Rick Karsdorp had a hard time getting used to the fact that he faced Feyenoord with AS Roma on Wednesday evening in the Conference League final. It was the right-back’s first time hitting the club where he became big.
Karsdorp and his teammates from Roma, led by coach José Mourinho, proved stronger and won the final in Tirana 1-0. The only goal came in the first half and was scored by Nicolò Zaniolo.
“It was the first time I played against my old team and that was very strange. It was not that bad during the matches, but it is strange beforehand. I received messages from friends and family,” Karsdorp said after the final. ESPN†
The defender noticed that he was not quite himself physically. “I got cramps after sixty minutes, very strange. At one point I had problems with my groin, I think because I had cramps in my calves for too long. It was one of my worst matches, but that doesn’t interest me at all. “
‘We’ve slammed it’
The 27-year-old Karsdorp was told that in the run-up to the Conference League final, the Dutch media mainly focused on the tactics of Mourinho’s Roma. He saw that the tactical plan was working.
“I read all kinds of things: ‘Roma is going to make it 1-0 and then close it.’ And we did that,” he said. “I thought Feyenoord was very good, but in the end we won. In the second half we had to stop and we did that.”
The three-time international of the Dutch national team took his third top prize. He previously won the KNVB Cup with Feyenoord in 2016 and became champion with the Rotterdam team in 2017.