Frenkie de Jong
Frenkie de Jong (born 12 May 1997) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Spanish club Barcelona and the Netherlands national team. A versatile playmaker, he is known for his strong defensive abilities.[5]
De Jong playing for Ajax in 2019 | ||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Frenkie de Jong[1] | |||||||||||||||
Date of birth | [2] | 12 May 1997|||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Gorinchem, Netherlands | |||||||||||||||
Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[3] | |||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Midfielder[4] | |||||||||||||||
Club information | ||||||||||||||||
Current team | Barcelona | |||||||||||||||
Number | 21 | |||||||||||||||
Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
2004–2015 | Willem II | |||||||||||||||
Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
2015 | Willem II | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2019–2016 | Jong Ajax | 46 | (8) | |||||||||||||
2016–2019 | Ajax | 57 | (5) | |||||||||||||
2019– | Barcelona | 50 | (5) | |||||||||||||
National team‡ | ||||||||||||||||
2012–2014 | Netherlands U15 | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2014–2015 | Netherlands U17 | 5 | (1) | |||||||||||||
2015–2017 | Netherlands U19 | 6 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2017 | Netherlands U21 | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2018– | Netherlands | 22 | (1) | |||||||||||||
Honours
| ||||||||||||||||
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:04, 7 February 2021 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19 November 2020 (UTC) |
De Jong began his professional career at Willem II in 2015. He transferred to Ajax for a fee worth €1 a year later. The fee was symbolic and offset by a sell-on clause. At Ajax he established himself as one of the best young midfielders in Europe, after winning a domestic double and reaching the Champions League semi-finals. De Jong won the Eredivisie and KNVB Cup, was Eredivisie player of the season, and was an instrumental part of Ajax's first UEFA Champions League semi-final appearance in 22 years, in a breakthrough 2018–19 season.
During his breakthrough season, De Jong agreed to sign for Barcelona in January 2019, leading him to be signed for the club in July, for a fee worth €75 million. De Jong was selected to the 2019 FIFA FIFPro World11 and was one of three Dutch players to feature in it for the first time in five years.
De Jong made his senior international debut for the Netherlands in September 2018. He became a starter in the inaugural UEFA Nations League, in which Netherlands finished runners-up.
Club career
Willem II
A product of Willem II, de Jong played through the entire youth system at the club. On 10 May 2015, De Jong made his Eredivisie debut against ADO Den Haag, two days before his eighteenth birthday. He was substituted in the 68th minute for Terell Ondaan in a (1–0) home win.[6][7]
Ajax
At the beginning of the season, on 22 August 2015, Ajax purchased De Jong. He signed a four-year contract, for a symbolic €1 fee which included a 10% sell-on bonus. On 23 August 2015, he was loaned back to Willem II until 31 December 2015. During this time he made one substitute appearance in an Eredivisie match against PEC Zwolle.[8][9]
2016–17: Player development
For the first two years at Ajax, De Jong was in and out of the first team squad. After returning to the club in January, 2016, de Jong made 15 appearances in the 2015—16 Eerste Divisie for Ajax II. He primarily played in the centre of a three-man midfield and scored two goals. The following year, he was awarded the 2016–17 Eerste Divisie's Talent of the season award for his performances with Ajax II for whom, he made 31 first team appearances and played as a central, and defensive, midfielder.[10][11][12]
He made his senior debut against Sparta Rotterdam coming on, in the 88th minute, for Lasse Schöne. In total, he made four senior appearances for Ajax, and scored one goal against Go Ahead Eagles, in the 2016—17 season. He started one game, came off the bench thrice, and was an unused substitute in 13 games. He also made his European debut and made four substitute, and three bench, appearances, in the 2016–17 Europa League. He came off the bench in the 82nd minute against Manchester United in the final. It was Ajax's first European final in 21 years.[13][14]
2017–19: First team regular
Aged 20, he made 26 appearances for the first team. Primarily he featured as a center-back, in a back four, alongside national teammate Matthijs de Ligt due to the departure of Davinson Sanchez. He also played in a three-man center-midfield. He recorded 8 assists in 22 league appearances and received two yellow cards. Towards the end of the season he was injured—tendonitis, syndesmotic ligament tear, hairline crack in calf bone—and missed three months. De Jong made two substitute appearances in the 2017–18 Champions League qualification, as Ajax lost on away goals against Nice (3–3) in the third qualifying round.[15]
