According to Rafael van der Vaart, Denzel Dumfries would not make it at Barcelona, the analyst said on Friday evening. In the program Studio Europe of the NOS suggests presenter Henry Schut that the right back could be an option at Barcelona, but Van der Vaart does not want to know about that. “When he participates in a Rondo at Barcelona, he is always in the middle,” responds the 109-time international of the Dutch.
“Would Dumfries be able to play at Barcelona? It is all very premature,” says Van der Vaart. “Of course this is nice for someone who was an amateur a few years ago. He’s just having a great tournament and I love his look. I think it will be terrible to play against him. If he looks angry you’re scared, but when he smiles he’s like a baby and you want to cuddle him.”
Alfred Schreuder, who is Ronald Koeman’s assistant coach at Barcelona, also cautiously indicates that Dumfries probably would not fit into the Barcelona system. “We also got Sergiño Dest, of course,” said Schreuder. “That is actually a fairly identical player, but a bit more offensive. Dumfries has to play in a system where he has to ‘get there’, but at Barcelona you are already there very often. So then the spaces are much smaller. created space and he can go over it and when he has space and he is facing the goal he is just very very dangerous so if he chooses a club he should choose one where he has to get there all the time ”, says Schreuder, who is supplemented by van Van der Vaart.
“Alfred can’t say that, of course, but I can,” says Van der Vaart. “But when Dumfries participates in a Rondo at Barcelona, he is always in the middle. So that’s not the club he should go to. That’s not meant to be rude, it just is. I know how it is in Spain: they are all good at the ball there. And Dest, for example, is fantastic on the ball. Dumfries is actually a bit of an Italian right-back who just keeps going and knocking everyone over.”
Schreuder fully agrees and thinks that Dumfries would not look out of place in Italian football. “I think he really has a point because it suits him and the football has to be physical. He’s a great boy and he gives a team energy. It just fits the Dutch national team. Certainly when Stefan de Vrij also gives him his back, then Dumfries can just keep going. He is now also doing well by getting into the sixteen a lot.”
Dumfries is also discussed at The the Dutch Summer on SBS6, where Valentijn Driessen makes a critical judgment about the right back. “Am I also so enthusiastic about Dumfries? Well, actually not at all. Look, he did well against Austria and Ukraine, but in the Eredivisie we have long seen how to stop him. I believe he only scored once last year (twice in the Eredivisie, ed.). And now everyone is all over the place, but of course he doesn’t make you a European champion. In no time, those other countries have of course also seen how to stop him,” says Driessen.
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