PSV will receive two gifts in one week. Where last week, thanks to the loss of points from Bodø/Glimt, the Eindhoven club was already assured of wintering in the Europa League, a nice bonus was added on Wednesday evening. That bonus was just not in the sporting field.
When you think of Bodø, you may quickly think of the coldest conditions. But it’s still okay. There is a cold wind, but the PSV players don’t do nickel plating in the north of Norway. Ruud van Nistelrooij therefore nuanced the circumstances.
“These are excellent conditions. The artificial grass here is fine, we are used to playing on it. The stadium looks great and we have already seen a present.”
“It would be a great miracle if we were first in the group.”
The trainer was referring to the northern lights that could be seen on Wednesday evening. “I looked out of my hotel room and suddenly there it was.” Frederik Oppegard, the only Norwegian in the selection, is still waiting for the first images of the northern lights. “I’ve only seen the pictures.”
The natural wonder is not the only wonder Van Nistelrooij hopes to see. There is still a theoretical chance that the Eindhoven club will win the group. “Last week I called it a small miracle if we qualified, now it would be a big miracle if we were first in the group.”
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It must hope that Arsenal drop points at home against FC Zurich. Because of this theoretical chance, PSV will go all out for a good result. Saving players who have returned from injury does not seem to be self-evident.
“It’s good that they are back and they can just make minutes, even though we play on artificial grass,” said the trainer in the run-up to the game.
“We’re going to look at how many minutes everyone needs to be where we want them on Sunday”
However, we will also look at Sunday when the top match against Ajax is on the program. “We’re going to look at how many minutes everyone needs to be where we want them to be on Sunday.”
If the trainer wants to give players rest, he can bring in a few youth players. The most notable name present in Bodø is Emmanuel van de Blaak. The 17-year-old defender can make his debut for the PSV first team on Thursday.
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Also read: This is still at stake at Bodø/Glimt – PSV