De Jong relishing title race as Barca return to action
you have to understand is I really, really like football,” says Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong. “It’s not pretend. I enjoy every minute of it.”
De Jong’s first touch at the Camp Nou came between a thumbs up and a smile. As he juggled the ball in his new kit, the crowd cheered and as they cheered, he smiled again.
It was July 5 last year and De Jong was being unveiled after a €75 million move from Ajax. On his first day, the Dutchman arrived at his new flat to find a restaurant booked for him and his girlfriend by Sergio Busquets, the player many assumed De Jong was bought to replace.
Later, he met Lionel Messi, whose name he had printed on the back of a Barca shirt he owned as a boy. “Maybe it makes him feel old but he was already the best player when he was very young so I think it’s more because of that,” De Jong, who at 23 is almost 10 years younger than Messi, tells AFP. “I dont have it anymore, it got too small for me.”
It brings into focus the speed of his rise. Ajax sporting director Marc Overmars first spotted De Jong playing for the under-16s and what stood out was not only his ability to distribute, but dribble. “When I was young I used to play a lot with my friends and it felt natural to beat players so I kept doing it at Willem II and then Ajax,” De Jong says.
De Jong’s first season in Spain has been assured, with 23 starts out of 27 in the league before it was suspended in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But by his own admission, there is so much more to come as Barcelona prepare to return to action in Mallorca on Saturday. “I have played some games that were good and others that were average or below average even,” De Jong says.
“I had a bad period, I never played really badly I don’t think, but I know I can do a lot better.”
The interrupted season also has 11 games remaining. Barcelona are top, two points ahead of Real Madrid, but still adapting under new coach Quique Setien, who was appointed in January.
“The last round before we stopped we took back first place but we weren’t in our best shape,” De Jong says.
“The league was changing a lot, we weren’t consistent but Madrid weren’t either. I think we have already progressed since the new coach came in. You saw the team was already growing and I think we will be a better team than the one you saw before the suspension.”
OCAMPOS SHINES AS SEVILLA WIN DERBY
La Liga returned after a threemonth hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic as Sevilla beat city rivals Real Betis 2-0 on Thursday with the help of a controversial penalty and a touch of class from Argentine Lucas Ocampos.
Ocampos struck the post in the first half before giving Sevilla a deserved lead from the spot in the 56th minute after Betis’ Marc Bartra was harshly judged to have fouled Luuk de Jong.
Ocampos produced an outrageous backheel assist for midfielder Fernando to head home six minutes later to seal a win.