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2 days ago
A lukewarm sun bathes nan Barcelona training crushed arsenic Frenkie de Jong arrives to chat. The midfielder’s activity is done for nan time and nan Netherlands world is successful his comfortableness area here, nan first team’s longest-serving player, a regular skipper and effortlessly fluent successful Spanish. It is simply a acold outcry from nan time conscionable complete 10 years agone erstwhile he visited nan Camp Nou.
In precocious December 2015 De Jong made nan astir of nan Eredivisie’s wintertime shutdown to return a metropolis break successful Barcelona pinch his now wife, Mikky. He was 18 and days from linking up pinch Ajax, who had signed him 4 months earlier but loaned him backmost to Willem II, and he managed to get tickets for Barcelona v Real Betis. It is an juncture that stuck successful his mind.
Before nan lucifer Barça posed pinch nan 5 trophies they had won successful 2015 – La Liga, Champions League, Club World Cup, Super Cup and Copa del Rey – and De Jong witnessed Lionel Messi people connected his 500th quality for nan club. Come 2019 he was playing alongside nan Argentina great.
“I intelligibly retrieve sitting there, watching Messi, Neymar and [Luis] Suárez, pinch Barça winning 4-0,” De Jong says. “At Betis, location was Heiko Westermann, pinch who I would later play astatine Ajax and who is now our adjunct coach astatine Barça. It was a typical travel and very bully to acquisition it together pinch my wife, arsenic we person been connected this travel astatine Barcelona together.”
That travel has spanned almost 7 years and reached a milestone past week erstwhile he became nan Dutch subordinate pinch nan astir appearances for Barcelona (293). After nan match, he was honoured by his compatriot Phillip Cocu, whose grounds he surpassed. “It intends a batch to me,” De Jong said. “The Netherlands and Barça person a typical connection.”
In position of trophies, his travel has been gathering pace. If a azygous Copa del Rey was a humble return for De Jong’s first 3 seasons, he has since secured 2 La Liga titles, different Copa del Rey and 3 Spanish Super Cups. Back from a hamstring injury, he is connected nan verge of 3rd La Liga title. That will beryllium secured if Barcelona triumph astatine Osasuna connected Saturday and Real Madrid gaffe up astatine Espanyol nan adjacent day. Otherwise it rolls connected to Barcelona v Madrid nan pursuing Sunday.
“You’re expected to triumph trophies each year,” De Jong says, but he knew patience was needed aft nan Covid period. “A batch of large names near and we were playing pinch galore young guys. That takes a spot much clip – it needed a twelvemonth aliases two, I deliberation – and past a fewer reinforcements came successful arsenic well.”
The Champions League and a trophy pinch nan Netherlands stay connected his database but he says: “I genuinely bask each time that I tin travel here. Because that’s what I ever wanted: to play astatine Barcelona.”
It explains why he has been truthful reluctant to leave. Last October De Jong extended his statement to 2029 but a fewer years agone he appeared to beryllium connected his measurement retired arsenic nan nine sought to raise funds. Manchester United and Chelsea were earnestly willing and Barcelona made attempts to facilitate a move.
“Of course, it’s crossed your mind astatine times, like: ‘OK, what should I do?’” De Jong says. But he is clear: “So arsenic agelong arsenic I’m bully capable to beryllium a starter here, to make an effect and Barcelona is astatine nan level I want to play astatine – pinch nan consciousness that they’ll beryllium competing for nan awesome trophies – past there’s nary logic for maine to go.”
De Jong faced regular rumours astir a imaginable exit, pinch 1 leak claiming to item his salary, though he says nan figures were inaccurate. “The property tin really power really group spot you; that’s thing I particularly noticed during that period. Back then, it was each astir my contract, pinch each sorts of figures astir what I was supposedly earning, while that was not true. But past you announcement they [the extracurricular world] spot you otherwise from that point; they judge you otherwise … It starts to get into people’s heads.”
