Barcelona produced a very promising performance in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie with Napoli on Wednesday night, although they could only muster a 1-1 draw in Naples, despite having led – and looked comfortable.
Several players stood out for good performances at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium, and one of those was Frenkie de Jong. The Dutch midfielder delivered a strong performance in the centre of Barcelona’s midfield, although it wasn’t enough to appease everyone it seems.
As per Sport, de Jong was criticised on Dutch television by former Real Madrid midfielder Rafael van der Vaart, who complained that the 26-year-old is often too passive in his play.
“He plays football like a postman. He takes too long to pass the ball forward, instead he keeps running and getting it to his teammate. Once you get away from your opponent, you have to keep the ball moving, pass the ball.”
Van der Vaart was also not happy with Barcelona’s regular use of short corners against Napoli.
“Corners are my biggest frustration in football today. He plays short to Lamine Yamal, Frenkie, Pedri on the other side and then they cross him from the other side and it goes nowhere. It annoys me to death.”
In the case of de Jong, van der Vaart may not be overly pleased with him, but Barcelona certainly are. They are also hoping to keep him this summer, despite reported interest from the Premier League and Paris Saint-Germain.
I don’t disagree with this assessment. The attack slows WAY down when Frenkie has the ball. One touch passing is literally at the core of Barca’s approach to offensive football, and it’s something he should have adapted to by now.
İlkay gündoğan does exactly the same imo hence why i think deco is so determined to bring in a more physical athletic mobile quick midfielder this summer