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Robin Van Persie spoke at a press conference on the eve of Inter-Feyenoord, valid for the second leg of the Champions League round of 16.

The new coach of the Dutch team presented the San Siro challenge, which promises to be very difficult to turn into a triumph, but the red and white team will still try.

Feyenoord, Van Persie’s Words

A couple of weeks ago, Feyenoord had a magical evening against Milan. Will it take even more magic, do you believe?

“That’s the beauty of sports, of football. There is always hope, even if people believe it is very small. Paixao? It’s a shame, he had a little problem: it can always happen.”

Regarding the match against Milan, have you experienced similar miracles as a player?

“I won’t talk about my experience, there are many examples of teams that have surprised. We would like to surprise too, the feeling is that it may be impossible, but I don’t think it’s true: we will have our chances and we must be strong.”

You didn’t play this weekend, Inter did.

“We trained on Saturday and Sunday. I watched the game against Monza, it’s the Inter we know: it’s nice to see them play, they always do great things in attack, defense, transition. It’s a great challenge, but we will have chances: they have their way of playing and it works very well, but even against a very strong team, we will always have opportunities and we have studied where they can get.”

Calvin Stengs and Mattia Zaccagni (PHOTO BY SALVATORE FORNELLI)

Will you think about the match on Sunday against Twente?

“We always think about tomorrow. You plan everything, but the first goal is always the match the next day, even in terms of minutes to give to the players.”

Will the returnees be starters?

“We’ll see, we are happy that they have returned. Maybe someone will debut, there are young players who have not debuted yet.”

Will Paixao’s absence be long?

“I don’t think so, but we will see in the next few days.”

Still facing the emergency.

“My players must believe, over the years I have seen even crazier things. The context is clear, it’s a very complicated challenge but we don’t hide from it. It is what it is, the players we have now I think are very strong and show it every day. We will challenge Inter with these players, it doesn’t make sense to think of too many scenarios: I trust the group.”

Rome, Italy 07.11.2023: Feyenoord during warm-up before the Uefa Champions League 2023-2024 football, group E, between SS Lazio vs Feyenoord at Olympic Stadium in Rome.

Will you change the players’ positions?

“Obviously, it’s always better to play someone in their position, in their role. It’s not always possible, as we saw last week with Paixao: it’s like a puzzle, you have to consider physicality and availability.”

Have you understood the problem with these injuries?

“It can always happen, in every training session the boys give their all. It’s a risk that is always there, Paixao has played a lot this season and it’s very special that he has played so much: it’s normal that he could get injured. If he could, I would have played him.”

What are the difficulties with Ivanusec?

“Good question, during my course I saw a Croatia-Netherlands game: he played very well and I thought ‘what a player’. Then he went to Feyenoord, I always thought he was strong, but the question is if he can play at this level. There are many things, from form to character, that are decisive.”

How do you convince the players that the feat is possible?

“First of all, don’t follow the press. It doesn’t help: it wants to make you believe that this game is already lost, yet we still have to play it. It’s a huge challenge and we know that: I’m not saying we will definitely win, but you have to understand that we will give our all and we believe in the comeback. We can perform a miracle, that’s the beauty of sports: that’s why we are all here and why tomorrow 4,600 fans will come from Rotterdam.”

If you don’t succeed, what would satisfy you?

“As I see it, there are no wins, draws, losses. I think about how we present ourselves, our attitude, the confidence we have in ourselves. We will give everything and that’s the most important thing, not winning or losing.”

Photo Source: Feyenoord.com

Are you satisfied with what you have seen in Rotterdam?

“At the beginning yes, in the first half yes. Then we slumped. I’m not asking for a win, it’s not that simple: there are many things to do during a match and we want to focus on what we need to do.”

In the first leg, it seemed like a 4-2-1-3 and it surprised. Should we expect the same offensive lineup?

“What you can expect is a team that will be united, that will attack together, defend together. In the end, it’s not the formation that makes the difference, whether it’s a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3. We need to focus on how we are on the field and that’s where we can have an influence.”

Inter conceded two goals against Monza, does that give you confidence?

“Well, in the Champions League they have only conceded one. We watched the game and prepared, without doing anything different from usual. We studied every aspect of Inter, but also of ourselves: we are focused on our opportunities. How Inter plays is known, but they also sometimes leave spaces and there we must be good. Even against us, Inter had a few chances, we had one or two: against these very strong teams it is important to score, as we saw with Milan. In that game, Feyenoord struggled, but then it also needs the game to turn in our favor. That didn’t happen in Rotterdam.”