Bojan column: Barça's De Jong patience bearing fruits

Barcelona were in need of some good news. In the middle of a convulsive season, the supporters need something positive to hand on to if they're to remain in good spirits. Finding light among the shadows has become a necessary task and that's where someone enters the scene who is managing to make many Barça fans smile. I am talking about Frenkie de Jong, who, after more than a year and a half at the club, has reached his best version this January.

The Dutch midfielder is finally playing a leading role -- and he feels it, too. There's no doubt that he's been through a genuine metamorphosis to reach this stage. But now leader and decisive are some of the adjectives that describe him. Nothing is down to chance and behind the step forward he's taken, two conclusions can be drawn. The first is that, when it comes to players adapting to new clubs, there are various factors that cannot be overlooked. Being a good player is not enough on its own, there's also the fact of changing countries, dressing rooms etc... it needs a process and that process is not exactly short. The second one is related to the coach and his level of patience. How many minutes has De Jong played not at his best? Frenkie himself admitted that he wasn't finding his best football but, game after game, he's kept the faith of his coach(es). There's no doubt that makes any footballer better, so the credit should be shared in that sense.

It's typical, when results aren't favourable, of coaches to change things to show they're trying to turn things around. However, with De Jong, Ronald Koeman has remained firm and backed him to come good. That's now bearing fruit. A lot was said about his problem being the system, but it's become clear now that it is not so much his position on the pitch but understanding with precision what his coach wants from him.

Koeman knows him well from his time as the Dutch national team coach and new he was capable of adding pausa, control on the ball and of getting forward into the box... But he was also aware that he couldn't get everything from him at the same time, so he showed him where he can add more. The same is happening with Pedri and Ronald Araujo. They're all growing thanks to the consistency they've been given and, even though what they're doing is good, there's one last thing I would ask from them: that in this development process they also begin to take responsibility in big games. Take one step forward, with and without the ball. It's the last challenge facing them and Koeman's next task. We know the formula: time and team work.

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