“It’s always a matter of player confidence. He has always worked hard to improve his game and his performance for the team. Now the balls are going in.”
Antoine Griezmann has always worked hard
Ronald Koeman is thrilled that Antoine Griezmann is back in shape after a tough start to the 2020/21 season, with the Frenchman tied for Barcelona’s 3-0 win at Ferencváros on Wednesday night. For the Dutch coach, he saw Griezmann’s interview with Jorge Valdano as a turning point. “Jorge Valdano will have to come and see him every week,” Koeman joked in his post-match interview. “It’s always a matter of player confidence. He has always worked hard to improve his game and his performance for the team. Now the balls are going in. He is very confident in his abilities. Hopefully, he will continue to act.” Ousmane Dembele showed his quality in Budapest, and Koeman is pleased with what he sees from the French winger. “He is a great player with great quality,” the coach stated.
“He is speedy, plays with both legs and is effective. The most important thing is that he is physically good and trains very well. It’s difficult to make decisions in advance when people like him play so well.” Barcelona have recorded five wins from five in the UEFA Champions League, despite having struggled a bit in LaLiga, Koeman just focused on reaching the last 16, which they achieved in 4 matches. “The most important thing was to move on to the next phase of the competition,” said Koeman. “But we wanted to win to be the first. We want 18 points. But first, we have to play against Cadiz in LaLiga.”