Truffaut's 400 hits are Frenkie de Jong's 400 passes at this start of the League. The Dutch midfielder is like that child from Paris who dreams of escaping to see the sea and in the end succeeds. He has had a hard time – he arrived at Barcelona in 2019 – but finally, at the age of 26, he has gotten away with it and is the engine of the Blaugrana team as he had always wanted. The first four days of the League have served to see the leading role that De Jong will have in Barça's game from now on, converted into the total and modern midfielder that was announced.
Without Busquets, owner of the Barcelona midfielder for 15 years, the Dutchman has taken much more responsibility for distribution and creation. The pivot incorporated from Girona this summer to replace Busi, Oriol Romeu, more physical, does not have the same facility as the current Inter Miami footballer to make the ball run at the start. And Xavi has chosen to make a custom suit for De Jong to give him that point of freedom, in the style of his exhibitions with Ajax, which he did not have until now, by playing more as a positional interior.
In Pamplona, Frenkie surpassed Neymar's 186 blaugrana matches. He was always untouchable by the coaches, now he is indispensable to the game. This is how his colleagues also see him, who have the order to look for him. And he offers. Only in this way can it be understood that in the four games played he has always been above 100 interventions. His display is being admirable, physically full. He starts the plays and matures them and accompanies them until giving the last pass (in the play that ends in the penalty and the 1-2 in El Sadar) or even finishing them (at the post against Osasuna and the 0-2 of Vila-real ).
Looking more at the goal is something that is asked of all Barcelona midfielders. Author of 16 goals, De Jong has never been close to double figures in terms of goals. His best record was the seven goals in the 2020-21 season. Last year he stayed in two goals, plus four assists. This year he is more involved in the offensive facet.
There have been four games with tight scores and nerves until the end, but he has not burned the ball at his feet and has emerged as the leader on the field. He takes risks, because he is in his veins, but without losing balls, which is something that Xavi urged him to do in his day. De Jong has given 423 good passes, more than one per minute, and he has only made a mistake on 28 deliveries. 94% reliability despite the fact that its functions and touches have been expanded.
In his fifth campaign as a Barcelona player, you can also see his adaptation to the Barça style. In the 2019-20 season, the first, the Dutchman gave an average of 12 backward passes per game. The following year there were 11. Last year they were reduced to ten. And at this start it is clearly seen that his mission is to take the ball to the opposite field without delaying, which allows many players to be in front of the ball.
All this has been added without losing its hallmarks. His drives to break rival lines are as plastic to the eye as they are practical for the team, which he appreciates overcoming the initial pressure from the opponent. De Jong is one of those who runs with his head held high and the ball stuck to his boot. In part, that explains his courage and his success in dribbling: 70% success in dribbling. Of the ten that he has tried, in seven he has left the opponent.
De Jong's gallants not only because of his lungs and class, are also because he is cerebral and analytical to control the tempos of the game and detect what the team needs in each game. And also his companions. Perhaps that is why in El Sadar he was the one who most wanted to connect with Lewandowski. Up to ten times he passed the ball to nine to activate it and thus create danger for Osasuna. Thanks to that association came the penalty. The Pole controlled the organizer's delivery with his chest and was brought down by Catena in the box.
The referee indicated the 11 meters, but De Jong was not satisfied with the yellow card that he showed the defender. Immediately the midfielder with his hands to his head ran to protest to the referee, pressing him to review the play. He was the first and the one who put the most emphasis. There were ten minutes left and it was important to play them in superiority, to defend the result or to attack if the maximum penalty was not converted. Surely it was the VAR and not the protests of the Dutch who managed to change the color of the card. But it denotes how much he has grown in his role and how involved the new De Jong is in the games.
