Hi Erik, I wanted to ask you about a moment at the end of the cup final when everyone was celebrating but Casemiro went to Bruno Fernandes to tell him off about not passing the ball to Jadon Sancho. Is that an example of keeping standards all the time that you want to see, and having that mentality that you can always improve and do better even when you’ve just won a cup?
“Yeah, I think it shows we [are] winning a trophy, we are happy, but the players, they have the approach that good is not good enough. It was 2-0 so we could have won 3-0 if we make better decisions. And I think it’s about that and it’s good that players take each other in responsibility and set high standards and set high demands to each other and control them. So then sometimes you need a correction or you need a discussion so that player is aware of his responsibilities.”
“Yeah, I think it shows we [are] winning a trophy, we are happy, but the players, they have the approach that good is not good enough. It was 2-0 so we could have won 3-0 if we make better decisions. And I think it’s about that and it’s good that players take each other in responsibility and set high standards and set high demands to each other and control them. So then sometimes you need a correction or you need a discussion so that player is aware of his responsibilities.”
Have you ever had a player like Casemiro at Ajax or one you might have played with that set the standards in those ways?
“I had a player in Ajax who set such standards, but definitely Casemiro in this team, he is such a leader and he is so important for us. Not only with his performances, skills, like scoring a goal, or his header, or like linking up or intercepting balls. Organisation, the mentality, the culture, and we are so happy that we signed him.”