Julio Velazquez was left seething on Saturday after FC Twente’s second goal against his Fortuna Sittard. The Spanish boss let his emotions get the better of him and vented his frustrations in the dugout, going so far as to throw his coat and kick over some items.
“It doesn’t do any good to talk about it now. I”m sorry that the footage is still out there,” Velázquez told ESPN. He then went on to explain why he was so angry.
“Twente took a free kick quickly, but the ball didn’t stop. I just don’t understand how that could be allowed as a goal. But, that’s football. All we can do now is focus on the next match and forget about tonight’s result.”
The loss came courtesy of Manfred Ugalde, with Václav Cerny having scored the opener. In just a few minutes, Velazquez watched as things went completely wrong for his team.
“We played well in the first-half. Both teams had chances and we just didn’t have the luck. We started the second half just as well, but in ten crazy minutes we threw it all away. That started with the first goal.”
The ESPN studio was abuzz with surprise at Velazquez’s behaviour, which has been a recurring theme this season. Analyst Kees Kwakman felt the trainer had gone too far.
He said: “At first I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, especially considering the language barrier. But you have a responsibility as a trainer, and if you act like this you can expect a Fortuna player to give someone a rock kick soon.”
Writer Hugo Borst was left dumbfounded by Velazquez’s antics echoed Kwakman’s comments about the head coach’s behaviour.
“It’s a disgrace to the trainers guild. When you’re a trainer at clubs such as Fortuna Sittard or Almere City, you know that there’s a lot going on. That’s when you have to be able to control yourself,” he said.
