A striker during his time at Newcastle, he has scored 77 league goals with headers and against Dortmund in the Champions League
Luuk de Jong laughed out loud. The PSV striker has just found out that he has been included in the Daily Mail’s list of the hundred worst strikers in the Premier League, in 75th place. His half-season on loan at Newcastle 10 years ago has long since faded, but evidently not to be forgotten anytime soon.
When brought to his attention by the countdown to the “biggest failures” of 2017, De Jong says: “Really?When I’ve only played 12 games and not all of them from the beginning?And out of position either? Well, that’s the world of football, you know. I’m young. I think I’m now more prepared to take on the Premier League defenders. It’s your reaction to adversity, it makes a difference. “
De Jong has come a long way since that time at St James’ Park. He is part of a PSV squad that will play the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 at home to Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, thinking he can cause a surprise. For the Dutch club, it was an extraordinary season. They are obviously the most sensible in the Eredivisie after winning their first 17 league games and completing Arsenal in a Champions League organisation with Sevilla and Lens. This is largely due to De Jong.
The 33-year-old is the offensive leader in Europe according to former Dutch playmaker Rafael van der Vaart, and Opta’s stats back him up. De Jong has scored 77 headed goals in the league, more than any player in Europe’s top six leagues. in the same period. Of his 27 goals (including six penalties) this season, thirteen have been headers.
De Jong’s parents were volleyball players representing the Netherlands and he played as a child on the grass or on the beach during the summer holidays. That helped him direct the footballs. “I think the sense of time is also in my genes,” he says. “But the procedure for getting to the lead, choosing a position, making room for yourself, educating teammates, and estimating where and when the halfway point will come is something I’ve learned and made progress on. “
The PSV captain is also famous for his intellectual strength. He has been ruled out at times, especially after his time at Newcastle and his time at Borussia Mönchengladbach (2012-14). He bounced back at PSV (2014-19), made a strong impression at Sevilla (2019-21), guiding them to Europa League victory in 2020, and was loaned out to Barcelona before returning to PSV in 2022. I never gave up at the top. I’ve continued to run hard and I think I’m now the most productive edit of myself.
De Jong didn’t expect him and PSV to reach such heights. He expresses himself in the club’s educational complex De Herdgang, in the forest, not far from the centre of Eindhoven, relaxing with a coffee in a comfortable canteen where the walls provide photographs in undeniable frames of former players and coaches such as Romário, Ronaldo, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Mark van Bommel, Guus Hiddink and Sir Bobby Robson. Photographs show them in De Herdgang, joking with others or with the canteen staff.
This simplicity and warmth are PSV’s strengths. Players like Hirving Lozano, Jerdy Schouten and Noa Lang may be among the most sensible clubs in Serie A, but they have chosen PSV. “PSV play for prizes,” says De Jong. It’s all functionality-wise, it’s incredibly trendy and edgy here. Here, too, there is less panic than at other big clubs, there is a lot of confidence in the procedure and laughter between strenuous efforts.
The “unreal” run of 17 consecutive Eredivisie victories was led by Peter Bosz, who led Ajax to the 2017 Europa League final. Bosz plays as offensively as imaginable and looks to corral his conflicting parties with good pressing. The power of the Boszball. Me like to work hard, run a lot, grab the opponent by the neck. The coach has a lot of experience and handles every scenario perfectly. It gives us confidence; He constantly drinks coffee with each and every one.
The match against Dortmund will pit Bosz against the club he coached in 2017. “We’re excited and proud to be back in the elite,” says De Jong, who believes PSV learned a lot from the 4-0 defeat to Arsenal. in September. ” The difference was made in the final phase in the box. They managed to have a lot of people in their locker room and in ours every time. I think we’ve gone more now. In football, everyone and everything can be replaced very quickly.
De Jong knows this better than anyone. Almost exactly 10 years ago, on February 23, 2014, he updated Newcastle at home to Aston Villa. “In the end, I hit the post. ” That narrow margin meant he left without scoring. “I had to update midfielder Yohan Cabaye, who went to PSG,” he said of his transfer. “I’m used to betting behind the striker, which is not my favourite position. I went back a lot, I reached the finish line a little bit. I knew that before, but you don’t say ‘no’ when you have a chance in the Premier League at such a wonderful club. I would have liked to show more.
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The hard times earned him “incredible respect” for Harry Maguire. “It’s a fantastic example for everyone: it helps keep going, it recovers, even if the criticism completely ugly it – 99 out of a hundred players wouldn’t recover after so much criticism. “
In the Champions League with PSV in 2018, De Jong showed at home and away against Tottenham that he can score against the most productive teams in the Premier League. With Sevilla, two years later, he won the Europa League semi-final against Manchester United and Internazionale’s last opponent with two goals. “It’s still the highlight of my career,” he says.
At Barcelona, De Jong replaced a player who left for PSG: a certain Lionel Messi. “It was very strange. Of course, I wasn’t appointed to reposition it directly. No one can reposition this man. I got there as a goal. But I was sitting in his position in the locker room. It was good. “
The coach who hired him, Ronald Koeman, was temporarily sacked. Xavi Hernandez told De Jong he could leave in January, but De Jong opted to stay. “After that, I scored some vital goals, usually with headers. At one point, they were chanting my call at the Camp Nou at every corner or free kick. You wouldn’t think there’s anything bigger than that. I’m very proud of that. “
De Jong knows how to protect himself from criticism. One thing he can think about off the pitch is the 2050 sustainable clothing logo he created with his brother Siem, a former Ajax and Newcastle player. “2050 is the year when the world will have to be fair on climate according to the EU. Try to produce differently, including by recycling garments and using sustainable materials.
“Everyone knows that the Earth is warming too fast. You think about it even more when you have kids. As a successful person, you are one of the top polluters. It’s something you should check to replace things in this area.