Tag: Messi

by Jan

How to stop Messi: Ron Vlaar

People still stop Ron Vlaar at the super market to ask him about his match, 8 years ago, versus Argentina and Messi. This will only become more the case in the coming days. Not many defenders can say that they silenced the little maestro. And that was all at the biggest platform: the World Cup. The AZ youth coach explains how.

So how do you prep for a match up with Messi?

“You don’t. You should prepare for a game versus Argentina. And that was then and it’s the same now. You do need to take into account his particular skill set and quality, but you need to anticipate as a team, on them as a team. But a team with Messi. I just told myself, that whenever Messi would be in my neck of the woods, I had to stop him.”

So it was a team task?

“Yes of course. No one was sacrificed to play or mark him. It’s important that you constantly watch him and check his movements, in particular when we have the ball. Those are the moments he is waiting for. He’ll drift, he’ll wander, he will go to the spaces inbetween, mostly strolling almost. You saw it versus Australia as well. And his team mates will know where he is, and when they get possession back, like a snake they’ll find him fast. Half a ball is enough for him to punish you really. So that is where we need to be sharp. And I think we did well, in 2014.”

So how important was blocking the pass lines to Messi?

“They play the exact same way now as they played in 2014. Find Messi and give him the ball. It was very visible this way versus the Aussies this time around. They were sloppy in the first half, so they didn’t really find him, but in the second half they did, and Messi was immediately threatening.”

How do you look back at those personal duels?

“People still ask me about this. And I think there are some cool photos from that match. I personally don’t remember the match as me versus him. I fought duels with a lot of players in that game but these duels are less important to the fans I guess. For me, the whole performance was important, the team performance. At the end of the day, you need to do your job as a defender, no matter who the opponent.”

But Messi’s feet are a tad quicker than the average other player..

“That is true which is why you need to be ready for him before he gets the ball. If you can anticipate his runs, you have a chance. If you react to him, you’re usually too late already. You have to scan constantly. You need to take into account what is happening and what can happen. Because if you allow him to turn and then run at you, you’re toast. He has speed, ball skills, he can go left, right. The key things are anticipating and reading the situation. The good thing is, Frenkie and De Roon have the tendency to constantly look around them, all the time. They should be ready for him.”

And the forward press is key too?

“Super important, because Messi loves to drop deep to find space and make his runs. You need to be compact. And you need to pressure him from two angles. Close in on him. Ake and Timber are very good in the press and that will be a major asset. I played in the Virgil role back then and my role is the same as Virgil’s: to be there when he slips through the cracks.”

And than there is the role of the holding mid.

“Yes, that was something Nigel de Jong did for us in that semi final and he had to leave the pitch for an hour or so. He had to be subbed and Jordy Clasie did his job as a sub, which he did ever so well. That was such an important performance, as Clasie hadn’t played a single minute. In this Oranje, I think De Roon will be key, for when Frenkie is on his bike. Don’t forget, Dumfries is also usually gone.”

Which Argentina is better you think, the 2014 team or the current team?

“I think the Brazil one was bnetter. They had a younger Messi, a younger Di Maria, Higuain, Aguero, Mascherano, really top players. And more individual qualities. But, just like then, this Argentina does play as a team.”

Are you confident for the game?

“Yes, I think Holland is actually better. We don’t play flash, but we play very business like. To win. I loke that. And if the play with the ball is not good, they still perform their tasks without the ball. This team is hard to beat. And we have players who can make a difference. I too enjoy good football, but winning is more important to me. I don’t care how. It’s not about how good you are, but are you good enough to win. And this Oranje is good enough to win.”

While we’re talking, I can see Messi make his way up to the training pitch at Doha!

“Haha, cool! Tell him I said hi!”

 

by Jan

Danjuma: one of the big guns now

A question….

I just got sent an amazing e-book on Cruyff (his death was remembered) and these stories are very cool.

I can do two things: 1) put a JC article on the blog every now and then but focus on current affairs or 2) focus on the JC articles and let the current affairs take a step back.

