Feb 8, 2024 at 12:43 Update: a day ago
Santiago Giménez also did not score for Feyenoord in the KNVB cup match against AZ (2-0) on Wednesday. The Mexican has not scored a goal for 581 minutes, but coach Arne Slot sees that the striker is doing slightly better.
Did Giménez walk off the field with his soul under his arm? No, thought Slot. Not this time. “I thought so last Sunday against AZ,” Slot said on Wednesday after the cup victory in De Kuip.
“On Sunday, Giménez did not put any energy into pressing. Today he did. He was much more energetic. Hard work. That is the least I expect from my players. And I also hope that they will return with goals and assists. That Santi did not succeed.”
It has now been seven games since Giménez scored his last goal for Feyenoord (on January 14 against NEC). The contrast with 2023 is enormous, when he was the first Feyenoord player since Dirk Kuijt in 2005 to pass the thirty Eredivisie goals (31 in total) in a calendar year.
De Kuip sang to him just as passionately against AZ as in the matches in which he scored once, twice or three times. But now it was mainly intended as a statement of support. Just as his fellow players are still positive about him.
“Everyone knows how important Giménez has been for us,” Calvin Stengs said late on Wednesday evening at the press conference in De Kuip. “The fact that he has not scored in a few games now can happen to any player. It is about how he reacts to it. Even though he did not score today, he did a lot of work for the team.”
Santiago Giménez was substituted for Ayase Ueda after 78 minutes on Wednesday. Photo: Getty Images
‘I often give players the opportunity for a longer period of time’
There are also extenuating circumstances, emphasized Slot, who joined Stengs. “We have now played four top matches in a row (against PSV, FC Twente and twice against AZ, ed) and it is simply more difficult to score a goal.”
“But Santi helped the team a lot today. He was aggressive again without the ball, which allowed us to keep AZ far from our goal. I believe AZ only had one shot on target in total. That is also thanks to Santi, he put a lot of pressure.”
The question is whether that is enough for Giménez to keep his starting place, especially now that Ayase Ueda has returned from the Asian Cup, where he scored five times. In the final phase against AZ, the Japanese made his first minutes for Feyenoord of 2024 as a substitute for Giménez.
“I often give players the opportunity for a longer period of time,” Slot said about the competition between Giménez and Ueda. “And with Santi there is every reason for that. He has scored a lot, we all know that.”
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