A large number of the Dutch internationals are sure of an invitation to the approaching European Championship without injuries, but there is also a group that will wait in suspense whether there will be a phone call from Frank de Boer this month. Voetbalzone gives him and the other seventeen million national coaches a hand by zooming in on the latter category. In the second episode, the focus is on Mitchel Bakker, who recently played with Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals of the Champions League and got a lot of wind in the first game from teammate Neymar.
By Thijs Verhaar
Nobody knows exactly what Neymar shouted to our compatriot, but his body language was painfully clear. The 222 million euro man was not at all satisfied with Bakker’s contribution in the first game of the now definitively lost diptych with Manchester City. Where he tried to coach him in the first half, he made no effort after the break to hide his dissatisfaction. When the left back wasn’t around to combine again, he got an angry look. A reproachful scream regularly followed when he did not take a walk to make room for Neymar, and the Brazilian’s disgruntled gestures were widely discussed by the director. That is already painful, but the worst part was that Bakker was often blatantly skipped by his teammates when he did come forward. “So we can say that it was not the happiest night of his life,” concludes Goaljournalist David Hernandez with a sense of understatement.
The club watcher of Paris Saint-Germain calls the twenty-year-old Bakker himself the weakest link in that 1-2 lost game, but thinks that Neymar should never have shown it that way. “He missed support especially in the second half and took it out on his teammates. So I think his attitude has mainly been his own frustration. He is rightly judged on that in the French press. ” For example, former PSG midfielder Jérôme Rothen adjusted as an analyst RMC Sport that the Brazilian lost sight of his leadership role with his behavior towards his teammate. “I don’t think you can blame Bakker for not giving home at this level,” says Hernandez. “He is just a bit too young and bleu to be able to fill such an important position properly at a top club like PSG. And Neymar did not help him the other way round by not or hardly defending. ”
Bakker and Neymar in better times. Both players did not respond to the incident.
Bakker switched transfer-free from Young Ajax in the summer of 2019 and regularly ran into Leeroy Echteld at the training complex of the Parisians. At the time, the 52-year-old coach was in charge of the now defunct U21 team and is now part of the technical staff of PEC Zwolle. “We already knew each other because during his time at Jong Ajax he had a lot of contact with the guys from the AZ youth, whom I had under my care at the time.” A direct collaboration between the two could have been possible with the Paris reserves, had it not been for the club to sell Stanley Nskoki to Nice for 12.5 million euros. “With that, a place was immediately available for Mitchel at the first and he picked it up very well. He is very eager to learn, really showed that he has a lot to do to succeed. It is of course also a unique opportunity to go from Ajax to PSG and then be able to train with the big stars right away. ”
The left back would eventually come within the lines five times in his first season and is already very creditable at 38 appearances in the current year, ten of which in the Champions League. It should be noted, however, that first-choice Juan Bernat tore off his anterior cruciate ligament in September and is still not ready for competition, while Layvin Kurzawa and Abdou Diallo also struggle to stay fit for a longer period of time. So it is partly lucky that Bakker gets so much playing time, but Hernandez immediately emphasizes that the international of the Dutch Juniors has earned it himself. “In the Champions League it wasn’t good enough against City due to his inexperience, but in Ligue 1 he really shows it with his energy, speed and good left. He just has to work on his return. Two assists in 38 games is still a bit too little. ”
Bakker duels with Riyad Mahrez, who would later make the winning goal from a free kick (1-2).
Echteld agrees with those words and sees opportunities in that area for Bakker. “If he can add that to his game, I’m sure he can really get very far,” said the former PSG U21 coach. Now, in his view, both backs in the two duels with Manchester City were not dominant enough, allowing the opponent’s defense to remain calmly in position to counter Neymar’s whims. “As far as I am concerned, that was missing at Paris and that has become so important at all top clubs in recent years. For example, look at how Dani Alves used to do that on the right at Barcelona. Because he always stepped up as an extra attacker, Messi could do what he wanted and Mitchel must do the same for Neymar. ”
Echteld is of the opinion that Bakker has all the physical conditions to add that offensive element to his game. “He has strength, length, speed and good technique. I just think he should throw the hesitation off a bit. We should also not forget that this is only his first season in the starting line-up, ”he emphasizes. “It is already very clever that he is there and now he has to continue that line.” The 52-year-old trainer therefore finds it very interesting to follow how Bakker is going to behave mentally after Neymar’s public rebuke. In the second part of the diptych (2-0 for City), the left back lost his starting place to the more experienced Abdou Diallo, but he was allowed to come in. That ten-minute raid went without major failures and the Dutchman carried out his tasks with concentration.
Mitchel Bakker has become a fixed value of the Dutch Juniors, with whom he can play the final phase of the youth European Championship this summer if he is not selected for the ‘big’ Dutch national team.
“Mitchel is also not a boy who gets confused easily. He doesn’t let himself be put off just like that ”, said Echteld, who in his own time as a player still played together with Bakker’s father at Haarlem. “That makes it even more fun to see Mitchel join PSG now. Of course I hoped that when he came to PSG, but you just have to do it. ” The coach has experienced up close how young talents had to bend or burst at the Parisian top club and hopes that Bakker can continue quickly. “Of course it is sometimes just as annoying when the big boys tell you, but that is part of the game at that level. He just has to make sure that he learns from the games he plays and then the future has to show whether he can become PSG’s regular first left back or not. ”
If he succeeds, Bakker is also an excellent option for the Dutch national team as far as Echteld is concerned. The first choice of the Juniors is already being associated with this, but for the time being national coach Frank de Boer prefers Owen Wijndal from AZ. “With Owen, you can already see that he constantly goes over it and thus creates space for his teammates,” Echteld explains that choice when asked. Figures from statistics agency Opta indeed show that Bakker contributes less in an offensive way than the other possible left backs Wijndal, Tyrell Malacia and Patrick van Aanholt. He comes much less often into the penalty area of the opponent and also shoots less often than his three main competitors in the Dutch national team.
All statistics are calculated by Opta every ninety minutes and rounded to 1 decimal place.
From a defensive point of view, various statistics do speak in his favor. Bakker is of the four featured left backs after Wijndal the strongest in personal duels, both on the ground and in the air. He is also the least often dribbled past by an opponent every ninety minutes. Only against the lightning-fast Leroy Sané of Bayern Munich he had a difficult time in the quarter finals of the Champions League, but Riyad Mahrez, for example, did not pass him in a one-on-one duel, while Bakker in the Ligue 1 also stands his ground. “And his fit is also well taken care of,” adds Joris van der Ban on behalf of Opta. The data specialist does state that you cannot draw more than a ‘cautious conclusion’ with the passing figures. “Because the pressing against PSG is often different than against AZ, Feyenoord or Crystal Palace. Nevertheless, he is doing well in that area. ”
If De Boer seriously considers the defensively strong Bakker as an option for the European Championship, the back will have to continue to enforce playing time for the remainder of the season. His main competitor Bernat is almost fit and again Goaljournalist Hernandez points out that Bakker is less often first choice under Mauricio Pochettino than under his predecessor Thomas Tuchel. The Argentinian selector would have already indicated to the club management that he is not satisfied with the occupation in that crucial position of the team. “It does not look very good for Bakker in the near future, because Kurzawa has only extended his contract until 2024 and Bernat is also still fixed until 2025,” said the club watcher, who suspects that the Dutchman will be rented out if the summer indeed comes with a left back. “And that can turn out very well for him. The only thing he lacks now is experience and if you have only played a semi-final of the Champions League twice, there are undoubtedly great clubs in line for you. So you don’t have to worry about Bakker in the Netherlands. He will get there. ”