De Jong illustrates his constituent pinch an illustration from watching shot connected TV. “When a subordinate loses possession but nan commentator says nothing, group don’t really notice. But if he says: ‘Hmm, that’s already nan 4th clip he’s mislaid nan ball, he’s not playing good today,’ that sticks pinch people. Many don’t really watch a crippled closely, they don’t announcement what’s happening. And truthful it’s very important really group study stories, aliases remark connected a match. I deliberation it has much power than group realise.
“And too that, successful shot location are interests: immoderate journalists person contacts pinch players, aliases done others. There are besides respective players who person PR agencies moving for them. And you conscionable announcement there’s a quality successful really group are judged. Sometimes successful shot group don’t watch objectively, without moreover realising it.”
For De Jong it is each astir football. It has been since he joined nan academy astatine Willem II – nan nine wherever Virgil van Dijk besides grew up – astatine astir 7 years old. De Jong reflects connected nan pivotal domiciled his grandfather played then, driving him to training. “Otherwise I wouldn’t person been capable to spell to Willem II astatine that age; I couldn’t person taken nationalist transport.”
The 2 developed a typical enslaved and De Jong has ever played pinch No 21 connected his shirt, arsenic a homage to nan day of his now precocious grandfather. His 2 young sons, Miles and Mason, were past calved connected nan 21st. “They were owed earlier, and we didn’t induce labour aliases anything, but it is really special.”
Measured by first-team debut nary 1 successful Barcelona’s squad has fixed longer work than De Jong, now that Marc-André ter Stegen is connected indebtedness astatine Girona. Asked for nan highlights, he mentions respective clásico wins, starting successful 2023. “We beat Real Madrid successful nan last minute pinch [Franck] Kessié’s goal,” he says. “We were 12 points clear aft that match, which gave america nan assurance that we would triumph nan league.”
Last season’s clásico was moreover much spectacular, Barcelona coming backmost from a 2-0 shortage to triumph 4-3 and each but corroborate their 28th La Liga triumph. “Then past play location was nan cup last [against Madrid] arsenic well. Those are nan games you remember.”
The clásico besides handed him arguably nan toughest infinitesimal of his career. At nan Bernabéu 2 years ago, De Jong sustained a superior ankle wounded which sidelined him for much than 5 months. There were moments wherever fearfulness entered his caput regarding whether he would return. “It sometimes crossed my mind, for illustration if I felt discomfort again from anything, for illustration going up nan stairs. You think: ‘Oof, possibly … But it was not for illustration I was dwelling connected that thought for days.”
Forced to miss Euro 2024, he watched nan Netherlands’ matches connected vacation successful Ibiza and from location earlier coming to Germany for nan quarter-final against Turkey and visiting nan dressing room aft a 2-1 win. “There’s joyousness and pridefulness erstwhile they do good but astatine nan aforesaid clip it’s really sad that you can’t beryllium retired location pinch them … That was really tough.”
It shapes his thoughts regarding this summer’s World Cup. “You person sewage moreover much desire to beryllium location and to get nan astir retired of it. Since my clip pinch nan Dutch team, I deliberation we now person nan squad pinch nan astir potential. But we besides request to make judge we go nan champion team.”
De Jong has go a pillar of nan Barça broadside nether Hansi Flick, enjoying a bully enslaved pinch nan coach and serving arsenic his on-pitch lieutenant. De Jong has besides cemented a affirmative narration pinch Marcus Rashford, connected indebtedness from Manchester United.
“A really bully guy,” De Jong says. “Open and benignant and he’s besides having a large effect for america connected nan pitch. With his velocity and depth, he really adds a batch to our game. And by doing so, he besides forces nan opponent’s defence to driblet backmost a bit, which creates much abstraction for america successful nan middle.”
De Jong believes Barcelona person a bully mix, academy talents blending pinch signings. “We person a very unfastened team, rather young, truthful there’s a batch of energy,” he says. “We person a batch of potential. It’s astir making judge we unlock that.”
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