In the capital of Albania, not the place with the most grandeur in Europe, the former European Cup I and UEFA Cup winner can now reward himself with a new European top prize on 25 May.
Reaching the final battle alone is a compliment to the Feyenoord architect. How many coaches, who have had to work with such a small budget, have developed their team internationally to such an extent that they can lead that team to a final?
The Legion, which is strongly present in Marseille, has every reason to be proud of what Feyenoord has achieved for eighteen games.
Little Malacia big star
Also in Marseille it all looked great again what Feyenoord put on the mat. A solid defence, midfielders who played with guts and a vanguard who supported the rest of the team on all fronts. It was a maturity that no one would have expected from Feyenoord nine months ago. With Tyrell Malacia perhaps as the smallest big man on the Rotterdam side.
Malacia symbolized the intransigence of the whole of Feyenoord. For the power, the urge to attack and the determination to make it to the final battle in this European competition. Perhaps the performance at the Velodrome was one of his last jobs in a Feyenoord shirt, because scouts from England, France and Germany were again in the stands for him in Marseille.
Orkun Kökcü stays on his feet against Matteo Guendouzi.
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European adventures have always made the life of every Feyenoord supporter that little bit more beautiful. The Eredivisie is mandatory, in the national cup tournament Feyenoord can stunt every few years, but the attraction of the Rotterdam football stronghold is mainly in the more than sixty years of European football.
This colorful and lively history of performances outside the national borders grows every year and provides more and more stories. With the thousands of supporters there, every round seems like a true Pilgrimage through Europe. And never were there so many rounds as this season. Marseille was the ninth trip abroad for the players and the Legion since July 22 last year.
Least valuable selection
Feyenoord also had the team with the least value on the field of the four semi-finalists. The selection of Leicester City is worth more than 500 million euros, that of AS Roma 370 million, that of Marseille 275 million and the players of Feyenoord are worth just half of the latter amount (135 million).
Cyriel Dessers tries to outplay two opponents.
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With that, the Rotterdam team seemed to be the big underdog in advance, but in the home game against the number two in France, Kökcü and co sold their skin very dearly.
It was certain that it would be a hot night in the working-class neighborhood where Zinedine Zidane once played football on the street and competed against other teams from the ghettos. Due to the chaos in the hours around the stadium, there was a traffic jam, with the result that the Feyenoord team bus arrived much too late. The request to start later was rejected.
Inside, a red conflagration was waiting in the stands, just like we saw in De Kuip at the Legion. Now the hard core of Marseille was on fire, after which almost nothing could be seen from the high stands until halfway through the first half due to a sea of gray smoke. When it was erected, the fans discovered that Feyenoord had everything under control, goalkeeper Marciano hardly had to make any saves and the most dangerous man at the home club had to stumble off the field.
Injury Payet
The muscle tear that Dimitri Payet inflicted on himself (deep pass from a turn) seemed good news for Feyenoord. The French, who already started with shit in their pants, were lost without their star player in one fell swoop. Former Ajax player Arek Milik replaced Payet in the striker and he mainly hoped for a few passes.
Marseille showed Feyenoord and coach Arne Slot a surprising amount of respect by sinking back into their own half from the first minute and in front of their own audience. The tough, dominant football that had been promised was nowhere to be seen. That could only mean that the French top club was shocked to death in Rotterdam a week earlier by the attacking game of Sinisterra and his followers.
Guus Til in duel with Boubacar Kamara.
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The greatest danger lay in the rolling and screaming French with every minor offense. Guus Til and Marcos Senesi both hit the ball, but both received a yellow card before half time due to the theater of their opponents. Til saw red earlier this tournament due to two yellow cards and knew he had to watch out.
In the second half it was mainly about survival for Feyenoord, but the French were rarely able to create great opportunities. Once Valentin Rongier made a good free shot, but his shot was too weak. That couldn’t be said of Gernot Trauner’s attempt on the other side. His swipe after a good return from Reiss Nelson flew over hard.
In the last fifteen minutes the pressure from Marseille was increasing, only time and again there was a Feyenoord body in between when it became a good chance. All in all, there was never a real final offensive. In fact, going into stoppage time, Alireza Jahanbakhsh had a decent chance to make it 0-1, but it was not taken. It didn’t matter in the end, because Feyenoord qualified for the final in Tirana on May 25.