René van der Gijp enjoys Oranje player: “I’ve never seen a midfielder do this before”

In the Netherlands, there is often a discussion about how good Frenkie de Jong actually is, despite the fact that De Jong is active at FC Barcelona and also seems uncontroversial in the Dutch national team. Still, there are often critical comments to be made about the midfielder.

Recently, journalist Valentijn Driessen of De Telegraaf argued for a place on the bench during the match against Sweden (5-1). Former PSV player René van der Gijp, however, who himself played fifteen internationals for the Netherlands, thinks about it completely differently.

Van der Gijp is precisely someone who really enjoys the way De Jong plays football. ''Do you know what it is with Frenkie de Jong. I’ve also talked about that with Wilfred sometimes: I’ve seen him play matches in Spain that I genuinely thought: this is the best thing I’ve ever seen a midfielder do. But if that’s the standard, then you wouldn’t be satisfied with something less anymore'', the analyst says in the podcast KieftJansenEgmondGijp.

After that, Gijp draws a comparison with Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta. ''You can say what you want about Iniesta and Xavi, the frequency with which their scored a 9 was high. He doesn’t do that. On the one hand, that can be due to physical discomfort; he’s now again been having trouble with his knee and he’s had trouble with his ankle. But I really told Wilfred, when we were sitting in the make-up: did you see Frenkie yesterday, against I don’t know, Valencia? And he said: not normal. 120 ball contacts, 120 times pushing the ball forward. Walking with the ball over thirty meters, past four men. I really thought: I’ve never seen a midfielder do this'', said the former footballer.

Tablemate Rob Jansen shares the opinion of the former PSV player. ''Actually, this is the biggest compliment that Frenkie can receive, because you’re so good that when you’re a bit less good, the media immediately respond. Actually, it’s a mega compliment'', says Jansen.

After that, Van der Gijp once again blows his trumpet in praise of the midfielder. ''I’ve seen matches and things from him that made me really think: I’ve never seen a midfielder do this before, not even Zidane. The only criticism you can have is that he doesn’t show that level of top category in nine out of ten matches'', said Gijp.