Former Real Madrid midfielder gives Feyenoord just 1% chance against Barcelona | OneFootball

Rafael van der Vaart has given Feyenoord almost no hope of beating Barcelona in their Champions League opener, putting the Dutch side’s chances of victory at just 1%.

The former Real Madrid and Netherlands midfielder was speaking ahead of Wednesday’s meeting at the Camp Nou, where Feyenoord will face one of the strongest attacking sides in Europe.

Van der Vaart’s prediction was deliberately stark, but his message to Feyenoord was not simply to accept defeat. 

Instead, he wants Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team to embrace the occasion and demonstrate that they belong on the biggest European stage.

“If you get the chance to play at the Camp Nou, you want to show how good you are. 

“You’re going to lose anyway, so at least show whether you can really compete at this level,” said Van der Vaart, as per SPORT.

The former Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur player believes Feyenoord should resist the temptation to abandon their identity and spend the entire match defending around their own penalty area.

Van der Vaart wants Feyenoord to attack

Barcelona will face Feyenoord in their Champions League opener. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Van der Vaart’s 1% prediction may sound dismissive of Feyenoord, but his tactical argument is almost the opposite.

The Dutchman believes the visitors should use the Camp Nou occasion as an opportunity to show their attacking personality rather than retreat from the challenge. 

“I’m a romantic. If they tell me at the Camp Nou, playing as a ‘number 10’, that I have to mark Barcelona’s ‘number 10’… yes, of course!”, he noted.

Van der Vaart singled out Anis Hadj Moussa as one player who should be given the freedom to exploit his natural qualities.

“You have to use players like him for what they’re really good at,” he explained.

Theo Janssen sees Barcelona pushing Feyenoord back

Not everyone on the panel agreed with Van der Vaart’s philosophy.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side is likely to spend much time in their own half. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

Former Netherlands international Theo Janssen offered a much more pragmatic assessment of what Feyenoord are likely to experience at the Camp Nou.

Janssen believes the sheer pressure Barcelona can generate will naturally force the visitors deeper, regardless of their intentions. 

“In a match like this, it’s almost impossible to avoid it; they simply push you back into your own half,” he pointed out.

Rather than trying to maintain long spells of possession against Barcelona, Janssen believes the Dutch side should exploit the space created when Barcelona commit players forward.

“Van Bronckhorst needs to field three lightning-fast players up front. Speed is all that matters, even if they don’t know how to play football. 

“He should put the fastest players up front and look to play long balls,” he concluded.