Luciano Valente hit back at the criticism he faced last week after Feyenoord's resounding 0-7 win over PEC Zwolle. The Rotterdam club's captain watched his side dominate on Sunday and believes the match in Zwolle showed why he stayed positive after the 5-1 defeat to FC Barcelona.
"I think this is the first time I've won by such a big margin," Valente told ESPN afterwards. "We started really well today and could already have been 0-6 up by half-time. The football was good, dominant and there was lots of movement."
That meant Feyenoord bounced back emphatically from the heavy defeat at Camp Nou. Valente believes that game, despite the painful scoreline, sparked something in the team. "The match in Barcelona gave us good energy, despite the result."
He had already said that straight after the meeting with Barcelona, but it brought plenty of criticism. "I mentioned that at the time as well and some people thought it was very strange, but today was a good example of why it's true."
Among the standout performers against PEC was Nacho Ferri, who scored three times. One of his goals was initially recorded as an own goal by Simon Graves, but referee Alex Bos later overturned that decision.
For Valente, the striker has developed brilliantly since the departure of Ayase Ueda. "Since Ayase left, Ferri has filled the role excellently. You can see that he is getting better by the day, also in training. Now he is rewarding himself with goals and I'm proud of him."
Givairo Read also earned praise from his captain after providing three assists. "From the first day after he did not go to AS Roma, he has been excellent for Feyenoord."