Any suggestions?

After this post on Danjuma, I will cover the Cup Final between Ajax and PSV.

Last year in June, Arnaut Danjuma was the guest in a tv sports show. He made a strong impression: ambitious, self critical and… outspoken. He questioned the KNVB. Did they pay attention to him? At all? Was he being following, playing for Bournemouth? What was the reason he was ignored? Could the NT manager maybe tell him what he needed to improve in order to get the call up?

There was no end to his confidence.

And not everyone could handle this swagger. Why is he playing for Bournemouth, if he is that good? Surely, we can’t take clubs like Luton Town or Bristol City or Millwall seriously? Danjuma felt invisible to the world and realised he had to make a move.

He consciously decided to go for Villareal and Unai Emery. He needed a coach who would focus on the details. Who would work on improving players tactically. He needed a “small club” with big ambitions. He used the services of one of those sports  analytics companies and came out at the Yellow Submarine for his future. So he said no to several other courters ( EPL clubs, Ligue 1 clubs, Bundesliga, PSV Eindhoven) and went to Spain. Under the radar.

By now, he’s shone at Old Trafford against Man U, he was top in the Wanda Metropolitano (v Atletico),  in the Bernabeu and the Juve Stadium. He is now a recognised European top player. Julian Nagelsmann used Danjuma as an example to explain that Bayern would not just beat Villareal.

This new status is completely the result of …himself. He took his career in his own hands (with his dad) and decided to invest in his development. He could have made way more money elsewhere. He now has a team that makes him better and he is in a team that he makes better as well. With a coach that will invest in him. Danjuma purs whenever Emery goes into detail tactically for the European opponents. After the 1-0 win over Bayern, Arnaut again explained the importance of Emery’s input.

He is the prime example of a smart player who keeps his eyes open and who invests in himself. Being able to be good with the ball doesn’t make you a good football player. At Villareal, Danjuma learns to understand and read the game and to think positionally. What do you do without the ball (which is 95% of the game for most). Arriving in the box in time, for instance. This is not talent, or touch or physical condition. This is about awareness, intelligence and “feel”.

In the run up to the Bayern clash, he said in an interview that he considers himself one of the best wingers in Europe. A big statement and without the context, a bit bigheaded? But he said more, way more, but the media ignored those other comments. For some, it’s a big much: he played Championship football until last year, he does not have a starting spot in the NT, he scored one Eredivisie goal in his career and never won a big trophy as a player.

Lets look at the wingers/forwards inthe TOp 5 competitions (EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga, Seria A, Ligue 1) and see which were involved in goals.

We won’t consider free kicks or penalty kicksl to make the comparison fair. Only goals from open play, in other words. Only 15 wingers were involved with 4 attemptos on goal or more, in 90 minutes of football.

The first column is the name of the player (duh!), the column “schoten” = “shots on goal” and the “Kansen gecreeerd” is “chances created”. Totaal is… well… I think you can find out for yourself :-).

The list will not surprise many people. You’d say “Salah, Sane, Messi, Gnabry, Insigne, Saka, Vinicius, Grealish, Mane” without hesitation. The PSG lads won’t surprise either. The two surprises are at the bottom of the list, with 4 “involvements” per match. Sheraldo Becker (yes!) at Union Berlin has been a surprise package in the Bundesliga and of course Arnaut Danjuma Groeneveld.

The only criticism: he does play as a central striker now as well in Emery’s fluid set ups. This is in fact in reality less the case. Like Memphis, Danjuma will prefer to come from the left with Moreno – a real striker – next to him. When Villareal has the ball, Danjuma plays more than a winger than someone like Salah.

He may be able to create more for others, but in terms of scoring, no one needs to doubt him. Only Benzema and new comer Aubameyang collect better stats.

This is not a player who is “hot” for a bit, this is a player who keeps on improving and has his eyes firmly on the statistics. It means that he’ll probably be scoring more goals next season.

