It seems difficult to give a fair assessment of De Bruyne.
Those who like him say that he is the best playmaker in the world, a master of passing from God's point of view. Those who don't like him say that he is as cold as a machine, has his own mercenary physique, and is the culmination of assembly line players in the industrial era......
The only thing that both sides agree on is one point:
In the hot-blooded field of football, De Bruyne seems to be out of place.
Stubborn and frank child
De Bruyne's childhood has many stories.
His father said De Bruyne started kicking things when he was 10 months old. His primary school teacher said De Bruyne always sat closest to the classroom door in order to be the first to rush out to play football when the bell rang.
In the impression of ordinary people, if a child grows up and can transmit all kinds of straight plugs with eightfold mirrors, then he must be a child full of aura when he is a child. However, De Bruyne's academy coach at Genk FC De Linn used two words to describe his childhood Tintin: stubborn and frank.
According to De Linen's recollection, De Bruyne was once reprimanded by the coach for not helping to clean the pitch, and he was so aggrieved that he clung to the goalpost and refused to let go, if it wasn't for three or four people who forced him away, he would have spent the night at the stadium. "The kid was as stubborn as a mule, but very honest about his thoughts. I think it's this personality trait that has brought him to where he is today. ”
The story that happened to De Bruyne later proves that the saying "three years old is big, seven years old is old" is indeed true.
At the age of eight, De Bruyne told his coach directly that he was going to train at the better Genk club; At the age of 19, he criticized his teammates for not performing well in front of the TV camera and not giving it their all in the game.
Of course, the most famous is when he told Mourinho directly at the age of 22: "I want to play, you better sell me." “
If you don't know De Bruyne, you'll come to the same conclusion as Jose Mourinho: it's just a kid who doesn't want to wait patiently for his chance.
However, anyone who knows De Bruyne knows how important it is for Tintin to get on the pitch and play. Because he was introverted by nature and was not good at communicating with people, he was once kicked out by his host family. Only football can isolate him from the world and social etiquette, in his own words: "As soon as you step on the pitch, all the unhappiness will disappear and everything will be beautiful." ”
The bad news is that such children are easily immersed in their own world, and it is difficult to develop them as leaders. The good news is that he met Wolfsburg coach Black Gold.
In the winter window of 2014, the 23-year-old De Bruyne arrived at Wolfsburg.
The black and gold not only gave De Bruyne a chance to play, but also gave him a lot of freedom. In half a season, De Bruyne has delivered 3 goals and 6 assists. In the 2014-15 season, he sent 16 goals and 27 assists, and he was completely on fire.
What's more, the black gold also let De Bruyne take on more responsibilities within the team, and the first rich will lead the latter to become rich.
"When I told De Bruyne that he wanted him to be captain, he resisted a bit because he just wanted to play his own ball and didn't want to direct his team-mates. ”
However, De Bruyne, who barely took the armband, has unleashed his own leadership potential. For example, he needs to communicate more with his teammates to understand their running positions and preferences; For example, he needs to take the initiative to stand up when his teammates are not playing well, temporarily put aside the guys in the cooking class, and carry the submachine gun in the sharp knife class.
After a fantastic season, De Bruyne led Wolfsburg to the German Cup, second in the league, and played Bayern Munich 4-1 at home. On 26 July 2015, Kevin De Bruyne was voted German Footballer of the Year in the Kicker's competition. This is the fifth time in history that a foreign player has won the award, behind Arjen Robben and Manuel Neuer.
Beat Bayern, beat Bayern players, De Bruyne didn't know at that time, Bayern coach Pep Guardiola had also fallen deeply for him.
The person who was favored by Gua Shuai
In the summer of 2015, Pep Guardiola spent a few days off with his old friend Begiristan.
At the time, Pep Guardiola described to Begiristain the 4-1 victory over Bayern Munich with his trademark exaggerated body movements. However, as he spoke, Guardiola suddenly became frustrated, "I want to bring him to Bayern Munich, I want him to play for my team so much, but Wolfsburg doesn't want to sell him to another German team, we can't buy him." ”
Begiristain didn't take Guardiola's exaggerated body movements to heart, as the guy does every day, but he wrote down De Bruyne's name. Upon his return to Manchester City, Begiristain, in his capacity as Manchester City's director of football, demanded that the club sign Kevin De Bruyne at all costs.
Because this will give Manchester City an important bargaining chip when they try to sign Pep Guardiola.
So in the summer of 2015, De Bruyne joined Manchester City for a transfer fee of 74 million euros. A few months later, Manchester City officially announced that Pep Guardiola would start coaching Manchester City immediately after the end of his contract with Bayern Munich.
Seeing De Bruyne for the first time, Pep Guardiola eagerly told the Belgian: "You will be one of the five best players in the world, there is no doubt about that." Such a categorical judgment was a compliment that De Bruyne had never heard since he was a child, and it immediately gave him a passion to die for a confidant: "Guardiola has a genius definition for me, so I feel I have to prove him right. ”
Almost from that moment on, the two began a very pleasant collaboration.
Under Pep Guardiola, De Bruyne has indeed become very strong. He can pick and pass, there is a straight stopper, there is a strong shot in the middle, there is an arc close to the ground on the side, Wen Neng peach blossom shadow falls and flies the sword, and he can pass the two-dimensional parabola...... De Bruyne's cramming is a cramming for his teammates to enjoy the feeling of being on their stomachs in one step. Since the 2021-22 season, Tintin has had more freedom again, he has inserted more into the penalty area, played like a second striker, and used his accurate mid-to-long-range shots to pick up the pie that was once squandered by his teammates.
