Sam Kersten, central defender of PEC Zwolle, had specifically trained on this: how to stop Luuk de Jong in the air. His teammate Apostolos Vellios had to imitate PSV’s top scorer. The Greek is also a striker, tall and a good header. Kersten asked what he finds annoying, ways to control him. And Kersten viewed images of De Jong. How he runs free, how he engages in aerial duels, how he heads.
But when it comes down to it, last November in Eindhoven, there is no stopping it. It just seems like a corner kick, in just any Eredivisie match, shortly after half-time, when PSV is already leading 2-0. The moment shows how refined De Jong searches for openings, for space, for goals.
It takes two seconds. It starts out seemingly harmless. De Jong stands about ten meters from the goal, not far from the penalty spot, positioned diagonally behind his guard Kersten, in his ‘blind spot’. When Johan Bakayoko turns the corner sharply from the right with the left, De Jong sneaks behind Kersten towards the goal.
De Jong’s footwork seems to come naturally, but indicates routine. A hop, an intermediate step and then speed up as soon as he sees where the ball is going to go. He holds both arms outstretched in front of him to keep Kersten away and not end up in a hand-to-hand duel prematurely.
Like a snake, he wriggles around the defender and pops up to his left, exactly in the zone where the ball will land. He is now where he wants to be, just five meters from goal.
Then De Jong does something cunning – almost invisible because it happens so quickly. He holds Kersten’s left arm for a fraction, making it difficult for the Zwolle defender to enter into an aerial duel with him. At the same time, De Jong uses his opponent’s body to launch himself for the header. Eyes on the ball. A jump. Head tilted behind the ball, heading with the left side of his forehead.
Christmas is too late, nothing is possible anymore. Short nod. Tough, impeccable, aiming high. 3-0. The lesson for Kersten? Looking back, he says: “I was in the wrong position, with my back to him, instead of a more open position. I should have stood a little more sideways so that I could enter the duel and he could use me less to jump on.”
Volleyball parents
With almost eighty headed goals since his professional debut in 2008, Luuk de Jong (33) has become the best header in top European football. This season he confirms his status as a specialist: of his 22 goals in the Eredivisie, the PSV captain scored eight with his head. In the top match against Feyenoord this Sunday, both teams will pay a lot of attention to the threat of De Jong. PSV wants to bring him into position, Feyenoord wants to eliminate him.
Why is De Jong so difficult to defend in the air? How did he develop this quality? And how can it be combated?
His parents were good volleyball players, made it to the national team. He got his jumping power and sense of timing from them, De Jong said more often in interviews. During his youth at De Graafschap, he quickly realized that he could distinguish himself with heading, says his old youth coach Richard Roelofsen, who as a professional was also once a heading specialist. De Jong stood out when heading long balls from the back and with attacking headers.
He trained a lot for those types of situations, when finishing. He practiced how to position himself in relation to the goalkeeper, in which zones of the penalty area he had the best chance of scoring, and which corners were promising. “With a cross from the side: head in diagonally,” says Roelofsen. “Because then the goalkeeper has to move in the other direction.” That unruly header has now become a classic in De Jong’s arsenal.
“I sometimes see him heading balls towards goal with such speed and direction that I think: how is this possible? That really is an art,” says FC Utrecht coach Ron Jans. “In terms of heading power, I have never played against someone better,” says Heracles Almelo defender Justin Hoogma.
In an offside position
He is constantly looking for that one millisecond of negligence in the defense. Hoogma experienced the cunning of De Jong two weeks ago, in Eindhoven. The striker is standing near him when PSV prepares to turn in a free kick from the left through Joey Veerman. De Jong deliberately positions himself in an offside position, hoping to be able to strike from that confusion.
De Jong and Veerman gesture to each other. The first raises an arm in the air: he is ready to start. Followed by Veerman’s signal to indicate that he is going to take the free kick now. At exactly the right moment, De Jong sprints forward about six steps diagonally to the left, clearing the offside and getting into position. It happens so quickly, in about two seconds, that he attacks Heracles.
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Hoogma has lost it and only covers air. De Jong jumps into the middle of three men a little further on, all of them noticing the danger too late. Veerman’s free kick is almost perfectly delivered. De Jong only needs to graze the ball slightly. Goal. Is he simply elusive, or is there not good defense?
Hoogma: “He cleverly goes offside. You can choose to stand behind it, but then you are almost standing on your goalkeeper. You have to hold your line, that’s what we did. What we don’t do well: we let him run free and let him head too easily. Unhindered. If you do that to Luuk de Jong, there is a good chance that he will come in.”
Fearless
Analyze all 67 Eredivisie goals which he made with his head, and you see fearlessness. Because that is also necessary in the often physical, risky aerial duels: courage, confidence, no fear of serious head injuries – last year De Jong missed a match due to a head injury after a collision.
Not only is his timing impeccable, but also his feeling for the ball. He regularly heads while turning away in the air, sometimes with the side of his head, or even with the crown of his head.
He goes through a series of small actions before he arrives at the header. Important: he makes his run towards the ball when he is momentarily out of sight of his guard. “The defender is often a fraction too late, because he only reacts when I am already moving,” said De Jong recently in de Volkskrant. And then: headlines. “I always try to direct the ball.”
What helps is that he often has good reporters at PSV – he played there from 2014 to 2019, and now again since 2022. Some know how to find him almost blindly: previously left back Jetro Willems, now playmaker Veerman and the backs Sergino Dest and Jordan Teze. Just as defender André Ramalho is an important companion in ‘blocking’ opponents at corners.
Muscle strength
FC Utrecht managed to control him in January (1-1). De Jong did not have a single heading opportunity – a rarity in the Eredivisie this season. Normally he often finds himself in promising positions, especially now that PSV plays very offensively under coach Peter Bosz.
FC Utrecht managed to put PSV under ‘high’ pressure and therefore allowed little entry into the penalty area. It is the most effective way to counter De Jong’s danger: prevent the crosses.
Due to the aggressive chasing, PSV was forced to play more long balls. De Jong had to drop back a little. He regularly got into tough aerial duels around the halfway line with the equally strong FC Utrecht defender Mike van der Hoorn. That’s where you want it, far from the goal, says Van der Hoorn. “He doesn’t have pure sprint speed, so you don’t have to be afraid of that.”
Those mutual duels were “on the edge,” says Van der Hoorn. “With the first few balls you try to send a signal that there is nothing to be achieved.” De Jong is not mean, say his opponents. He won’t pinch you or deliberately elbow you like some strikers do. Apart from heated discussions about the arbitration, little is said among themselves. “Good luck,” is what it says afterwards – that’s it.
Van der Hoorn felt the muscle power of De Jong in their duels. “Strong, tall guy. Bonky. You notice that he has put on pounds [spiermassa] has trained in recent years.”
If a promising situation threatens PSV, it is crucial for defenders to keep ‘in touch’ with De Jong, says Van der Hoorn. You have to stay close to him, sit close to him, “so that he doesn’t make the first run.” Because if De Jong (1.88 meters) is given free rein, “he can no longer be contained, with his length and heading power.”