There is one aspect in which Danjuma indeed is top class. He makes it into the top 5 of Europe: shots on goal after a successful dribble. You’d expect Messi to be on the list of course, but this is the current top 5.

Danjuma proves week in week out that in terms of positioning without the ball as in terms of individual dribbles and creating chances, he indeed is now amongst attacking royalty in Europe.

Would you use Danjuma as a starter?

Tell me your favority top 3 in LvG’s 3-4-1-2 system.

Mine?

Note: I do rate Gakpo and Lang as potential #10s and I have hope Schreuder will get Ihattaren back to full fitness.

 

 

by Jan

Xavi Simons: he really exists!

He was the most famous Dutch player who never played a senior pro game in his life. Xavi Simons. Son of Reginald Simons (a once upon a time striker for Fortuna Sittard, FC Den Haag and Kyoto Purple Sanga) and named after the current Barca coach. (Xavi, for the slower ones amongst us…).

Xavi is born in Amsterdam, where his dad had a brief career as Ajax youth coach, but the family moved to Spain to give Xavi his chance at one of the biggest clubs on the planet. Barcelona of course.

The midfielder with the vision of his name sake and the looks of a blond Gullit-like demi-god made his way into the hearts and minds of football fans the world over and his reputation became bigger than his actual football exploits.

Last season, at PSG, he had 10 benchwarming matches before he made his debut as a 17 year old. He got 1 minute vs Strasbourg, replacing Ander Herrera. The only thing the less switched on ones saw was that his hair style resembled one Carlos Valderrama. This month, he finally made his true debut in the first team of Paris St Germain.

His coach sent him onto the pitch with the aim to change something, force something. This time, it wasn’t symbolic. Not a sub turn to give him a signal. They were trailing vs Peter Bosz’ Lyonnais and there were only 20 minutes left. Something needed to happen.

And these were minutes he earned, based on his performances in the French Cup games, his games in the U19 team and his training efforts with the first team.

Simons didn’t hide in the Lyon game. He wan’t on the pitch for a minute or he passed the ball to Mbappe with a crafty backheel flick. He also saw a tremendous through ball option for the French forward but his pass was just not weighty enough. He played with energy and intent and demonstrate a silky touch in confined spaces. He even won a header one time, and he’s not the tallest of players. After the match, coach Pocchetino complimented him on his game.

So yes, he does exist and yes he can play. We have seen many clips of him on Youtube and social media and it felt like this 10-year old blond kid could walk on water. When he turned 16, he decided to go to PSG. He didn’t see a plan for him at Barca anymore and gambled on PSG.

Initially his coach at Paris St Germain said to the media that he was training well, had a good personality and could have a great career at the highest level. This is a friendly way of saying: “I am not going to use him too much…”. And we all need to keep on realising that Xavi Simons indeed is still a year younger than Gravenberch (to name another example), or Ihattaren. And… his contract in Paris ends after this season. With Neymar, Mbappe, Messi and Di Maria at his club, Xavi might have to be patient, should he stay in Paris. It is now time for him to make the right choice. He needs to start playing now. He needs to be at a club where his new coach will treat him like Pep treated Foden, or Ten Hag treated Timber.

Now, it is not the Instragram clips that will determine how good he is, but the minutes he’ll play in a first team somewhere.

Barcelona has already winked at him again. In the youth academy in Spain, he made an impression by seeing the forward pass way earlier than his peers. He is not only named after the current Barca coach, he also plays on his position. As the controlling mid, he was the engine that made all the youth teams click. A lot of the tiki-taka attackes on the internet started with him. His technical skills and his blonde locks made him a popular topic amongst football followers.

Even before he turned 16, he was used as the figure head in a Barca campaign aimed at mending the relationship between La Masia and the first team. It really hurt the club and the socios when his exit was announced in 2019.

Some people think Simons went for the money. But in truth, PSV presented him with a better plan. The perspective for Barca youngsters wasn’t great under chairman Baromeu and there were some many different cliques and groups that resulted in a culture were youth coaches feared for their jobs if they didn’t get results. Under coaches Valverde and Setien, the door to the first team was firmly locked.

