It is not yet clear who will be the first Feyenoord captain this season. Defender Gernot Trauner wore the captain’s armband in the 5-2 away match against Vitesse on Sunday, but that doesn’t mean anything, said trainer Arne Slot.
“Today, only three players from the team that played the final of the Conference League participated in the basic team,” said Slot. “We first have to get used to each other. And then we’ll see who will be the captain in September.”
The coach indicated that the role of a captain is sometimes overestimated in his eyes. “In my view, the captain is not always the leader. It is also about who you can represent well afterwards,” said Slot, who then referred to the time when Steven Berghuis was Feyenoord’s captain. The current Ajax player often did not turn around and said what he thought was the point. “Those were always very sharp analyses, which does not mean that Steven cannot do that.”
Slot also wants to avoid that if the captain starts on the bench and comes in later in the match, he still gets the band around his shoulder. That happened regularly last season with Jens Toornstra. “Then everyone was busier with that band than with football. As far as I’m concerned, it’s not necessary.”