An hour after the end of the cup final, Marco van Ginkel enters the press room in De Kuip together with Cody Gakpo and trainer Roger Schmidt. A big smile is to be on his face. “Fantastic”, he says about winning the cup.
“Beautiful, isn’t it? Nice jacket,” says Van Ginkel when he talks about the green bathrobe that he and all his teammates received after winning the TOTO KNVB Cup. The attacking midfielder says it with a wink. It’s not about that bathrobe for him, of course, the shiny cup that is in his neighborhood during the press conference is what it was all about.
“Van Ginkel has a different role than he probably thought before the season. He makes fewer minutes than he would like. Yet he is really part of the team. A team that really won the first prize of the season together. “The atmosphere is very good. I think you saw that today. When we score the goals, everyone sympathizes. The players, the staff. That must also be the ingredient. That’s how you go far to win prizes.”
It doesn’t matter to Van Ginkel that his role is smaller. “As part of the team, this is nice of course. Winning a prize is fantastic. I am always involved with the team, only now in a slightly different role.”
Trainer Roger Schmidt looked at it with a satisfied smile. He looked at Van Ginkel and Gakpo like a father who watches his sons who have taken their first steps on the football field with the pupils. Full of pride. He admits that himself. “I am proud to coach this team. What I have seen today is unbelievable. I am really very proud.”
“We played an intense game against Leicester City on Thursday. And then we had to play against Ajax today. Then if you are able to play like we did today. Especially if you are 1-0 behind. And then come back. I really love my team for what they did today,” said Schmidt. “It was fantastic to see the players play and fight.”
Schmidt named Leicester City, the team that knocked PSV out of the Conference League on Thursday. The shutdown was a blow. Mentally and physically. Yet PSV was there in De Kuip, against an Ajax that had had a longer rest. “You can complain about fatigue, but that doesn’t help you. At halftime I said we played well. We just had to be a bit sharper in the final pass. It was a big fight and we won.”
Now it’s time for a party, but the focus in Eindhoven soon turns to the end of the competition. In this, the people of Eindhoven have a chance to end the season completely nicely, with the national title. “We will do our best by winning five times. The gap is only four points. It is still possible. Now we celebrate this success. Then we will prepare for Cambuur. And then show what is possible in the competition.”
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