Dutch former PSV Eindhoven striker Ruud De Jong (PSV Eindhoven) looks back on his time playing for Barcelona as a replacement for Lionel Messi as one of the best experiences of his life.
The Dutch striker is a 6-foot-4 striker who uses his height to compete for aerial balls. He is also a good header, scoring most of his goals in his career.
According to soccer statistics company Opta, Douillon is one of the best in Europe when it comes to headers. Since 2017, he has scored 77 goals from headers alone, which is more than all players in Europe's top six leagues over the same period. This season, he's shown no signs of slowing down, scoring 13 of his 27 goals for PSV with headers. He's the ultimate frontline striker.
The Frenchman has reflected on his time as Messi's replacement at Barcelona and says it was the best experience of his life.
"It was a very strange experience," he told The Guardian on Tuesday (June 20). There was no one who could replace Messi. Of course, I wasn't brought in as a direct replacement for Messi. I joined Barcelona as a target man," he said, "but in the locker room I took Messi's place, and that was the best experience of my life."
Douillon joined Barcelona on a one-season loan from Sevilla in Spain ahead of the 2021-22 season. At the time, Barcelona was unable to re-sign Messi due to the pandemic, and was 바카라 forced to let him leave on a free transfer. After almost 18 years of playing for Barcelona, Messi tearfully left the club to join Paris Saint-Germain in France.
Barcelona rushed to sign attackers to fill the void left by Messi. Memphis Depay was brought in from Olympique Lyonnais, and Douyon was part of the deal. The move came on the strong recommendation of then-Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman.
Of course, as Doullon says, Messi and Doullon's playing styles were very different. However, Barcelona were no slouches after Messi's departure, and Doullon played to his strengths, scoring some crucial goals that saved the team in the second half of the season. At the start of the season, he was booed by fans after scoring just one goal in the league. However, his second-half rebound turned the boos into cheers.
"I scored a few important goals, mostly headers," says Douillon, who has seven goals in 29 games for Barcelona. At one point at Camp Nou, the fans were chanting my name at every corner, every free kick," he said. "I don't think it could get any better than that. I'm very proud of those days," he said, adding that he has fond memories of his time at Barcelona.
Douillon never fully settled in Barcelona. After his loan ended, he returned to Sevilla and then moved to his hometown club PSV. After a modest 14 league goals last season, Douyong has scored 19 league goals this season, helping PSV maintain their lead at the top of the table.
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