Once forgotten and unconsidered, FC Barcelona is gradually finding their own feet again. The Catalan giants have already lost out on two key competitions this season, and only two remain for them to compete in. However, much of the credit for this resurgence of Barcelona goes to certain individuals more than others.
However, even from among the players helping in this resurgence, a certain name is gaining even more attention. This is because this particular player, hailing from the Netherlands, has had to fight through a lot of misinformation and criticism to find his best version again.
The player in question is obviously Dutch midfielder Frenkie De Jong, whose performance against Getafe was particularly sublime. Yet, even as SPORT highlights, the player was still not convinced by his own display in the recent 4-0 victory against Getafe:
“I think today with the ball was one of my worst games of the season, with the ball, like the passes and stuff.”
He further stated that even though he scored a goal and helped the team create other chances, his overall performance was not something he was happy with:
“It’s true I scored a goal and the action that led to another goal was good, but people look at football too much like this. For example, today I scored and with the fourth goal I was involved in play and people think you played really good, but I think in general during the game I was not good. People think if you score you play good, but I don’t look at football that way.”
Xavi, on the other hand, was impressed with his midfield star and Barça captain. For the Barcelona coach, it is De Jong’s self-criticism that enables him to be among the best in the world:
“Frenkie is very self-demanding, a perfectionist… that is why he is one of the best in the world.”
With De Jong now relieved of most of his defensive duties with Andreas Christensen playing as a pivot, the Dutchman is allowed to show off his true talents more regularly. His ball progression and dangerous offensive creativity can now help Barça reach even greater heights on the front foot.