The Dutchman had 125 interventions against Osasuna, well above the rest of the midfielders: Romeu (87), Gavi (68) and Gündogan (54)
Despite playing with four midfielders, the team is having a hard time controlling some phases of the matches
The departure of Sergio Busquets has had an immediate effect on Frenkie de Jong’s role at Barça. The former Ajax player now monopolizes the team’s shares in midfield. According to data from the LaTdT of ‘Catalunya Ràdio’, in Pamplona he had 125 interventions, figures that not even Busquets reached during his Barça stage, despite the fact that he exceeded 100 on several occasions.
De Jong already clicked last season when Xavi opted for the formula of four midfielders. Playing at the base of the play, next to a more positional midfielder, Frenkie expresses himself much better. He made it clear again against Osasuna: De Jong only enjoys when he is connected to the game and is free to break lines with his driving.
The conclusion that can be drawn with De Jong is that he never resigned from being himself. Even when asked to be more positional and play one bunt, he wasn’t quite that player. Xavi knows this, after trying to shape him, he ended up accepting Frenkie’s nature and gave him the context he was asking for.
The conversations between the two were constant last season and the Dutchman’s message was always the same: he didn’t feel comfortable appearing between the lines as an inside player: he needed to feel the game.
Xavi himself explained the process to SPORT at the end of last season. “When I arrived we asked him for a more positional game, that he be patient, that he receive behind the pivots and I think that now he is happier on the field. We have found a game system where the inside can go down to the base. The winger goes inside and the side is the one that stretches, and then Frenkie is in his natural habitat. I have had many talks with him and I have tried to understand him”.
The result is the hyperactive De Jong of now, who is also having a knock-on effect on Xavi’s square. Against Osasuna the numbers underline the dynamics: De Jong led the midfield with 125 interventions, well ahead of Oriol Romeu (87), Gavi (68) and Gündogan (54). As expected, the players who play at the base of the square get more of the game, while those who play between the lines (Xavi asks them to hit space) participate less in the game.
However, the number of interventions by Gündo is surprising., a player who feels comfortable when he has a high participation. But despite the figures, his actions are being decisive at this start of the season.
Gavi, for his part, is not entirely comfortable in this position, where he often receives from behind and improved when he dropped his position after Joao Félix came on. Against teams with a low block, the midfielders who play in the corners above the square suffer because they barely have space as happened in El Sadar. In addition, despite the commitment to the four midfielders, Barça is having a hard time ruling the games more than necessary.
Xavi still has work to do to make the square formula flow as he would like this season, but nobody doubts that Busquets’ Barça has become Frenkie de Jong’s Barça.