‘He shaved his bangs off’

Sunday, August 22, 2021 at 02:03• Daniel Cabot Kerkdijk • Last update: 02:38

The newspapers in Spain are lyrical about the actions of Memphis Depay and Frenkie de Jong after the match between Athletic Club and Barcelona (1-1) in LaLiga. Ronald Koeman’s team was only able to prevent the visit to the Basque Country from ending in defeat fifteen minutes before the end via a beautiful goal from Depay. The Spanish media were very enthusiastic about Depay last week after the 4-2 victory over Real Sociedad and that pattern is repeated even more after a match in which Depay and De Jong were the shining bright spots of an otherwise disappointing Barcelona.

Depay’s candle in La Catedral (AS)
Bee ASH there is not enough superlatives to describe the added value of Depay for Barcelona. That is already clear from the title of the video of the 1-1: Tiene jugadorazo el Barça para un lustro: vean el golazo tremendo de Memphis Depay, or ‘Barcelona has a topper for the coming lustrum: view the great top goal of Memphis Depay here’. The title of the match report of the Madrid sports newspaper is also impressive: ‘Barcelona sticks to Depay’, with ‘Depay lights a candle in La Catedral’ as the subtitle, referring to the nickname of Athletic’s home port.

Also in the match report, Depay is almost the only player from Barcelona, ​​besides De Jong, who does not receive any criticism. Koeman chose, unpredictably, for the same players who defeated Real Sociedad, but the team that looked a lot like The Avengers at the Camp Nou, looked like Peter Pan’s The Gone Boys in San Mamés. (…) If a team like Athletic cannot express its superiority in more goals, there is a danger of individuals standing up. And Memphis got up with a golazo. That did not justify Barcelona’s game in Bilbao, but it did justify the result of a game in which they took a point thanks to a great acquisition.”

“Superlative, especially in the last thirty minutes when he was in complete control of the game,” says the unnumbered rating of ASH to read about De Jong. “De Jong paid the price for his incredible effort and was exhausted towards the end, but he was largely responsible for Barcelona not losing. Sublime in the ball circulation and in the ball conquest. Barcelona stayed upright in many phases, often thanks to De Jong.” The sports newspaper describes Depay’s golazo as ‘an oasis of mediocrity in Barcelona’s attack’. “He’s the kind of player who always offers solutions and lets a team get more medals. Many of us wonder what would have happened in an attack with Memphis and Lionel Messi together, but we will never know.”

Time stands still when Depay touches the ball (Sport)
Sport only hands out four passes to the basic forces of Barcelona: a six for Gerard Pique and Pedri, and an eight for both Frenkie de Jong and Depay. Catalonia’s best-selling sports newspaper describes the midfielder as ‘a leader’. “In the first hour he could hardly rest because Athletic kept pushing and he had to multiply himself to keep the ball in the team. That kept him from getting close to the target very often. Midway through the second half, he took a step forward, took the team in tow and was even close to scoring,” referring to the subtle lob against the aluminum a few minutes before Depay’s equalizer.

Depay’s transactions are described as ‘distinctive’. “Every time he gets the ball, it seems like time stands still. Everything he touches becomes something better, something different and makes it look like a spectacle. He delivered the best moments offensively, but he didn’t find any socios once he had the ball. Until the moment he enough said and he out chistera, ‘top hat’, made a devastating left-hand shot that ended violently in Julen Agirrezabala’s goal.”

Lluís Mascaró, director of Sport, points out in his column that two Barcelona players took responsibility “when defeat seemed inevitable.” “Depay and De Jong were responsible for a point in a game that was very similar to many games that Barcelona played last season.” The journalist saw “mediocre Barcelona as always, but without the magic of Messi as a solution”. “Until De Jong woke up and Depay came to the rescue. The two Dutchmen took responsibility: De Jong by controlling the game and Depay by taking care of the liberating equalizer.”

Depay shaves Agirrezabala’s bangs off
‘Depay lets Barcelona escape the lions’, is the match report of marca read, with ‘Depay saves a shabby Barcelona’ as the subtitle. “A seething shot from Depay almost ended in the intersection. Such are the big clubs. All of Athletic’s efforts in 75 minutes resulted in a well deserved goal and a detail, but what a detail, Barcelona took a point.” Even in the reviews, without a rating, the reviews for Depay, and also De Jong, were very positive. “Spectacular. He appeared with a golazo the moment Barcelona was through and made the team bounce. What a player Barcelona has attracted!”

“Depay has landed on his feet at Barcelona. After his dazzling debut against Real Sociedad, now a golazo in San Mamés. The moment Barcelona appeared to be in a bad position, he made an appearance like a lion and with a move of a pure ‘9’ shaved off Agirrezabala’s fringe. His teammates struggled to find him in the combination, but he has proved that he has brought a suitcase full of goals. In minute 85 he almost made the winning himself. Top football player with scoring ability… and for free. What an asset to LaLiga. “Spain’s best-selling sports newspaper also praises De Jong’s performance. “Both offensively and defensively. He led the team and was involved in the majority of Barcelona’s most dangerous moments. He is a leader”, assures the Madrid daily.

More and more stripes on De Jong’s sleeve
Mundo Deportivo, which has ‘Depay breathes life into a tortured Barcelona’ as a title above the match report, praises the way Depay wanted to step off the field as the winner. “He asked for the ball on both the left and the right. He wanted to take free kicks and he created the biggest chance that killed Martin Braithwaite,” the Catalan sports newspaper points out to the Dane’s big miss. There was a lack of companions in the vanguard, but at the same time he took a seething shot from his chistera. He continued to lead the team and almost even made the 1-2.” At De Jong, the lyrics are a bit more sober. “He was caring in all his duties. Defensively too, when a shot from Iñaki Williams was already half a goal. In the second half, the aluminum got in the way of a goal.”

Bee ElDesmarque the scores are just not to count on one hand: a six for Piqué and Sergiño Dest, a seven for Neto and Sergio Busquets and an eight for both De Jong and Depay. “The ex-player of Ajax has more and more stripes on his sleeve. What a great game from the midfielder in terms of possession, but also on the sides when the ball had to be captured. He even tried to make a golazo, but his bet ended up on the crossbar.” Depay is also praised to heaven. “A golazo was his first in an official game for Barcelona. The best player in Barcelona from an attacking point of view, a player with a lot of technical qualities at the service of the team.”