In the 2018–19 season he primarily played in the middle of a three-man midfield. De Jong was the Eredivisie player of the month in December (2018) and February (2019)—in which he completed 354 of 390 passes and made 53 ball recoveries. Later that month he received praise from Rafael Van Der Vaart, who said De Jong was among the best players in Europe with the ball at his feet. It is unclear whether during or prior to the beginning of the campaign he rejected an offer from Tottenham Hotspur, saying the "moment wasn't right," and wanted to play a full season in his preferred position at Ajax.[16][17][18]
De Jong achieved success, and widespread recognition, during the 2018–19 season and led Ajax to their first domestic double (league and cup) since the 2001–02 season. Ajax wrestled with PSV Eindhoven all season for the league, and finished the last five weeks at the top of the table. He made 51 total appearances and starred in Ajax's first leg (0–1) win over Tottenham Hotspur in the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League semi-final at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium—in which De Jong had the most touches by any player on the pitch (87) and an 86.2 percent pass completion rate. It was the first time Ajax made the tournament semi-final since 1997. The team eliminated Juventus (3–2 on agg.) in the quarterfinals and Real Madrid (5–3 on agg.) In the second leg of the semi-final, Ajax lost 2–3 at home and were knocked out on away goals. De Jong was selected to the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League squad of the season and voted the tournament's midfielder of the season.[19][20]
Barcelona
On 23 January 2019, La Liga club Barcelona announced the signing of de Jong on a five-year contract, effective from 1 July 2019, for an initial fee worth €75 million. He made his competitive debut on 16 August 2019, in a 0–1 opening day defeat to Athletic Bilbao. De Jong had transfer discussions with Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City and Manchester United before ultimately opting for Barcelona.[21][22][23][24][25][26]
De Jong has primarily played as a central midfielder. In his first 12 league appearances, he had scored and assisted, once each, in the same game—against Valencia on 14 September 2019, at Camp Nou. His first assist was to Ansu Fati in the 2nd minute. He set up Fati with a low cross from the right. Fati then assisted for de Jong's first goal, in the 7th minute. Fati cut a low cross in from the left which de Jong scored from just outside the six-yard box.[27][28]
International career
During his youth career, de Jong made 22 appearances in the Netherlands youth setup. On 10 July 2015, he made his debut for the Netherlands U19 team against Germany U19. On 6 September 2018, de Jong replaced Georginio Wijnaldum at half-time to make his senior international debut in a friendly (2–1) win against Peru. Fifteen minutes into his debut, he assisted a goal for Memphis Depay by retrieving possession high-up the pitch and setting up the forward. He later on scored the winner, and had a 100 percent pass completion rate (21 passes) in the opposition half. He soon became a regular starter for the Netherlands in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League and the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers.[29][30][31][32][33]
Style of play
—Former Netherlands international and Ajax sporting director Marc Overmars on De Jong
Frenkie has described himself as a player "who likes to have the ball a lot, and play possession." A versatile player, de Jong can function as a regista, defensive midfielder, central midfielder, holding midfielder, box-to-box midfielder and centre back. He has been lauded for his combination of defensive stability and playmaking ability. He often partnered Matthijs de Ligt at centre-back, at Ajax. As a centre back, he abstained from committing fouls, showed great positional sense, and won possession frequently. In this more defensive role, his performances led to comparison with former German sweeper Franz Beckenbauer and likened his tendency to progress forward in possession, and ability to play-make, from defense to the German legend.[36][37][38][35][39][40][41]
—Former Barcelona midfielder Xavi on De Jong[42]
Much like his contemporary and partner in the Barcelona midfield Arthur, de Jong's vision has been praised alongside his ability to dribble in narrow spaces, control over possession, and decisive passing. A natural passer, de Jong had a 91.4 percent pass accuracy, in all competitions, during his last season with Ajax. An extraordinary game-reader, he often makes offensive runs through the middle.