At PSG, Simons did get that opportunity. Even better, the Paris Academy deserves credit. The European top leagues are filled with talents who were developed at PSG. They invested in Simons, but not just financially. He was able to play in the Youth League with the U19 when he was only 16 years old. And while the club could use his talent and skills, Xavi himself worked on his physical strength and endurance. With Pocchettino in charge, Simons got a serious chance to show himself, and he made his first team debut at 17 years old.

But at PSG, things changed too. In a spectacular transfer window, PSG signed several top names, like Messie and Ramos and Dutch midfielder Wijnaldum, to name a few. Pochettino sees Simons as an attacking, creative midfielder, but Paris St Germain already has Di Maria, Messi, Neyamr, Wijnaldum, Draxler and Alcantara for this position. And the former Spurs coach has difficulty finding his right team which resulted in some youngster, like Simons, going back to the U19 squad.

For Xavi, this is a step back. He will have to focus on the top matches in the Youth League, but that is also where he was two years ago. The position switch from holding mid to the false striker/10 role worked well for him. He scored two goals and four assists in his last three Youth League games. U19 coach Zamara: “I can’t complain about him. When he is with us, he gives it all. His mentality is wonderful. If this goes on, he won’t be with us for much longer. Dutch U19 coach Bert Konterman also tried Xavi in the strikers role, a position he seems to fill easily,  with his skills in the small spaces.

PSG wants to extend his deal but Simons and his management – dad Reggie and uber agent Mino Raiola – keep the courting at bay. There is no guarantee that things will change in Paris for the youngster.

The Spanish media say that Barca is rekindling the relationship. Raiola was in Barcelona recently for a long talk with Barca President Laporta and Simons’ name was mentioned. The new Barca boss was keen to see if he could deliver a nice PR blow to the French rivals. Ever since Neymar left for Paris, the two clubs are less than friendly. Xavi Hernandez is aware of the talks. The new coach has given it his blessing, as he remembers the youngster well from his playing days.

Under Koeman, the doors to La Masia were kicked open with a vengeance. And as per usual, this was due to lack of other options (we have seen this before) but it has worked well: talents like Araujo, Oscar Mingueza, Gavi and Nico Gonzalez have made the leap to the first team, like Pedri and Ansu Fati have done before them.

When Xavi took the coaching job, he immediately had seven Barca B players join in at practice.

Xavi Hernandez is keen to keep this going. He has had his loyal assistant Alegre check the youth teams out in September and October and he asked for detailed reports on the young talents. With Langlet and Umtiti on the way out, there will be more youngsters making their way to the first team, for sure, such as Marmol, Akhomach and Ezzalzouli.

Barca will bounce back and become one of the most attractive clubs of Europe, for young players. A good place for Xavi Simons to develop himself further. The Dutchman has grown physically in France and became more versatile. He will have some competition from Gavi, Pedri and Nico who can all play on that playmaker / false striker spot. It will be interesting to see where this young talent will end up and how he will measure up. Who knows, his nine year old dream to play in Barca 1 might actually come true…

by Jan

We’re back in action (almost)!

After a bit of a break (and a lot of Olympics ! ) it’s time to focus on football again. This weekend, the Eredivisie starts and so do some of the competitions around us (EPL, Ligue 1, etc).

National Team Manager Louis van Gaal also presented his prelim squad for the upcoming September WC qualification games.

The news that dominated the sports papers though, was Messi’s exit from Barca. Much has been said about it. I have to admit: I was saddened by the news. The guy wants to play at Camp Nou but other people’s mistakes (and maybe some foul play by Real Madrid??) have pushed the Best Player Ever ™ out. We all saw the presser, we all have our own ideas about it. I’m sure Memphis will have mixed feelings. Would it be grand to play with Leo? Yes it would. But without Messi, there is a vacuum in leadership and star-ship (?) and Memphis will be the first to put his hand up to take the free-kicks and penalties from now on.

