Road to Tirana: The Scouting Report on Feyenoord

To learn a little bit more about the side that finished third in the Eredivisie this season, we spoke to Dutch journalist Willem Haak.

Here the Italian and Dutch football expert gives his insight on Feyenoord's likely approach to the game, the injury worries they have to contend with, where they might hurt the Giallorossi - and more.

The game in Tirana gets underway at 21:00 CEST.

How They Made It To the Final…

“Feyenoord started their run in the Conference League on the 22nd of July with the first of two matches against FC Drita. The confrontation with the Kosovan club was not really convincing (0-0 and 3-2) and at a certain point it even looked if that they would be going out.

“At that time, no one would have thought that Feyenoord would possibly be able to go all the way and reach the final in Tirana. Except for some Dutch fans, actually. They brought a banner with ‘The Road To Tirana’ to the home match against Drita. The banner was visible at every (Conference League) home match of Feyenoord ever since.

“Eventually, Feyenoord survived three preliminary rounds and they qualified for the main tournament. There weren’t that many moments when it looked if they might go out. In the group stage, they were by far the strongest team and even in the knock-out phase, Feyenoord turned out to be a lot better than almost all of their opponents. In the Netherlands, we certainly did not expect Feyenoord to reach the final. Seeing them knocking out Marseille, in my opinion one of the strongest teams in the tournament, was surprising for most of us. The 3-2 home win was spectacular and possibly their best performance in the run to the final.”

The Manager’s Approach…

“Arne Slot is a really interesting manager. Last year, in the season before his arrival in De Kuip, Feyenoord struggled. They were not well-organised on the field, did not play attacking football and failed to make an impression in the Eredivisie. With Slot at the wheel, everything changed.

“With the same players as his predecessor Dick Advocaat, Slot and Feyenoord showed impressive attacking football. Their best match in the Dutch competition was probably against PSV. They won 4-0 in Eindhoven. Feyenoord ended convincingly on a well-deserved third place in the competition. As a result, the atmosphere around the club changed completely over the past year - with the strong run in the Conference League as an important factor, of course.

“Slot is a manager who opts for attack football. He prefers to play with attacking full backs, with depth and with two wingers. It’s the typical Dutch style of football. Something that Slot mixes with a modern approach to the game. Slot – who is seen as possibly one of the new big Dutch managers - showed multiple times that he’s able to adapt his tactics to the opponent of the day.

“In the big matches, Feyenoord sometimes choses for a more defensive approach. Slot has not been talking that much in the build-up to the final. He is always calm and collected. Even in the build-up to his biggest match as manager he seems not that stressed.”

The Differences Compared To Vitesse…

“I would regard Feyenoord as a stronger team than Vitesse. Feyenoord have been impressive and stable this season, while Vitesse struggled, finishing 6th. However, Vitesse have an interesting manager as well and they managed to win twice against Feyenoord.

“Both matches were open games in which Feyenoord was unlucky. In Rotterdam, a big mistake by the goalkeeper turned out to be decisive: 0-1. In Arnhem, Feyenoord had an off-day. They lost again: 2-1.

“But still I would say that Feyenoord has a better squad than Vitesse. Looking at the players, Vitesse has maybe a maximum of two or three players that would start for Feyenoord. The rest of them would not be good enough for the starting XI of Arne Slot. With Roma struggling against Vitesse, they will certainly have to do better against Feyenoord.

“In terms of structure, Vitesse managed to do really well against Roma. I expect Feyenoord to do the same. Slot stands for an attacking type of football, but he will certainly not fall into Mourinho’s traps. It is something not all managers are capable of.

“In the Netherlands we remember the Europa League final of 2017. The Ajax of Peter Bosz did not have a chance against the smarter managed – and better - Manchester United of Mourinho. They were out-managed.”

Their Key Performer This Season…

“Feyenoord will need Cyriel Dessers to perform if they want to win. He scored 10 times in their run to the final. The Nigerian international has been absolutely the revelation of this season. Dessers is a fast striker who is really dangerous in the counter-attack. Maybe he is not someone that manages to score 100 per cent of his big changes, but with his intelligence and pace he is always able to create havoc in the opponents’ defence.

“Dessers is certainly someone who Roma will have to keep an eye on. Besides Dessers, Luis Sinisterra is the other man to pay attention to. The Colombian winger seems to be ready to bring his career to a new phase after this season. Sinisterra is 22 and has a great technique. Feyenoord should be able to sell him for a nice amount of money after this season. But before that happens, they will want him to perform in the Conference League final.

“With their pace, both players should be able to expose one of the weaknesses of Roma: not having too much pace in the defense. Furthermore, I think that Roma often allows the opponent a bit too much space. It is something which could be dangerous against Feyenoord. With Kökcu, Feyenoord has a player that has the quality of passing to bring Dessers and Sinisterra into dangerous positions.”

The Roma Player They Might Fear…

“I am sure that they will be afraid of Tammy Abraham. He has qualities we don’t see that often in the Eredivisie.

“Someone with whom Feyenoord struggled as well in the competition was Dmitri Payet of Marseille. His quality to find the right places to play between the lines exposed the Feyenoord defence often in the home match against the French club. At Roma, I think Nicolo Zaniolo (if he plays), or Pellegrini could fill in in that role against Feyenoord.

“The last couple of months, Feyenoord keeper Justin Bijlow was sidelined. Slot had to play the second goalkeeper: Ofir Marciano. He has been awful and has cost Feyenoord a considerable number of points in the games of the season. Slot complained multiple times about the quality of Marciano. However, first goalkeeper Bijlow seems to be able to play in the Conference League final. He has been training with the first team – that has been preparing for the final in Lagos in Portugal - for a week now.

“Slot already stated that Bijlow is his first man and that he will play for sure if there is even a slight chance of him being fit enough.”

The Main Team News Ahead of the Game...

“The condition of Bijlow is the biggest worry of Feyenoord in the weeks before the final against Roma. He is injury-prone and with him not having played a game since the beginning of March, it is really a big question if he will be able to start in Tirana.

“Another player who has not been completely match fit at the end of the season is Tyrell Malacia, who has been struggling with his hamstring for a couple of weeks. It seems, however, that the Dutch international should be able to play the full 90 minutes during the final. He has been training fully with the group in Portugal.

“One player who has shown he is able to change matches is Dessers, who has all the qualities of a great super sub. Especially at the beginning of the season, he changed a lot of matches coming on as a substitute. However, it seems probable that he will be in the starting XI during the final, since he has been Feyenoord’s most impressive player in the last part of the season.”

Follow Willem Haak on Twitter: @WillemHaak

Fans can also enjoy his podcast on Italian football (in Dutch): @LoStadioNL