His other attributes include a penchant for long cross-field passes, creating space, and absorbing attacking pressure. His close control, accuracy, work rate, and movement has drawn comparisons with Andrés Iniesta and Johan Cruyff. At Barcelona, he has primarily played on either side of a three-man central midfield. This has led experts and former players regard him as a player with "Barça DNA" who was "born to play for Barcelona."[39]
Personal life
De Jong was born in Gorinchem and grew up in Arkel, a town in South Holland, where he started playing football at a young age. Since he started playing professionally, De Jong has chosen 21 on his shirt as a tribute to his grandfather who was born on 21 April.[14][43][44] He met his girlfriend Mikky Kiemeny in high school and they have been dating since 2014.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 7 February 2021[4]
Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental1 | Other2 | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Willem II | 2014–15 | Eredivisie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
2015–16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
Total | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||||
Jong Ajax | 2015–16 | Eerste Divisie | 15 | 2 | — | — | — | 15 | 2 | |||
2016–17 | 31 | 6 | — | — | — | 31 | 6 | |||||
Total | 46 | 8 | — | — | — | 46 | 8 | |||||
Ajax | 2016–17 | Eredivisie | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
2017–18 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 0 | ||
2018–19 | 31 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 4 | ||
Total | 57 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 89 | 5 | ||
Barcelona | 2019–20 | La Liga | 29 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 2 |
2020–21 | 21 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 30 | 6 | ||
Total | 50 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 72 | 8 | ||
Career total | 155 | 18 | 15 | 2 | 37 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 210 | 21 |
- 1 Includes UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League matches.
- 2 Includes Johan Cruyff Shield, Eredivisie playoffs and Supercopa de España matches.
International
- As of match played 15 November 2020[4]
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Netherlands | |||
2018 | 5 | 0 | |
2019 | 10 | 1 | |
2020 | 6 | 0 | |
Total | 21 | 1 |
- As of match played 15 November 2020. Scores and results list the Netherlands' goal tally first. Score column indicates score after each De Jong goal.[4]
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 6 September 2019 | Volksparkstadion, Hamburg, Germany | Germany | 1–1[45] | 4–2 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification |
Honours
Ajax
- Eredivisie: 2018–19[4]
- KNVB Cup: 2018–19[4]
- UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2016–17[46]
Netherlands
- UEFA Nations League runner-up: 2018–19[47]
Individual
- Eerste Divisie Talent of the Season: 2016–17[13]
- Eredivisie Player of the Month: December 2018,[48] February 2019[49]
- Eredivisie Player of the Season: 2018–19[50]
- Eredivisie Team of the Season: 2018–19[50]
- UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season: 2018–19[51]
- UEFA Midfielder of the Season: 2018–19[52]
- Dutch Football Talent of the Year: 2018–19[53]
- UEFA Nations League Finals Young Player of the Tournament: 2019[54]
- UEFA Nations League Finals Team of the Tournament: 2019[55]
- The Best FIFA Men's Player: 2019 (7th place)[56]
- FIFA FIFPro World11: 2019[57]
- IFFHS Men's World Team: 2019[58]
- UEFA Team of the Year: 2019[59]
References
- "Acta del Partido celebrado el 16 de agosto de 2019, en Bilbao" [Minutes of the Match held on 16 August 2019, in Bilbao] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- "Frenkie de Jong: Did you know?". FC Barcelona. 23 January 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- "Frenkie de Jong". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- "F. de Jong: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- "Frenkie De Jong Is One of the Best Midfielders Currently in Football, Says Andrea Pirlo". sportbible. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
- "Willem II vs. ADO Den Haag - 10 May 2015 - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
- "La Liga Player Watch: Frenkie de Jong". The Coaches' Voice. 29 January 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
- "Why selling Frenkie De Jong for just €1 was a stroke of genius from Willem II". Dream Team FC. 27 December 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
- "Ajax managed to sign Frenkie de Jong for just €1 from Willem II in 2015". GiveMeSport. 18 April 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
- "Jong Ajax Scoring Stats". ESPN. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
- "Frenkie de Jong Stats". ESPN. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
- "The 50 Eredivisie U21 Stars To Watch 2018/19: Frenkie de Jong". Football Oranje. 10 August 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
- "Proud of you lads!". Twitter.com.