Wijnaldum must be giggling himself to sleep. One of the reasons why he desperately hoped on a deal with Barca was the chance to play alongside Messi. The finances weren’t good enough for Team Wijnaldum and when PSG offered him twice the deal Barcelona had on the table, he decided to go for his future generations, more than his ego.

And guess what, Gini will be super busy in that midfield now, knowing that Mbappe, Neymar and Messi are not known for their zealous pressing. Wijnaldum might well turn out to be PSG’s key player, amongst all those Hollywood stars.

In the Netherlands, PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord impress. PSV because of their rollercoaster games in the CL qualifications, with power in midfield, speed up front and goals. Schmidt and Co were able to secure the services of Brazilian Ramalho who made an impression. Boscagli bounced back from his horrific start under Van Bommel and in midfield Marco van Ginkel is playing like a true Roman emperor: back straight, always looking over the ball and playing like a real captain. With the likes of Propper, Sangare and Gotze in midfield, PSV is a formidable challenger for the title. English junior international Madueke claimed all the headlines with his goals, while we all know that Cody Gakpo is destined for great things too! Mo Ihattaren who?

Feyenoord impressed too, not so much due to the wins over Drita and Luzern (which you could expect) or the “friendly” victory over Atletico Madrid, but more due to the fact that coach Arne Slot’s ideas are being processed and implemented so easily, it seems. The addition of CB Trauner from Austria is a big plus, as Feyenoord can now play higher up the pitch. Danish RB Pedersen also adds speed to Feyenoord’s defence. Marco Senesi is impressing with his passing ability and in midfield it seems Guus Til has been able to convince Van Gaal to give him a look in, with his prolific goal scoring and work rate. Up front, Iranian Jahanbakhsh will dazzle the Legion and we also expect Sinistera to get back to his full form and fitness after his tough injury. Oh, and if goalies are key to winning games and titles: Ajax has 37 year old Pasveer, PSV has the somewhat insecure Drommel but Feyenoord has the future Oranje goalie between the sticks. That could well be the differentiator.

We don’t need to mention Ajax, I don’t think. They are in good shape. When you have Blind, Tadic, Antony, Berghuis, Kudus, Timber, Schuurs, Martinez and Klaassen in your squad, you will be the title favorite. Although for me, Ajax will most likely focus more on the CL this season.

In other news, Dumfries finally gets his transfer to Inter. Van Aanholt moves to Turkey. Donyell Malen impresses at Dortmund, Donny van de Beek buffed up in the gym and Virgil is back in action and just signed a new deal with Liverpool.

Which brings us to Louis, who explained how he works as the National Team Manager.

As per usual, Van Gaal is not afraid to give youngsters their debut. In this case, maybe also an oldster. Remko Pasveer, Justin Bijlow and Joel Drommel could all make their debut in Oranje, as could Tyrell Malacia as left back and Devyne Rensch as right back. The Feyenoord LB is the only real left back in the squad, as Van Gaal doesn’t believe Wijndal and Van Aanholt have the fitness levels currently.

Stekelenburg has ended his international career and Cillesen is still not fit.

Louis van Gaal creates a squad every week (!), usually. Even in weeks/months when the NT doesn’t play. This makes his life easier and this is how it works. LVG and his staff use three stages in their work: preparation, execution and evaluation. Execution is the match itself, obviously. The preparation consists of: 1) analysis of opponent, 2) selecting the NT squad, 3) downloading information to the players via tactical talks, video analysis and training.

The evaluation is in group processes and individual, also with video analysis.

In his first tenure as NT coach, in 2000 for the 2002 World Cup, he made a crucial mistake. He decided to trust the core of players he worked with before: Davids, Seedorf, Kluivert, De Boer bros, etc. He gave them his trust also when they didn’t perform. He stopped doing this. For the 2014 World Cup, he went with his system and playing principles and picking the players who were in form, in full fitness and mentally ready (to be coached).

