Ruud Gullit, a legendary football player from the Netherlands, has expressed strong criticism of Frenkie de Jong’s performance.
This comes at a time when Ronald Koeman, the current coach, has decided to include De Jong in the squad for the European Championship, even though he has not fully recovered from his sprained right ankle.
This injury is the third one he has suffered during an unfortunate season with his club, Barcelona.
It is said that Ronald Koeman sees De Jong as a crucial player for the team and is willing to wait for him to recover in time for their debut match against Poland on June 16.
However, Gullit does not share this view. He believes that De Jong has not yet proven himself to be indispensable for the national team through his performances on the field.
Gullit wants De Jong to live up to the expectations
During an appearance on the Rondo program on Ziggo Sport TV, Gullit was very outspoken about his disappointment in De Jong’s performance.
He drew on his own experience with the legendary Johan Cruyff to emphasize his point. Gullit believes that De Jong’s recent displays have not lived up to the high standards expected of him.
“I’ll say something about Frenkie. I started at Feyenoord playing as a right winger,” Gullit began saying as quoted by Mundo Deportivo.
“Then Johan Cruyff said to me: ‘Ruud, you have to improve the play of your teammates’. I never understood him, but do you know why he said that?
“Because when you improve the play of your teammates, you always play well. Does Frenkie do that?
“No, Frenkie doesn’t. He plays badly. He doesn’t live up to the qualities he has,” he added.
Like a ghost
Gullit also referred to De Jong’s performance at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where he felt that De Jong was practically invisible on the pitch.
According to Gullit, anyone who watched De Jong play in that tournament would agree that he failed to make a significant impact and was more like a ghost than a key player.
“If you look at Frenkie de Jong during the last World Cup, he was like a ghost! He must take matters into his own hands.“
The criticism from such a respected figure as Gullit highlights the pressure on De Jong to perform better and justify his place in the national team.
Despite Koeman’s confidence in him, De Jong will need to overcome his injury and prove that he can be the essential player that the coach believes he is.
The upcoming European Championship will be a crucial test for him to silence his critics and show that he can deliver top-level performances when it matters most.
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