Willem van Hanegem has hit out at Anis Hadj Moussa in his column in the Algemeen Dagblad. The winger looked set to leave Feyenoord and, because of those transfer issues, was also left out of the matchday squad against NEC (1-3).
Feyenoord beat NEC, played good football and left a strong impression on Van Hanegem. "The way Feyenoord and AZ (a 2-3 win against sc Heerenveen) performed is also encouraging if you are hoping for an exciting season in the Eredivisie."
One negative still stood out to the Feyenoord legend when he looked back on the game against the Nijmegen side. "At Feyenoord they had that fuss around Anis Hadj Moussa, who kept turning up late for so long that he could no longer be selected. Feyenoord gave him a chance at the top after Vitesse, at a time when he was still not much."
"Now that there is interest in him, he is starting to behave annoyingly. Yes, he can earn a lot of money. He certainly is not playing for Feyenoord for free. But apart from all this, he just has to behave normally. If he does indeed stay, goes to Barcelona and is on time for the bus and the meeting, then you still expect something from him at Camp Nou."
Van Hanegem is keeping his expectations in check for the Champions League tie against FC Barcelona, who won 0-5 away at Valencia this weekend. "No, Feyenoord will not win there, but above all they must not show any fear. And that is what I really liked about Feyenoord, who played their best match of the season against NEC."
Against NEC, Feyenoord also had a debutant who scored almost immediately and in doing so became the Eredivisie's youngest scoring debutant. "That goal by 17-year-old Jerayno Schaken was nice to see. He and left winger Jivayno Zinhagel are talents, and now space is opening up for them to show it."
The 82-year-old former footballer was also surprised by Nacho Ferri. "I thought that striker was dreadful in his previous substitute appearances, but against NEC he showed that he has qualities. And he has to, because AZ are now reaching a level at which they can compete for a long time. Turning 2-1 into a 2-3 victory in Heerenveen, that was impressive. There is an idea behind AZ's play," he concludes.