Giovanni van Bronckhorst saw enough in Feyenoord's 3-1 win over Club Brugge to feel encouraged, not just by the result but by the way his side recovered after falling behind at the Kuip on Saturday afternoon.
It was a second victory in a row for Van Bronckhorst since his return, and it came in a game that was clearly used as preparation as much as a contest in its own right. Feyenoord first went 0-1 down, but still found a way to turn the match around and finish on the right side of a 3-1 scoreline.
Van Bronckhorst: “Super dat je wint in de Kuip, maar ook de manier waarop”
Van Bronckhorst was pleased with both the result and the performance. He said: “Super dat je wint in de Kuip, maar ook de manier waarop.”
He also underlined the quality of the opposition, adding: “We spelen tegen een hele goede tegenstander. We hebben genoeg kansen gecreërd.”
That is the key point from Feyenoord's afternoon. A comeback win is always useful, but the real value for a trainer in pre-season is whether the team is beginning to show the right ideas with and without the ball. On that front, the signs were good enough for Van Bronckhorst to believe there is something to build on.
Building patterns in the buildup
This week, Feyenoord trained on patterns, especially in buildup play, and that work was visible in the way they kept going after the early setback. Van Bronckhorst said: “We hebben deze week getraind op patronen, met name in de opbouw.”
That matters because pre-season is about more than sharpness. It is about giving the players structure, so that when the match becomes difficult they still have a reference point. Feyenoord showed that they could stay calm after conceding, and that can often be the first sign that the ideas are starting to settle.
More to come next week
Van Bronckhorst also made it clear that there is still work ahead. Next week, Feyenoord will train more on pressing, block defending, set pieces, physical strength and tactical patterns.
He said: “We kunnen wat meer anderen dingen gaan trainen.”
For now, though, the important detail is that Feyenoord have taken confidence from the win. They came from behind, they scored three times, and they did it against a good opponent. For Van Bronckhorst, that is a useful platform as the work continues.
