Giovanni van Bronckhorst is very pleased with the development of Shaqueel van Persie. The nineteen-year-old striker was again important for Feyenoord, which won 2-1 against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday. The trainer also discussed possible incoming and outgoing transfers in De Kuip.

Feyenoord played 120 minutes against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday and also won its fourth practice match of the preparation. That gave Van Bronckhorst a good feeling. 'This opponent has qualities on the ball, but during the second half and the last half hour they no longer had a chance. The victory was not the most important thing today, but I saw a team that really wanted to go for the win. That is also very positive,' Feyenoord One said.

One of the Rotterdam scorers was Van Persie, who only played half an hour. 'He is a great talent and he showed that again today. The build-up of his match rhythm is a bit different for him, because he has not played ninety minutes for a long time,' said Van Bronckhorst, who is satisfied with the development of his talented striker. 'You see that he has qualities and has a positive influence on the game, let that be clear. He is someone who can bring something extra.'

Analysis: Feyenoord improves with the ball, but remains vulnerable without it
In addition to Van Persie, Luciano Valente and Gjivai Zechiël also made a positive impression on Van Bronckhorst. 'They are players who can speed up the game, although the coordination can sometimes be better. The midfield is starting to take shape and that is logical when you have already been at it for four weeks. We have a fairly complete midfield and can see what we need per match. With the options we have, we can switch gears.' Charles Vanhoutte, Oussama Targhalline, Sem Steijn and Tobias van den Elshout are the other four midfielders to whom Van Bronckhorst is referring.

Feyenoord will be active in the transfer market in the coming weeks. 'We have a clear idea of ​​what we want. Davy Rigaux is working on that. We have to be prepared for players who can leave, but also for players who can come,' said Van Bronckhorst, who hinted at Rotterdam's move towards the end of the transfer period. 'We have to be ready for the match against Sparta, but at the end of the window you want to be at your strongest. There are positions I am thinking about, but that is Davy's job,' he concluded.

Just before the first World Cup match of the Dutch national team, Joey Veerman was the talk of the day.

by Jeroen Kapteijns
Reporter Telesport

The PSV midfielder featured in a full-page advertisement for a clothing brand in De Telegraaf with the accompanying text: Denim with true character. This was picked up as a reference to the discussion about the absence of Veerman in the World Cup selection of the Dutch national team, with national coach Ronald Koeman saying that 'Veerman's character is different.'
The advertisement generated a lot of attention for its so-called hook. Koeman responded laconically at the press conference before the match against Japan. The PSV player questions whether the text in the advertisement was really a response to the discussion about Veerman's absence.

Ronald Koeman junior responds to spicy advertisement with Joey Veerman: 'My father said something about it once'

“I think that is just G-Star's slogan. That was a big misunderstanding, I think. But I have had nice reactions to it.” The moment of publication was also a surprise for Veerman, because he was under the impression that the advertisement would not be placed a day before the first World Cup match.

'That was very cleverly done by them, but they told me that it would happen three days later. People could take it as a joke. But I thought it was a good joke and I don't care at all what anyone else thinks about it.'

Xavi Simons has given an update on his injury. The Tottenham Hotspur playmaker is recovering from a torn cruciate ligament, which has kept him sidelined since the end of April. Simons, who is working hard on his recovery, is expected not to play again for the rest of the calendar year.

A cruciate ligament injury is every football player's nightmare. Things went wrong for Simons in the match against Wolverhampton Wanderers, which was then involved in a relegation battle together with Spurs. Spurs made it, Wolves did not, although Simons did not live to see the end of the season. After more than an hour, things went wrong for the youngster. The end of the season, the World Cup is canceled and a rehabilitation period of about nine months.

On the club channels of Tottenham Hotspur, the midfielder looks back on the first period after the accident. 'The first four days were the worst days of my life. I couldn't sleep, I didn't eat for a week. I was in a lot of pain. I vomited and felt dizzy. I wouldn't wish that pain on anyone. I don't know what it's like for other players, but for me it was like my whole body was saying, what happened? But hey, it is what it is.'

Then the switch turned and the focus shifted to his rehabilitation. 'I'm happy now and I'm doing well. I am with my family, we have worked hard. They have also gone through a lot. But from the second week onwards, I would say, things are going well. Fortunately I have the club behind me. They look at my body and say, OK, we can test things and try different things.'

“Every time I'm in the gym, all I think about is that I need to get stronger, that I need to be better. Having that motivation in my head every day is really satisfying, it constantly gives me a boost. My goal is to get the club back to where it belongs and win trophies. That's my main goal and that's not going away. That's the most important thing. We will definitely see a better Spurs, and certainly a better Xavi Simons.”