Marciano Vink is full of praise for Gjivai Zechiël. The ESPN analyst and former footballer expects the Feyenoord midfielder to have a great future. Vink sees the born Rotterdammer as a real number ten and hopes to see him more often in the first team this year under coach Brian Priske.
“I immediately passed him on as my ‘Man to Watch’ at the beginning of the season,” says Vink in conversation with ESPN. “I think he is such a beautiful player. I have actually known him since childhood. He is a player who can play in all positions from midfield. I think he is at his very best in the number ten position. He is so technical. He handles the ball well and has a very quick and good eye for space and depth.”
“What he also possesses is putting pressure forward. In the small space he has a nice and fast ball handling. It’s just a shame that he has only played two or three games in Feyenoord 1. I understand it too, because you I have Hwang, Timber and Milambo at the moment. He has to compete with Milambo, and Milambo rightly wins at the moment. I think Zechiel is such a beautiful football player and he has a great future.”
Zechiël wants to make a definitive breakthrough at Feyenoord
Gjivai Zechiël hopes to make a definitive breakthrough at Feyenoord this season. The 20-year-old midfielder is in good shape and made his debut with the Dutch Juniors on Thursday evening. The Rotterdam native also notices that he is making steps in his development and is becoming physically stronger.
“It was my first game in the starting line-up for the Dutch Juniors, but it immediately felt good. I wasn’t concerned with it either,” Zechiël says in conversation with Sportnieuws.nl. The midfielder is not bothered by the pressure and playing in De Kuip is also going well for him. “They usually talk about Kuipfeers, but I don’t feel that either. I just want to play football everywhere I go.”
The Dutch Juniors won on Thursday evening with a minimal difference against their peers from Mexico. Zekiel was one of the standouts. “It’s a big compliment that people are talking about me positively. I thought it went well myself. I have to become more reliable with the ball, but I don’t just want to play the ball to the left and right. I want to take risks I put it into my game, that’s the type of football player I am. It was a great match.”