- Sport (20 July 2019). "Frenkie de Jong: I want to be an important player for this Barça team". sport. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
- "Ajax suffer Frenkie de Jong blow". Football Oranje. 28 February 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
- "Frenkie de Jong admits he nearly joined Tottenham before Barcelona move". Sky Sports. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- "De Jong named Eredivisie player of the month again". Football Oranje. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
- "Van der Vaart raves about De Jong: Best player in Netherlands". Football Oranje. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
- "Frenkie de Jong: Player Profile". Pulse. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
- "Tottenham 0-1 Ajax, Champions League: Donny van de Beek scores only goal". 30 April 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
- "From Cruyff to De Jong" (Press release). FC Barcelona. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
- "Barcelona confirm De Jong signing from Ajax in £65m deal". The Independent. 23 January 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
- "Barça sign De Jong". www.fcbarcelona.com. Archived from the original on 20 June 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- "Frenkie de Jong to join Barcelona in €75m summer transfer from Ajax". The Guardian. 23 January 2019. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
- "Griezmann and De Jong given rude awakening on disjointed Barcelona debuts". Eurosport. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- House, Future Publishing Limited Quay; Ambury, The; Engl, Bath BA1 1UA All rights reserved; number 2008885, Wales company registration (24 January 2019). "De Jong: I spoke to PSG and City before signing for Barca". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
- "FC Barcelona 5-2 Valencia: Wow!". FC Barcelona. 14 September 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- Highlights FC Barcelona vs Valencia CF (5-2), retrieved 23 November 2019
- "Netherlands vs Peru - Match report". soccerway.com. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
- Clark, Gill (7 September 2018). "Frenkie De Jong enjoys impressive Netherlands debut". Barca Blaugranes. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
- "Voetbalzone - Live: Germany U19 - Netherlands U19, Vrijdag 10 Juli 2015". Voetbalzone. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
- "Germany 2-4 Netherlands". uefa.com. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
- UEFA.com (9 June 2019). "Bernardo Silva and Frenkie de Jong win Nations League awards". UEFA.com. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
- "Men's Player nominees: What makes them The Best?". FIFA. 7 August 2019.
- "'He could become a Xavi or an Iniesta' – Marc Overmars on Frenkie de Jong". Sportskeeda. 17 February 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
- Profiling Barcelona target Frenkie de Jong Barca Blaugranes. 7 July 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2019
- Tactical Analysis of Ajax wonderkid Frenkie de Jong Sportskeeda. Retrieved 27 April 2018
- "Barcelona legend Xavi: Frenkie de Jong a beastly talent". Tribal Football. 27 July 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
- Yokhin, Michael (7 February 2018). "Frenkie De Jong: The Ajax sensation who could be better than Beckenbauer". ESPN FC. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
- says, Khaled Khaled (20 September 2019). "Xavi full of praise for De Jong". Football Oranje. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
- Frenkie de Jong: "I like to have the ball a lot and play possession" FC Barcelona YouTube Channel. 6 March 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2019
- Khaymina, Margarita. "Xavi believes De Jong can 'mark an era' at Barca, praises Vidal as well". Tribuna. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
- (in Dutch) Frenkie goes to Barcelona NRC Handelsblad, 26 april 2019
- Steinberg, Jacob (6 December 2018). "Ajax's Frenkie de Jong: 'I try to have a picture of where everyone is'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
- "Germany 2 - 4 Netherlands". BBC. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
- "2016/17: United win it for Manchester". UEFA. 30 May 2017.
- "Portugal win Nations League as Gonçalo Guedes does for the Netherlands". The Guardian. 9 June 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
- "Frenkie de Jong en Steven Bergwijn Speler en Talent van de Maand december". www.foxsports.nl. 16 January 2019.
- "Frenkie de Jong opnieuw uitgeroepen tot Speler van de Maand | Eredivisie". eredivisie.nl. 28 February 2019.
- "Frenkie de Jong Eredivisie Player of the Season 2018/2019". Eredivisie. 16 May 2019.
- "UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season". UEFA.com. 2 June 2019.
- "Frenkie De Jong: Champions League Midfielder of the Season". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- "De Jong named Eredivisie talent of the year". RTL Nieuws. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
- "Bernardo Silva and Frenkie de Jong honoured". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 9 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
- "UEFA Nations League Finals: Team of the Tournament". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 10 June 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
- "Final Ranking: The Best FIFA Men's Player 2019" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 23 September 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
- "VAN DIJK AMONG FOUR DEBUTANTS IN MEN'S WORLD 11". FIFPro World Players' Union. 23 September 2019.
- "IFFHS AWARDS 2019 – THE IFFHS MEN WORLD TEAM OF THE YEAR 2019". IFFHS. 30 November 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
- "UEFA.com fans' Team of the Year 2019 revealed". UEFA. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Frenkie de Jong. |
- Profile at the FC Barcelona website
- Frenkie de Jong at Soccerway