Snoring, he walks along the line, just before half past five in De Kuip. Ruud van Nistelrooij, one of the most thoughtful coaches in the Eredivisie, grabs his head with both hands. He doesn’t understand it. Nine minutes of stoppage time? The sign with that announcement has yet to be shown, but Van Nistelrooij has already seen it with fourth official Joey Kooij. When it is announced shortly afterwards, hopeful cheers are heard.
PSV is in the ropes, with ten men and a 2-1 lead. On the way to a stunt against leader Feyenoord, where it last won five years ago. On the way to a good starting position in the title race, too. Van Nistelrooij knows that every minute counts to survive those last minutes, in his words. “You have to play that game as if it were your last,” he said on Friday.
It creaks at PSV, due to the incessant pressure from Feyenoord, strongly pushed forward by the home crowd. Suddenly the energy is back, where it was still 2-0 behind ten minutes before the end. Substitute Alireza Jahanbakhsh heads in the 1-2. And then, in the sixth of those nine minutes of injury time, what Van Nistelrooij so fears happens.
Jahanbakhsh gets some space, about twenty meters from the goal. He aims with his right foot, with which he has so often shot beautifully from a distance. His name has already been sung before his raid, the Iran international is one of the club’s most popular players. He makes a few short passes and shoots not even that hard, but right into the corner, with a treacherous bounce – goalkeeper Walter Benitez dives under the ball.
Feyenoord-PSV (2-2) is a spectacle that symbolizes the battle at the top. None of the five clubs that are now playing for the title manage to put the competition at a considerable disadvantage. Feyenoord, although it drew four of the last six matches, is still the leader. Four clubs are close. It makes the competition – after the dominance by Ajax in recent years – one of the most unpredictable in times.
More than a week and a half ago, Van Nistelrooij was still defeated, after a defeat at FC Emmen. He used the word ‘crisis’. PSV seemed to have already cautiously given up the title after selling Cody Gakpo and Noni Madueke this winter – two of the best players. The body language after the difficult victory over Vitesse two weeks ago told a lot – the dissatisfaction with the game shown was dripping off.
But the way PSV presents itself in Rotterdam makes an impression for a long time. It is direct, efficient football, led by the creative, elusive Xavi Simons (19). He plays so easily, with formidable actions and clean passing.
A sensitive pass, after about eight minutes, opens the performance. Orkun Kökcü loses the ball in the ashes of the field, after which Joey Veerman immediately sends Simons deep. He advances and passes the ball to Anwar El Ghazi, who hits the far corner. “The way Xavi played is phenomenal, at that age,” says Van Nistelrooij. “Mentally too, how strong he is. And how often he helps us out under pressure.”
Head injury at Mwene
Come here. Now. Van Nistelrooij is standing by the sidelines when he calls his team after half an hour. There is some time due to the medical treatment of left back Phillipp Mwene, who will be taken away on a stretcher. Van Nistelrooij, together with his assistant Fred Rutten, talks to the players for at least a minute.
Shortly before that, he became angry with referee Danny Makkelie because he allowed play to continue after a head injury at Mwene. “Then you have to stop the game immediately, that player has been unconscious,” says Van Nistelrooij. “That’s just dangerous. That was a very bad decision. It’s about the health of that boy.”
Emotions are raging through De Kuip, Sunday afternoon. Massive applause sounds in the twelfth minute for the seriously ill Thijs Slegers, PSV’s press secretary. Followed by it You’ll Never Walk Alone, with Feyenoord scarves in the air and banners for Slegers. “We wanted to grab three points for him,” says PSV defender Patrick van Aanholt.
Although the ugly side of football is never far away. Later, “Danny is a cancer jew”, directed at referee Makkelie, and “cancer De Jong”, referring to striker Luuk de Jong, sounds.
In the meantime, Van Nistelrooij quietly writes specific game moments in his notebook, which he then tucks away in his black winter coat. PSV controls the somewhat lackluster Feyenoord for a long time, which does get considerably more goal attempts (35 to 7) and corner kicks (14 to 1). The new impetus at PSV can be seen in the High five between defenders Armando Obispo and Jarrad Branthwaite after neutralizing an attack.
‘Sleeker’ selection
Although PSV has unmistakably lost a lot of quality with Gakpo and Madueke, there is now clarity, says Van Nistelrooij. In total, seven players have left this winter break. The Portuguese center striker Fábio Silva, the Belgian attacker Thorgan Hazard and defender Van Aanholt all came on a rental basis. With a “slender” selection, says Van Nistelrooij, more players have a perspective on playing time.
Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb is standing in the grandstand watching with great interest the replay on a screen, halfway through the second half. PSV defender Obispo continued with a straight leg on Feyenoord striker Santiago Gimenez. The print can still be seen on the right upper leg of the Mexican. The VAR calls Makkelie to the side, he gives the red. The Legion cheers. But three minutes later, when it is completely open at Feyenoord, PSV makes 2-0 via substitute Hazard.
What should you make of this PSV? Previously defeated Ajax in Amsterdam, won at home against Feyenoord, now 0-2 in the Kuip – but there are defeats against low flyers FC Groningen, SC Cambuur and FC Emmen.
The trick is to forget the position, says Van Nistelrooij. “When that happens, you have a better chance to play better. They did that today. I emphasize: you should not be concerned with the position at all.” On Friday he had already said that you function best “when you are in the moment, in the flow”. Everything else you have to “turn off”.
But it is the side issues that dominate the mind, after the goal deep into stoppage time – the role of the referee. Nevertheless, Van Nistelrooij “enjoyed it immensely”. “From the ambiance, from Feyenoord, from us.”
A splashing applause therefore sounds, Sunday 4.35 pm, in Rotterdam South.