PSV is having a good series of matches, but is conceding a lot of goals. According to PSV icons Willy and René van de Kerkhof, this is at least partly due to the Czech goalkeeper Matej Kovar. “Just pay attention, he makes one or two mistakes in every match,” says Willy in the Willy and René Podcast of Omroep Brabant. “A mistake? You could call it a blunder,” says René about the mistake Kovar made against Frotuna Sittard on Friday. “It seemed like that ball was too hot for him.”
Even though Kovar makes mistakes more often, Willy still gives him the benefit of the doubt for the time being. “You also have to give goalkeepers a little more time. But I’m not a fan of all those goalkeepers playing along. You hardly see the long kick forward anymore.” René would like to give reserve keeper Nick Olij a chance. “Or will he only get the chance in the cup against GVVVVVVV, or whatever that club is called?”
René would also like to see Ricardo Pepi get more playing time soon, but Willy is also more reserved there. “When Til plays, Saibari has much more space. Pepi runs much more in depth, where Saibari wants to go. The Til-Saibari combination is almost impossible to defend, because central defenders do not know who to cover.”
The brothers expect that AZ defender Wouter Goes will have the same problem next Sunday. Willy is quite surprised by the young AZ defender. “If you see how he keeps holding opponents… That boy doesn’t need that because he is a really good football player. He could also have received a red card against Sparta.” René was particularly surprised that referee Makkelie pushed the AZ player. “A referee has to keep his hands to himself, right? I think this will come to an end.”
“We were just about to kill each other.”
The confrontation with AZ is extra special for René because his best friend Hugo Hovenkamp is a club icon and one of the biggest supporters of the Alkmaarders. “I’ll call him again today. Hugo and I always used to play against each other. We weren’t even close to killing each other, but we were very competitive with each other. But ten minutes after the matches we were already drinking a beer together. That bond has never disappeared, he is still one of my great friends.”
In the podcast, the brothers preview the upcoming matches against Olympiakos (Tuesday) and AZ (Sunday) and they also shed light on rival Feyenoord and Ajax.
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