Excelsior, Feyenoord – if PSV drop points against Sparta on Saturday – can secure their first national title since 2017 on Sunday.
Ahead of the Conference League final a year ago, Slot had called a training camp in Portugal, away from the emotion in his own city. That was not in the cards for the potential championship match.
And so Slot had already noticed that it is well-nigh impossible to really shut yourself off from the title madness. “That’s actually not possible. My tip for the players: if there are talk shows about soccer, put on Netflix. Or watch a soccer game.”
He had done just that himself Wednesday night. Slot had watched Napoli’s championship match, although he didn’t want to say so out loud because of the altercation after the game with AS Roma with José Mourinho, who had berated him for not watching Napoli but Roma.
“I won’t say which one I watched yesterday,” Slot joked. “Otherwise I might get criticized for that. Brighton – Manchester United was also very nice.”
Pleased with Zerrouki
Slot also addressed the transfer of Ramiz Zerrouki, who will come to Feyenoord in the summer after a long soap opera. Slot was very happy about that, also because Feyenoord is thin in midfield, according to him.
Slot happy with arrival Zerrouki: ‘Player with a lot of personality’
“He guards the balance behind the ball and picks off a lot of balls, as well as shaping the build-up,” Slot said. “In addition, it is a winner and a good personality. That’s why we weren’t the only ones who wanted him.”
Kuijt to visit
Slot talked about Dirk Kuijt’s visit to the Feyenoord training pitch last week. According to the coach, it was an appointment that had been fixed for some time.
“Dirk was annoyingly dismissed. I asked him afterwards if he would like to join us for a few days, because I think Dirk has meant an awful lot to Feyenoord,” Slot said.
In the video below, Slot elaborates a bit on opponent Excelsior as well as talks about a padel court, which might be built at Varkenoord if the club wins the title:
Slot not afraid of ‘championship pressure’: ‘We’ve been playing with pressure for a long time’
“I have noticed that Dirk is a very inspired trainer,” Slot said. “I hope and expect him to show this somewhere in the coming years, that he can achieve the same success as players as a trainer.”
In March, Slot also gave former player Danny Buijs the opportunity to walk with him for a few days.