He produced a profile per position in the team and that is the benchmark for picking players. Then it’s all about: form, talent, fitness. He has a group of around 60 potentials, which he follows with his staff every week. Every Monday, he and his staff gather in Zeist to discuss the games they’ve seen and in particular the performance of the players. And every Tuesday, he’d make a 23 player squad. And thus, making his final squad for a certain NT match is an easy process. The skeleton frame is there, it’s just a matter of checking which of the lads is potentially injured, or lost his spot or has issues otherwise…

In 2,5 weeks, our beloved NT is ready to rumble again. Away against Norway on September 1, at home vs Montenegro on September 4 and at home v Turkey on September 7. By then, we know where we stand…

This is my eleven for Norway away. The other line ups will have to wait (depends on result, on fitness, etc).

What is your fave line up for Norway away? In the comments please :-).

by Jan

Frenkie remains humble

Hi all, sadly no more time to write a specific post on the Austria game.

I personally think it will be a tough match for us, even without Arnautavic involved. They’re an experienced team, physically and tactically disciplined. This could wel end in a 2-2 result or something like that, I wouldn’t be surprised if we would choke on this opponent.

But, being positive as I am, I will call 3-0 for Oranje. Goals by Wijnaldum, Memphis and Malen.

Leave me your prognosis below in the comments.

And leave me some beer money while you’re at it :-). Covid hurt this blog and blogger too… You can now also decide to donate crypto. it seems to be going down anyway…

Your gift is appreciated

The AD newspaper had a nice insightful interview with Frenkie de Jong.

For someone who is usually showered with superlatives and compliments, he hardly uses them himself. More to the contrary. When you start paying attention it becomes comical, even. In this particular interview, which took an hour, he used words like “not bad” and “pretty ok” around 12 times. The only time he uses the word “amazing” is when he mentions Messi.

We’re halfway the interview, talking about his role in this Dutch Netherlands team at these Euros. “If I can reach my usual level, I have a fair chance to get minutes,”. He says it with conviction. As if this is not the best and most popular Dutch player of the moment. And it’s not a false modesty. He is like this. Calm, balanced and analytical. He’s self conscious but also highly self critical. He finds it easy to put things into perspective, as a result, the hysteria surrounding him doesn’t really affect him.

He’s got a smile almost plastered on his face, but it’s not like he’s without tribulations. It appears as if he floats through life, but the people who know him well will tell you this is definitely not the case. Frenkie was convinced of his talent and ambitions when he was still quite young. “We watched the World Cup 2014 at home, with friends and family. And from a certain age, I felt…yes, I want that. And I always felt that one day, I would be at a big tournament. I was 12 years old and had the complete conviction.”

Frenkie is a modest kid, grew up in the small town of Arkel. A normal, fun of the mill family. Dad is parking guard in Delft and his little brother plays there with the local amateurs. Parking guard is probably the exact opposite of the position Frenkie has in life. “But my dad loves his job. He’s a lot in the outside open air, riding his bike and he knows a lot of people in Delft. He’s not the guy who will fine you, he’ll probably talk to you to get you to change your behaviour.”

Frenkie’s journey to his first big tournament was relatively long. The missing of the World Cup 2018 happened just before his break through in Oranje. And when Koeman’s Oranje qualified for the 2020 Euros, it got postponed with a full year due to Corona.

“I don’t feel young anymore. I am not a rookie anymore, you know. But playing your first tournament is super special. I’m enjoying and I talked about it with the lads that were at the 2014 World Cup. And it has started to really sink in, now the domestic leagues have finished. The commercials on telly, the orange jerseys, I love it. As long as I don’t have to be in one.”

While many of this colleagues opted for a week holiday in Dubai or Ibiza, De Jong went home to Arkel to recharge his batteries. “I didn’t feel tired. We didn’t perform well in the last part of the season with Barca, but it wasn’t fatigue. We simply had to beat Granada at home and take the lead in the Liga. We had a good spell before that game. And then the draw against Levante and the belief seeped out of the team. It was mainly mental. As if we kept on chasing our tail.”

