Santiago Giménez's confidence continues to grow. The young top scorer of Feyenoord was surprised when he heard about a milestone he had achieved after the victory over SC Cambuur.
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After his goal in Leeuwarden, the 21-year-old Mexican has now scored seven times in a row in away matches in the Eredivisie. He is the first Feyenoord player to achieve such a streak. "They just told me. It's unbelievable," said Giménez at the press conference, where he remained modest. "I want to thank the team because thanks to my teammates, I've achieved this. But the most important thing is to become champions. We want to move step by step towards the title." A statistic that he may not have known but is also impressive: the last seven shots on target by Giménez in an away match in the Eredivisie have all resulted in a goal.
Giménez has scored nine times in the Eredivisie since the World Cup break. He needed some time to get going in his debut season in the Netherlands, but with a total of eleven goals in the league, he still has a chance to win the top scorer title. Xavi Simons and Tasos Douvikas are the current leaders with fourteen goals. The competition has been warned, as Giménez has an additional boost on the way. The goal scorer talked about his close relationship with his father, who will soon come to the Netherlands.
"He is in Mexico now, but he has watched all of my matches. We speak after each match. Then he tells me what I did well and what I did wrong. He's coming to the Netherlands for the last matches of the season. It will be very emotional, but it will also motivate me to play even better. This will be the second time he's in the Netherlands. He loves Rotterdam. Having my family close to me is the most important thing," said the striker, who did not have to get used to the artificial turf in Leeuwarden. "In the youth academy at Cruz Azul, I played a lot on artificial turf. I'm used to it. Players can play on any surface. Football is football, the stadium or the field doesn't matter. It's about the ball. It's about having fun."
Giménez spoke with confidence, even when talking about the return leg against AS Roma in the quarterfinals of the Europa League. This week, the top signing will return to the stadium where he scored twice earlier this season against Lazio. Feyenoord defends a 1-0 lead in the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday. However, defending is not the right word, according to Giménez. "From now on, we will focus on that match, starting with recovery. Roma is one of the top teams in Italy. It will be difficult, but we are ready. We know we can win there. We are also going to Rome to win, not to draw," said the confident attacker.
Updated: 07:58, 16 Apr 2023
