FC Twente dominated the match, yet allowed Feyenoord to stay in contention for a long time. However, according to Valente, his team never felt the game was going to turn around. "It's hard to explain where it went wrong," Valente stated at the press conference. "But I particularly struggle with how we performed, because we fell short in every aspect. From the start, we were just trying to defend. Apart from Hadj Moussa's chance, we created nothing."
Feyenoord's Winning Streak
Although their play hasn't been good for months, the results in recent weeks had been positive. They secured victories against FC Utrecht, Go Ahead Eagles, and Telstar. "With all due respect, those are opponents you *should* beat. It wasn't convincing, but we got the points. Now you face a serious team, with all due respect to the previous opponents, one with good tactics and a clear plan. And then you simply see that you're completely outmatched. We constantly fell short."
Negativity within the Squad
The atmosphere in the stands has been notably negative for weeks, and that sentiment now seemed to extend onto the pitch at the Grolsch Veste. "It was clear things weren't right in this match. Negativity is never good, but I catch myself expressing it in the wrong way too. We all want to succeed so badly, but we just can't make it happen. That's frustrating. Letting off steam is part of top-level sport, but such negativity isn't healthy," Valente believes.
For instance, Valente and Anis Hadj Moussa, among others, were repeatedly seen gesturing and speaking to teammates when things weren't going well. However, coach Robin van Persie disagrees with Valente's statements. "It's actually *very* good to call someone out if they're not performing their duties. I understand it can be viewed differently, but if we win again next week, they'll say: 'See? Everything's fine, isn't it?'"
Valente Undeterred by Doubts on Mentality
According to the Feyenoord player, there's no need to doubt the mentality or atmosphere within the squad. "That's genuinely fine, but I feel it's mainly about our style of play. We resorted to long balls too quickly and consequently got into a lot of duels, which isn't our strength. We can find a more footballing solution more often, but we don't fully dare to help each other. We hide behind our man and put each other in difficult situations."
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