Truffaut’s four hundred coups are Frenkie de Jong’s 400 passes in this start of the League. The Dutch midfielder is like that boy from Paris who dreams of escaping to see the sea and in the end he succeeds. It has been difficult for him – he arrived in Barcelona in 2019 – but finally, at the age of 26, he has got his way and is the engine of the Barcelona team, as he had always wanted. The first four days of the League have served to see the prominence that De Jong will have in Barça’s game from now on, transformed into the complete and modern midfielder that was announced.
Without Busquets, owner of the Barcelona midfielder for 15 years, the Dutchman has taken on much more responsibility in distribution and creation. The pivot brought in by Girona this summer to replace Busi, Oriol Romeu, who is more physical, does not have the same facility as the current Inter Miami footballer to make the ball run at the exit. And Xavi has chosen to tailor-make a suit for De Jong to give him that point of freedom, in the style of his displays with Ajax, which he hasn’t had until now, as he plays more as a positional interior .
De Jong, at the base of Xavi’s typical medullary square, is taking advantage of this to feel more important and influential than ever at Barça. Only he and Koundé, of the field players, have played all 360 minutes. all
In Pamplona, ??Frenkie surpassed Neymar’s 186 games for Blaugrana. Always untouchable to coaches, now indispensable to the game. This is also how his colleagues see it, who have the slogan to look for him. And he offers himself. This is the only way to understand that in the four games played it has always been over 100 interventions. His deployment is admirable, physically plethoric. He starts the plays, matures them and accompanies them until he makes the last pass (in the play that ends in the penalty and the 1-2 in El Sadar) or even finishes them himself (on the post against the Osasuna and the 0-2 of Vila-real).
Looking more at the goal is something that is asked of all Barcelona midfielders. Author of 16 goals, De Jong has never been close to double figures in one season. His best record was 7 goals in the 2020-21 season. Last year he had two goals, plus four assists. This year he is more involved in the offensive side.
There have been four games with tight scores and nerves, but he hasn’t burned the ball at his feet and has emerged as the leader on the grass. He takes risks, because it’s in his veins, but without losing balls, which is what Xavi asked him to do in his day. De Jong has made 423 good passes, more than one per minute, and has made only 28 mistakes. 94% reliability, despite the fact that its functions and touches have been expanded.
In his fifth campaign as a Barça fan, you can also see his adaptation to Barça’s style. In the 2019-20 season, his first, the Dutchman averaged 12 back passes per game. The following year there were 11. Last year he already reduced them to ten. And in this beginning it is clear that his mission is to take the ball to the opposite field without entertaining himself, which allows Barcelona to have many players in front of the ball.
He has added all this without losing his identity. His drives to break rival lines are as plastic for the eye as they are practical for the team, which appreciates overcoming the initial pressure of the opponent. De Jong is one of those who runs with his head held high and the ball stuck to his boot. In part, this explains his bravery and success in dribbling: 70% success in dribbling. Of the ten he has attempted, seven have left the opponent.
De Jong’s stripes, not only because of his lungs and class, are also because he is cerebral and analytical to control the pace of the match and detect what the team needs in each situation. And also his colleagues. Maybe that’s why El Sadar was the one who most wanted to connect with Lewandowski. Up to ten times he passed the ball to the nine, to activate him and thus create danger for Osasuna. Thanks to this association came the penalty. The Pole controlled the pass over the top of the organizer with his chest and was brought down by Catena inside the area.
The referee pointed to the 11 meters, but De Jong did not agree with the yellow card he showed the defender. Immediately, the midfielder with his hands on his head ran to protest to the referee, pressuring him to review the play. It was the first and the one that put the most emphasis on it. There were 10 minutes left and they had to play in superiority, to defend the result or to attack more if the maximum penalty was not converted. Surely it was the VAR and not the Dutchman’s protestations that managed to change the color of the card. But it shows how much he has grown in his role and how involved the new De Jong is in the games.