In his eight years at the city, De Bruyne has provided 148 assists in all competitions, an average of 18.5 per season. In eight years, De Bruyne and Pep Guardiola have won 17 trophies for the club, from the Community Shield to the Champions League, without regretting any competition.
However, De Bruyne is still a rectum as a child. When asked by reporters what he thought of Pep Guardiola, Tintin said:
", he's just going to win."
Well, at least he'll be joking, right.
Belgium, he can't take it with him
It's a pity that De Bruyne, who won a full slam at the club, can't enjoy this kind of experience in the national team.
In 2018, Belgium's golden generation, including Kevin De Bruyne, had their best chance on the international stage. This group of players is the right age and a core player at their respective clubs, and even De Bruyne himself feels the same: "In 2018 we had a great team. ”
The Belgians felt their chances were in front of them when they won Brazil in the quarter-finals, but they were still a little short of it against eventual champions France. For De Bruyne, this became an eternal regret. To add to his frustration, he began to suffer frequent injuries after an extremely demanding season.
In the 2018/19 season after the World Cup in Russia, De Bruyne made 32 appearances, the first time in his Manchester City career that he made fewer than 40 appearances in a single season.
Every time De Bruyne sat on the sofa at home and watched a Manchester City game on TV, he would be quite irritable and restless, not at all as calm and relaxed as he was when he was playing. His wife, Lacroix, once described Tintin's "fried" state of watching football at home.
"One time he was injured and he was at home watching a game and he threw a bottle of water on the ground with all his might. He was in a cast, but he managed to get up and walk to the TV, and then shouted at his teammates on the TV. ”
If someone throws cold water on him at this point, such as "it's useless for you to shout", then De Bruyne will be even more angry. Therefore, when he watches the game, the whole family generally has two choices.
A. Stay away from him.
B. took the initiative to flirt - was disgusted by Tintin - and then accepted Tintin's apology after the game.
"I was wrong, I shouldn't be wrong, I just wanted my team to win."
Yes, even at this age, at this level, De Bruyne will still fight tirelessly for a victory. After all, he is a man who does not want to lose when he plays chess with his own children.
As a young man, De Bruyne's every day revolved around football, either because the result of his last game was influencing him or because he was preparing for the next game. With a family and children, De Bruyne can clearly distinguish between career and life. But on the pitch, he'll still be back to the focused Kevin De Bruyne.
Lacroix said, "One time I went to see a Manchester City away game and when the players came out to warm up, my daughter and I greeted everyone and almost all the Manchester City players waved to us...... Except for De Bruyne. ”
In the face of this gloomy resentment, De Bruyne had to comfort his wife like this: "I am very different on the pitch from me at home. Once I started playing football, I entered a different world. ”
Perhaps it is these qualities that make De Bruyne a unique presence in world football. On the pitch of passionate and even easy to get up, he is cold as a machine – only making the best choices, thrusting every straight kick like a scalpel, and is the perfect playmaker for attack. But at the same time, he feels like an industrialized product, able to brush up on bright and blind data, but difficult to attract a fan base that matches his abilities.
No way, De Bruyne is a player who loves football and loves him so much that he is very himself. Lacroix said: "There was no football during the pandemic and De Bruyne was happy and relaxed in the first month. But after a month, he couldn't take it anymore and he started running around the couch, I really couldn't understand him. ”
Many times, when we see De Bruyne's lack of joy and sorrow, we think that he doesn't care and doesn't do his best. In fact, he is just an introvert, his heart is like fire, but he is quiet.
In this European Championship, the 33-year-old has done all he can with a team with a fragile defence and aging teammates. Involved in defending, half-time through balls, inserting shots...... In the second round of the group stage, De Bruyne had the highest number of shots on goal, successful dribbles, tackles, and fouls. Obviously, he took over the armband of the Belgian captain and decided to pick up the work of Haaland, Doku, Rodri and Grealish. In the third group game, he still gave his all, but it seems that only Doku wants to win the game like him.
After barely reaching the round of 16, they ran headlong into the mighty France. Ninety minutes later, Belgium was on its way home.
Fortunately, Belgium's results do not affect the world's perception of De Bruyne.
"It's even more difficult for Belgium to find another talent like Kevin De Bruyne, whose ageing means starting to rebuild," said Su Dong. ”
Mr. Kim Sang-kai had a higher evaluation: "De Bruyne is an outstanding representative of Belgium's golden generation, his technical ability, physical confrontation and defensive responsibility deserve everyone's respect, and his importance is higher than the period of coexistence with Eden Hazard. ”
Teacher Xiong Bingjie said more to the point: "De Bruyne is the only person who combs Belgium's offensive system. The lack of national team glory is not his problem, but Belgium's lack of luck and the level of the manager, which is the era that has failed the heroes. ”
Yes, it was the times that failed the heroes.
However, for De Bruyne these days, the outcome of the game may not be so important.
In this European Cup, his family also came to the scene. Seeing Belgium lose their first group game, his children cried loudly, and De Bruyne rushed over to comfort them after the game. In the past, he would walk into the locker room angrily and never look back.
In the second game, Belgium won and Kevin De Bruyne was named Man of the Match...... After the game, he gave the trophy to the children as soon as possible, which made them smile.
In this world, we would love to see stories of heroes single-handedly saving the world.
However, on the football field, we would prefer to see such a "The Adventures of Tintin":
He didn't save the world, but he didn't just live in football, but expanded the dimension of life.
Love football, love family, and have a warmer life.
[Author: Ned]