Friday, April 9, 2021 at 9:03 PM• Mart van Mourik • Last update: 21:03

Jack van Gelder thinks that Frank de Boer should seriously consider putting Frenkie de Jong in the center of the defense at the Dutch national team. In the program Panic football from Ziggo Sport De Jong’s role as central defender at Barcelona is discussed, after which the analyst / presenter suggests that the former Ajax player also serve in that position at the the Dutch. Moreover, Van Gelder sees similarities between De Jong and the now retired Javier Mascherano.

When Van Gelder proposes to El Clásico, which will be finished on Saturday evening, Jan van Halst takes the opportunity to highlight De Jong’s role at Barcelona. “Frenkie de Jong is probably in the center of the back against Real, even though I personally prefer to see him in midfield. But also from the back he has so much confidence and he never loses the ball. I can imagine that players around him feel more secure: just look at Óscar Mingueza. He’s not that strong defensively, but he just feels more secure with De Jong next to him ”, said Van Halst.

Van Gelder fully agrees with his colleague, and also thinks that the the Dutch national coach should make room for De Jong in the central heart of defense. “Suppose he is actually in the center of the back (against Real Madrid, ed.) In the three-man rearguard and he is doing well, then it must also be something that Frank de Boer has to think about. When De Jong went to Barcelona, ​​I said that I wouldn’t be surprised if it became a Mascherano 2.0. ”

“At first I was laughed at a lot,” Van Gelder continues. “But Mascherano was of course also a midfielder at the start and he has moved further and further back. He then created a position at Barcelona that was often filled at Ajax. Danny Blind also moved in very often in his time and there have been several players in large teams who moved in and thus created a surplus situation. Frenkie de Jong is going a bit that way: a midfielder who changes roles and can advance from the rear. Just say about eight to ten meters further back than where Andrea Pirlo stood ”, Van Gelder concludes.