Van Bronckhorst urges Feyenoord to show courage against Real Betis

Feyenoord manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst wants his side to play with courage when they face Real Betis away in the Champions League, despite the Spanish team’s strong start to the competition.

“We have to show courage and dare to play football ourselves,” Van Bronckhorst said at a press conference at Betis’s stadium. The hosts have won both of their opening matches, against Lille and Porto, and also gave Barcelona a difficult game on Saturday, he said. “It will be a huge challenge for us to perform well here and take the points home.” [1]

Van Bronckhorst said he was not planning to rest players with Sunday’s match against PSV in mind. He expects to use a line-up similar to the one that beat Como 3-2, adding that his starting team would hold few surprises. Feyenoord lost 5-1 to Barcelona in their opening Champions League fixture. [1]

Jakub Moder is close to returning, while Shaqueel van Persie will take longer to come back, the report said. Van Bronckhorst also criticised the condition of the pitch at Betis’s stadium, saying it was below the standard he expected in the Champions League. [1]