‘But there were already two players who also said that’, says Slot later. “It’s nice when you reach a final, but it’s especially nice when you win it. Of course, we have brought pride back to the supporters. Not only because of the result, but also because of our way of playing. It is the result of nine months of incredibly hard work together, plus good players. But now a wonderful poster against AS Roma awaits.’
Slot was busy coaching until the very end, and feared an extension. “In themselves they didn’t get many chances, but if it had gone to extra time, we both would have had to make 10 substitutions, because we were through.”
guts
The basis for the final place was laid a week ago in De Kuip when Feyenoord won 3-2, according to Slot. “Then maybe we got a little less than we deserved, because we played in a fantastic way and created one chance after another. Today was a different game. They couldn’t put high pressure on them because of their field occupation, and we lost the ball too quickly. After 25 minutes we had a lot more guts on the ball, more control and we excelled more in defense.’
Slot is most proud of the physical condition of its players. He started training nine months ago for the first preliminary round of the Conference League. “After such a long season, in which we often played with the same team and are still so strong physically, is one of the biggest strengths. Our players have become strong and increasingly fit and also play better together.’
Brick against the bus
The preparation for the meeting in Marseille was still disrupted because the players bus could not continue on its way to the stadium and a brick was thrown at it. ‘John de Wolf (assistant coach) said: this is not a good time to stop, I see a lot of bricks. One came right up to me against the bus. We also dealt with that, just like with the noise and the laser pointers. You know that in such an atmosphere. They also have a good team, so you will have a hard time. But I enjoyed the courage with which we defended.’