Criticism of Sem Steijn sticks in the craw: 'That can really make me angry'

Daan Rots has leapt to the defence of Sem Steijn on Goedemorgen Eredivisie on ESPN. The Feyenoord player faced heavy criticism after the match with FC Barcelona (5-1 defeat) for celebrating after making it 4-1 at Camp Nou.

Rots believes the score should always be kept as low as possible, whoever the opponent is. "But 5-1... And I saw a number of good moments and my friend (Steijn, ed.) scored. So I thought it was all wonderful to watch."

Presenter Milan van Dongen quickly pointed out that not everyone enjoyed the celebration after the consolation goal. "That does make me a bit angry," says the FC Twente forward. "It is Camp Nou. Seeing that thing there with his father, surely that makes you happy to watch?"

Maurice Steijn, his father, scored against FC Barcelona for ADO Den Haag in 1996 in the battle for the Residentie Cup (1-0 win). Thirty years later, his son scored against the Catalans.

"He is in a difficult situation. He does not always play, even though he was signed last season as one of Feyenoord's most expensive signings ever. If he then comes on and still shows something and scores at Camp Nou, then I understand very well why he is so happy about that," Rots said.

Mario Been agreed with the Twente player's view. "He was signed for a lot of money, which I still think was an excellent choice, only he has had to deal with an enormous amount of injury misery. If you can then play again, and on top of that in his stadium... Then for a boy like that it is a personal victory that he scores a goal like that."

Under coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Steijn again seems set for a reserve role. "They always say that under a new coach you start from zero," says the 25-year-old from Twente. "You never know whether it really is like that. In my view, with Sem it is not the case that he has really had the chance in the big matches. I think he is terribly good. I think that if you start him, he will score at least 15 for you," Rots concludes.