Frenkie de Jong

[FCBarca]

Good article. Also sad we missed out on Naby Keita for just 50m. Naby Keita and Frenkie de Jong are always looking for a line breaking move, either pass or drible.

We can't miss out on De Jong. These midfielders are rare.

Yep, unclear what happened with Naby Keita but we cannot miss out on Frenkie

 

[God Serena]

He is a player for the future, Valverde won't be here for the next 10 years.

Doesn't matter how long a manager is here, if left unchecked they can cause damage to the team that can last the next 10 years. Lucho and Grimaldo comes right to mind. Now we're still kind of up a shit creek as far as that position goes, and are forced to pray Miranda comes good.

 

[Joan]

Now, this is a great article:

[tw]1040629548285665280[/tw]

A few quotes:

As he lays tired midfields to waste, as he stirs oppositions into a blind panic, you’re overcome with a single, piercing thought: nothing will ever be the same again. I have glimpsed the next hundred years of football, and before long the sport as we know it will divide neatly into two ages: before Frenkie de Jong, and after.

I’m sorry.

I just can’t do this.

I can’t lie to you any longer.

I’m coming clean: I’ve never actually seen Frenkie de Jong play.

And for a country undergoing perhaps its gravest footballing slump for half a century, de Jong offers fresh hope: an old-style sweeper with the poise and balance of Gullit, the vision and intelligence of Rijkaard, the pace and directness of Robben.

Can't resist it himself, can he?

As it happens, I’m less concerned about the actual footballing merits of de Jong, and more what he represents: what his tale says about a game so preternaturally sensitive to novelty and desperate to anoint the next big thing that a player who looks even vaguely different will be feted with the enthusiasm of a second coming. Or, put more simply: exactly when is the appropriate time to get excited about a player?

A generation or two ago, it was a simpler question to answer. The first time you saw a player was the first time you saw them.

...

Perhaps it’s time to admit that nobody ever really watches a player “clean” any more. From the very first moment they pass before our eyes - and sometimes, even earlier - our judgement has already been refracted through the judgements of others, all the words that have been written about them, all the fire emojis we have seen alongside their name, the addictive impulse in all of us to be able to say we saw him first. By the time a player like de Jong emerges into the light, they have long since been stripped of their right to a blank slate. The first time we watch de Jong over 90 minutes, we’ll already be watching him through a preconceived lens of the hype machine, to say nothing of snarky weekend columns commenting archly on the hype machine while also sharing in its lustre. Guilty as charged, by the way.

And yet. Strip all this away for a moment, load up all the requisite caveats, acknowledge the manifold limitations of the short-form video, and the feelings are still real. The excitement is still real. How is it possible to get this animated about a player you’ve never seen? I don’t know, but all the same, it is. Perhaps the real joy of football is that it allows us to imagine the world not as it is, but as it might be. I’m aware that Frenkie de Jong may not be all he’s cracked up to be. I’m aware that a four-minute video is no basis for rational judgement. I’m aware that half the world’s ills stem from people seeing things that aren’t there, asserting things they can’t possibly know for sure. But god, I still want to believe.

 

[Joan]

[tw]1040869156072161281[/tw]

 

[Cule4life]

Valverde out and Frenkie in next season would be just perfect

 

[Donatello]

[tw]1040869156072161281[/tw]

Barca getting milked, nothing new.

He is not a 70M player, even in this inflated market.

 

[Cule4life]

I'm sure he's licking his lips with the anticipation of playing under Valverde

 

[Raketa10]

How did he do against AEK?

 

[messi2140]

How did he do against AEK?

De ligt got injured so he was playing as a defender. He was solid but he did make some mistakes that could have been punished by a better team.

 

[Joan]

Nothing special from what I saw. Played as a CB. Got a yellow. Ajax football looked suicidal here and there so the CBs (FdJ and Blind) often had to deal with counters on their own. Fine match bar a few things. Poor opposition.

 

[Laplacian]

Imagine being so shit in depth you have to use a midfielder as a CB. Seriously though, the guys instincts force him to drive up the ball and pass the ball forward. I've changed my mind, the other user's correct about him, using him as a defensive midfielder is a waste of his talents.

 

[Raketa10]

imagine being so shit in depth you have to use a midfielder as a cb. Seriously though, the guys instincts force him to drive up the ball and pass the ball forward. I've changed my mind, the other user's correct about him, using him as a defensive midfielder is a waste of his talents.

Why would playing him as a DM be a waste of his talents? That's maybe the best position for him. Using him as a CB is a waste of his talents though.

 

[Gnidrologist]

^I think the same after watching him more closely recently. Being able to drive ball forward, when opportunity arises is very good feat for a DM. Ffs, Beckenbauer was playing nominal CB for his teams. Imo he's too good of a tackler and physically towering guy so you can make an argument that playing CM would be waste of his talents also. Think we will have enough guys, who could fill in the CM roles in near future, but sure as hell no one good enough to swap for Busi.

 

[mc_lovin]

He resembles Modric a lot. What I like about him and Arthur potentially playing together is that they both play rather deep in midfield - which is a blessing vs stronger teams, where control becomes more important. So - for me - he hopefully plays cm (if he comes). Wouldnt be too displeased to see him as the center piece in a 3-man-defense either.

(first they have to succeed though ;D)

 

[Laplacian]

Why would playing him as a DM be a waste of his talents? That's maybe the best position for him. Using him as a CB is a waste of his talents though.

Because he's a player with attacking instincts? Constantly wants to break the defense lines with his passes and wants to drive the ball forward. Sure that's a good thing for a DM to have, but a player with his strength, speed, creativity, and mobility should stay higher up the pitch. I really hope we utilize him as a b2b at least or as an attacking midfielder. Leave that boring distribution shit to players like Rakitic and Arthur. I see him more as a player that wants to be heavily involved in the final third.