You gave yourself a 6,5 for the season in the newspaper Trouw, after your first season. What is the grade for this one?

“No, hahaha, it was a 6 actually. I don’t know for this season. I my personal performances were better than last season, but we missed the title, we got kicked out of the CL pretty early and despite the national cup, we had a mediocre if not bad season. When you play at Barca, you want more. The season itself wasn’t dramatic, we had a fantastic comeback and played some good stuff, but at the end of the day: not good enough.”

So, that means one point more?

“I would say, half a point.”

But your personal stats went up, like Koeman wanted from you?

“When Koeman came in, I had a talk about my role in the team. And he was clear: he wanted me to be more offensive and add to the team’s goal tally. He kept on saying: you’re a big money signing, you need to start making the difference, you need to take responsibility. He put more pressure on me and I loved it.”

Under Koeman, he did play on several positions. He played in the holding role, he played a number of games as centre back and the final part of the season more and more in the attacking mid role. He made quite an impression in that position.

“I do like scoring goals, but it depends on your role for the team. At Ajax and initially at Barca I played in the holding role. You are the first station in the build up and you determine pace, and direction, you try to start the engine. When you’re a more offensive mid, you are station 2, in a way. You are higher up the pitch, and you aim to be decisive, with a dribble, or a through ball… I played well in that role, I had my best games in that position. And in the Cup Final (Copa del Rey) it was probably very visible, with a goal and two assists.”

“I prefer the midfielders role, either holding or forward. I prefer not to play too far back, as you are more a lock on the door than a real playmaker. And playing in the #10 role is also not my preference as you are more in a sort of waiting mode, waiting for the players behind you to find you. I prefer to be more involved, hence my preference for midfield. The ball is there most often. I basically want to have the ball, hahahaha.”

He assimilated into Barcelona life with ease it seems. The city, the magnitude of the club, the media, the players group… it all went smooth. As if it was normal that a kid from Arkel played in the Bluegrana jersey. Where Donny van de Beek, Steven Bergwijn, Hakim Ziyech and before them Memphis Depay had serious issues settling in another country and club.

“The ideal moment to go abroad is different for everyone. You can’t say “you need 150 Eredivisie games before you go”. I think it’s different per player. Some are ready when 18, others are ready when they’re 27. I did feel more settled the second season, I think that is actually quite normal. Barca paid something like 80 million for me, and that puts a lot of pressure and expectations on you, but I will remain who I am. They bought me for how I played at Ajax so that is how I’ll play here. I won’t become a different person.”

How is it now in your second season along side Messi? Does your relationship change, now you’re there a bit longer?

“I met him first when we had a friendly against Arsenal. He came later due to the Copa America. I shook his hand, I am not sure if he mentioned his name. Not that he had to, hahaha. I told him my name. But Messi… I am still humbled to play with him. He is so amazingly good. He has so much status. And you can understand, when I have the ball and I can play the ball to Messi or to another player, well… if they’re both in a good position, I’ll pick Messi. Isn’t that the best thing to do?”

How was it to see him blossom again this season?

“I think he’s very happy at Barca. I hope he stays, he’s so important for us. In the dressing room we act as per normal with one another, but I don’t ask him about his future, or app him to ask him to stay. That is up to him. When I was 12 years old, he already was the best of the world. He won the Ballon D’Or, right? And now I play with him :-). That is just amazing. And I realise it every day that I play with him now.”

The Spanish media are now also very focused on Frenkie. “It’s extreme, it’s 12 times worse or more intense in Spain. There are tv programs on football that literally broadcast 24/7. And they sometimes just make it up, you know?”

The Dutch football fans will have their eyes set on Frenkie de Jong, but the expectations aren’t that high. Frenkie gets that: “If you do go to a tournament, you need to go to win it. Otherwise, why go? But you need to be realistic too: France – to name one – is favorite I think. Look at that squad! And there are about 8 nations that can win it and I think we are part of that eight. We’ll need to focus on every game as they come and not talk about the title now. Let’s earn that privilege.”