Memphis Depay - Dutch Football's Future?

Picture found on PSV.NL

Memphis Depay, so many things have been said already about him. When it’s not about his abilities as a football player, it’s about his attitude, his past or his off-the-pitch antics. But I’m going to do something different.

I’m going to have a more in-depth look, a look at the numbers behind the young man. At only 20 years old, he’s made some massive improvements the last season and a half or so. He’s arguably PSV’s most important player and also the most influential. He’s PSV’s top scorer for a reason. 

Having now scored 12 goals in 12 appearances over multiple competitions (Eredivisie, Europa League including qualifiers) and given 4 assists, he’s becoming PSV’s anchorman more and more. Not only is he important in goals and assists but also in his passing, dribbling and the chances he creates.

Using the key elements in his game is what makes him so important. He likes to take on opponents one on one, he likes to have a crack on goal. And besides those two attributes, it gets even worse for defenders. He’s also incredibly quick and strong. 

The Eredivisie is getting more and more well-known with Depay. Not in the sense of popularity obviously, but more so for his skill and his abilities. It’s what got FC Utrecht defender Van der Maarel send off in the game FC Utrecht – PSV. Even though Depay was still on his own half, he got tackled late by Van der Maarel after a counter was about to get going. So to stop that from happening, Depay got taken down.

Many people said that Depay’s break-out season was last year, but I don’t agree. Yes he finally became a starter and a massive influence but he was still a rookie and still had to get used to the level of play.

Now he’s playing his second full season and is already showing vast improvement. Not just in scoring but also as a team player. 

He had a successful first season, scoring 14 goals and assisting 10 in 43 games. Which are great numbers considering he was only 19 years old. He then went to Brazil to the World Cup. He scored twice and assisted once. His substitution against Australia at half time was critical for that game. He assisted Van Persie for the equalizing 2-2 and scored the winning 2-3 from range. He also scored against Chile the following game. In added time of the second half he finished a low cross from Robben and finished the game 2-0.

Since then, there seems to be new air about Depay. Whereas last year is was more cocky, now it seems he is more confident. Yes, there is little difference in those two. But as Bergkamp was quoted about the Dutch in his book, Stillness and Speed, 

“Of course we adjust to the country or the club where we are. But we still have the Dutch mentality. We want to be someone, to do something our way. We’re the kind of people who say: ‘I know what I’m talking about, and I know what I want, and I see what I can do. That can be seen as a bit arrogant, but it’s not really.’”

So it’s all about confidence. He’s getting more confident in himself, his own skill and abilities. And of course, more confident about the team. You can’t play with a certain flair and a certain air if you don’t have enough confidence in your team.

Having recently signed a new contract, PSV hopes to keep him for a few more seasons, as tough as that will be. Rising stars don’t go unnoticed and Depay’s star is going for the top. We’re off to a great start of the season and hopefully this form is kept. We have a title to win, it’s been 6 long years.

So now I hope that you have a little more knowledge about Memphis Depay. We all want him to have a great career and by the looks of it, he will.

Thank you for reading and until next time

Davy