“I have always provided assists and goals in recent years. For me that is one of the most important things in football. That’s why you are at the forefront,” said Depay, who is honored that he has managed to surpass Sneijder. “I will probably get a message from Wes. He has been a great football player and has shown great things. You hardly see someone like him anymore. That is a loss sometimes. Such numbers ten are special. With left and right. If you then get into that list and go over it, then that is of course nice. But it is not the most important. We have to qualify and the focus must be fully on that.”
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Hungry
Depay sees opportunities to further tighten the records. “Of course I take a lot of free kicks and corners. But I have also always had assists from the game. That is one of my qualities, to serve others. If I have the chance, I want to score myself. And I’m not done yet. I’m only 31 and in general I don’t see anyone with more quality than me in that position. I always am humble how I feel in the Dutch national team. I try to be important to the team, but I am still as hungry as when I joined.”
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The record races are nice side effects for Depay, but not goals in themselves. “I don’t have any numbers in my head. I want to score as many goals as possible and play good matches in the Dutch national team. That’s the most important thing to me. When I do, I know it The Netherlands often wins and achieves good results. Whether it will be sixty or seventy, you don’t know. I saw Haaland make five and three in a game. I don’t do that. But that is not my ultimate goal either. That means achieving something with the team at the World Cup.”
Fulfilment
The week started off messily for Depay, who arrived in Zeist with a day’s delay due to the lost passport, but in the end the Dutch striker looks back on the week with satisfaction. “I think we had a good week. When you win twice and almost don’t get into trouble. Of course you don’t play against the greatest opponents, but you still have to try to stay focused for ninety minutes. It’s becoming increasingly clear how we play. We’ve been playing together for a while. We can still learn things and be more solid as a team. To achieve this, we have to make agreements on the field and correct each other, especially in the second half.”
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Intensive program
Depay has an intensive program ahead of him. “I’m going to fly back straight away and play again on Wednesday. We all have a lot of matches, for example some boys also play Champions League. Then it may be that they are sometimes a bit tired and you can see that in the game,” said the Dutch striker, who was substituted after an hour. “That is sensible, but of course you want to continue. The spaces come in the last twenty minutes. Then you can still be important and show great things.”
An important goal for Depay this season is to be top fit for a final tournament. He struggled with his fitness in the run-up to the previous World Cup and at the last European Championship he was injured in the semi-finals.
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“That is something I have to ensure that I am fit for a final tournament. They were mainly muscle injuries, but I haven’t had any problems with them in the past year. There is always something that precedes that. Players are like cars that go to inspection. My back is very connected to my hamstrings. Those are big muscles, I’m an explosive player. Everything has to be right if you want to excel.”