The Football International Team of the Week program was broadcast yesterday instead of Monday and of course Orkun Kökcü was featured as VI player of the week after the NEC – Feyenoord match. Analyst and co-editor-in-chief of the magazine, Pieter Zwart, elaborated on the enormous development that Kökcü is going through.
“He is actually the crucial pawn in the midfield at Arne Slot, especially when Feyenoord is forced to make the game. Then he is just the Alpha and Omega of Feyenoord: everything actually starts and ends with Kökcü because in this playing style has just become a more controlling midfielder.” The midfielder’s jersey number suggests otherwise. “He plays with number 10 and that created the confusion that he should score goals. Of course he scored a great goal against NEC, but you should not ask Kökcu to score goals, because his role in the team is simply totally different.”
“You have to watch out with Kökcü that he does not get the Frenkie de Jong syndrome: that everyone will shout ‘he must be more decisive in the final phase, he must score more goals and give assists’. Then you will eventually become a player. abuse in a position where he can no longer show his real qualities I think that taking Kökcü back is the best thing Slot has done so that he gets to the ball in the zones and therefore has a little more time to get those balls to the final phase. If you analyze that soberly, he generally does it very well.”
The praise for Kökcü continues. “Even if you look at the pressure on the half of the opponent: Til is the driving force and he is often the second midfielder to join in. There is only one player in the Eredivisie who has more balls in this season. the last third of the field than Kökcü and that is Sinisterra. He has made great progress in that area as well. You can criticize certain things in his game, and they can also be better, but scoring goals isn’t part of that: he doesn’t get in that position very often and it’s not where his added value lies.”
Feyenoord plays with three midfielders. Where Fredrik Aursnes often supports the defenders, Guus Til is often on the way forward and Kökcü is left. “He is actually the one-man midfielder of Feyenoord and then I think he performs exceptionally.”
