Ex-Real Madrid midfielder Rafael van de Vaart: Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong “plays soccer like a postman”

Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong went on the attack against the media in his pre-match press conference before the Champions League round-of-16 game agianst Napoli for making incorrect claims about how much he earns in Spain. Now, it’s the Dutchman’s turn to be on the receiving end of his criticism from compatriot Rafael van der Vaart, formerly of Real Madrid.

Why did var der Vaart say de Jong “plays like a postman”?

“Frenkie de Jong plays soccer like a postman. He takes too long to pass the ball forward, instead he keeps running with it and takes it to his teammate. Once you get away from your opponent, you have to keep the ball moving and pass the ball!” Both van der Vaart, who nows works as a pundit for Dutch television, and de Jong started their careers in the Ajax academy and have represented the Netherlands at international level.

Also speaking before the European tie, Barça coach Xavi Hernández voiced his support for his player, saying “lies need to be explained,” as well as revealing de Jong was “very happy” in Barcelona and with the team. The 26 year old once again started for La Blaugrana in Naples alongside anchor man Andreas Christensen and Ilkay Gündogan, who was given licence to get forward whenever possible. Pedri played the “Gavi” role as a false left winger, often coming inside as a fourth midfielder in an attempt to give the LaLiga side numerical superiority in the middle of the field.

Barça fade after early promise against Napoli

Not for the first time this season, Barcelona played well and badly in equal measures across the 90 minutes. Xavi’s man started the game in Italy with authority and took control early on, but faded as time passed, eventually conceding an equaliser to Victor Osimhen with 15 minutes left after Robert Lewandowski had given them the lead on the hour-mark.

According to Sofascore, only two of Barça’s outfield players - Christensen and Iñigo Martínez - performed worse. The midfielder had 84 touches of the ball, more than any player on either side, completed 95% of his passes (71 of 75) and lost possession five times. Van der Vaart’s main gripe was de Jong’s tendency to play safe and unwillingness to take any risks with his passing, which contributed to the Catalans’ uninspiring performance.

Van der Vaart also unimpressed by Barcelona corners

The former Real Madrid midfielder, who played for Los Blancos from 2008 to 2010, was also left impressed by another aspect of Barcelona’s play.

“Short corners are my biggest frustration in today’s game. Look at this,” he said, while analysing a passage of play. “He plays it short to Lamine Yamal, then to Frenkie, then to Pedri on the other side and then they cross it from the other side anyay and it goes nowhere. It annoys me to death.

Van der Vaart retired in November 2018 after also turning out for Hamburg, Tottenham, Betis and Danish clubs Midtjylland and Esbjerg. The 41 year old returned to Espbjerg as assistant coach and later became interim manager for six games in 2022 before going into punditry.