Cuco Martina has made five Eredivisie appearances for Van Bronckhorst’s Feyenoord since arriving on loan from Premier League Everton.
Cuco Martina could hardly have made a better start to life at Feyenoord.
The out-of-favour Everton defender returned to Holland in the January transfer window, joining 2017 Eredivisie champions Feyenoord on loan until the end of the season.
A right-back who has also played on the left during his forgettable time at Goodison Park, Martina lined up in an unfamiliar centre-half role on his debut for Giovanni Van Bronckhorst’s side.
But he took to his new position like a duck to water.
“Cuco did well,” Van Bronckhorst told Feyenoord’s official website after the Curacao international shone in a 4-0 thrashing of De Graafschap ‘It’s good to get a clean sheet again.”
But it is fair to say there wasn’t much praise for Martina after Feyenoord’s most recent outing.
In his fifth game for the club, the 29-year-old made a huge error that cost his side a win away at Vitesse Arnhem.
Youngster Orkun Kokcu fired home a lethal drive to give Feyenoord the lead but they levelled just before half time through Mohammed Dauda, the Anderlecht loanee tapping home after Martina had scuffed an awful clearance into his path.
“We made it too difficult for ourselves and (Vitesse) were able to score a goal too easily”, Van Bronckhorst told NU. “That is not allowed at this level, especially if you put so much energy into the race to take the lead. We deserved to win.”
Martina’s mistake cost Feyenoord the chance to move third in the table and into the European positions. No wonder Van Bronckhorst was a little frustrated.
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