Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) Frenkie de Jong flashed his pearly whites as he sat in the interview room, dressed in Barcelona training blue with bright yellow piping. It was the confident look of a player who knew history was one game away.This Sunday night, Hans Flick’s Barcelona can secure the league crown against arch-rivals Real Madrid in the Clasico, which means much more than just bragging rights. Such an opportunity has never occurred in La Liga’s 97-year history.
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Exclusive: Aymeric Laporte previews Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona | La LigaThe big episode is set to take place at the renovated Camp Nou, where the first Clasico will take place in more than 1,000 days. Madrid’s victory opened a five-point gap at the top of the table when the clubs met at the Bernabeu in October. Now Barcelona lead by 11 and only need a draw to secure the championship with only 4 games to play.“The approach is the same because we are always ready to win,” De Jong said. “But of course, the feeling is different. It’s El Clasico and now it’s even more special because we can win La Liga.”The dynamic has shifted dramatically since the early months of the season. Madrid enter the weekend amid turmoil with coaching uncertainty, infighting and indifferent form, while Barcelona are leaping on faith.“There are moments in the season when the team grows,” De Jong said. “I think we are more reliable now than we were at the beginning. We have always had quality, but it depends on form, injuries and availability. Madrid have a great team, but maybe they are not at their best now. We are focused on ourselves.”In matches of this magnitude, the midfield can decide the outcome and Barcelona’s lack of a defensive fulcrum in the form of Sergio Busquets is a recurring point of discussion. Especially with Champions League semi-final and quarter-final exits in back-to-back seasons, despite showing promise.De Jong rejected the notion that Barcelona lack balance in the middle. “We have a great midfield,” he said. “Injuries always affect the team, but one of our strengths is depth and versatility in that area.”But he admitted to lingering frustrations in Europe. “The Champions League was disappointing because we thought we could go further,” he said. “But overall we’ve had a good season. We’ve scored a lot of goals, we’ve got a lot of points in the league and winning the league requires consistency more than anything else. Because of Europe, maybe it wasn’t a great season, but it was good.”At just 28, De Jong has quietly become Barcelona’s longest-serving first-team player (318 appearances) and the most capped Dutchman in the club’s history, extending a lineage deeply linked to the Netherlands and influential figures such as Johan Cruyff.His own career was interrupted at times by injury. Now he finds himself leading a younger generation, particularly Lamine Yamal, whose rapid rise has brought both recognition and attention off the field. A crippled Yamal will miss Sunday’s game and this season has been undermined by concerns about his continued “pubalgia” despite his stellar performances.“I think he should continue exactly as he is,” De Jong said. “He should enjoy football as he always has. If he continues to do that, I believe he will have a great career and that will be beneficial for us as well.”On the other side is Kylian Mbappe, whose second season at Madrid has drawn waves of criticism from Los Blancos fans despite his high turnover of 41 goals in 41 games.De Jong was measured in his assessment. “Mbappe is one of the best players in the world,” he said. “When he plays, Madrid is stronger. But football can be very reactionary. One result or action changes everything in people’s minds.”For the silent orchestrator, however, the larger truth of the play remains unchanged. “It’s not really about individuals,” he said. “Both teams have great players. What decides the games now is teamwork and hard work.”And if Barcelona complete the task against Real?“It’s not over yet,” De Jong said, smiling again. “But hopefully Sunday will be my favorite moment of the season.(Watch El Clasico LIVE and exclusively on FanCode from 00:30 on May 11)
