Finally grateful for all the support: “That was impressive”

Arne Slot enjoyed Het Legioen on Sunday evening. Not only was the coach grateful for the appreciation he received, but the interaction between the players and fans during the match was also very positive for the course of the match, Slot concludes. Afterwards there was also a moving moment in the dressing room, but unfortunately that had a completely different cause.

“That was very special,” Slot begins opposite ESPN. “I could downgrade it, but that wouldn’t do justice to the feelings I had at that moment. It was really very special. In the three years that I have now been at Feyenoord, I have experienced the felt appreciation. Today it was very massive, so that was impressive.”

The trainer also took the moment to put his assistant Sipke Hulshoff in the spotlight. “They are chanting my name and that is actually a reward for the way we have performed over the past three years, because there are also many other people who have worked incredibly hard and delivered quality, which has given us great matches.”

Another special moment took place in the locker room afterwards, but this was for an incredibly sad reason. “A little boy, Mats, was told two weeks ago that he had cancer. We just took him into the dressing room to encourage him in the difficult time ahead.”

Santiago Gimenez
Slot was not very satisfied with the match itself, but there was one substitute who struck him as very positive. “Santi came onto the field very strongly. It was nice that his first ball contact was also a penalty and a goal, but you also saw the speed in his movement rhythm and the aggressiveness in front of the goal. In the end he also gave an assist and also a great ball to Lingr. Apparently those days off did Santi good, because he was excellent today.”

Motivation
At Feyenoord the players do not need to be motivated, as Slot can confirm. “If you have seen today how many people are in a stadium at 8:00 PM on Sunday evening. The atmosphere in the stadium was great again, then I think it is a privilege to be able to play in the Feyenoord shirt. Nicer conditions you can’t find it. If you also play in a team that combines well, you get a match like today.”

Marino Pusic
Slot does not actually want to say anything about a possible successor, but cannot remain silent when asked about his former colleague. “Everyone knows how good I am with Marino and how I appreciate him as a person and as a coach, so if Marino would like to do that, by the way very successful at Shakhtar, then I would love it if he would get that opportunity. But I said al: you don’t want to talk about a successor if it is not at all clear who that is.”