Matthijs de Ligt revealed that he enjoys ‘the dirty work’ of defence and highlighted Juventus’ winning mentality.
The 22-year-old Dutch defender is having a strong season with the Bianconeri, playing an important role while veteran centre backs Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini struggle with injuries. The former Ajax man is continuing to prove himself in Turin, growing into a reliable and solid defender.
Speaking to The Guardian, De Ligt first spoke about the mistake he made in Villarreal’s goal in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 clash.
“I always want to be the most critical about myself. I know exactly when I did something wrong. To grow, sometimes you have to accept you made the wrong decisions. And yeah, in that situation I could have done better.”
The Dutchman touched on the difficulty of defending at the highest level of the game.
“Before, you had different types. You had the ones who were just in the box, heading balls away, but couldn’t play. And you had defenders who were really good with the ball but couldn’t defend.
“The trend now is that all defenders are quite complete. They’re all fast, they’re all strong, they can play with the ball. The level is different.”
The Juventus centre back discussed his transition from a midfielder to a defender and how much he enjoys the dirty work of defending.
“At Ajax, when I was 15 I played as a midfielder. Then I became a centre-back, playing out of the back and not really understanding the situation and what it needed. Sometimes you had to kick the ball away, sometimes you had to play, and with experience I learned the right thing to do in the situation.
“The dirty work is so important. People call it dirty, but I find it really nice. To head the ball away, to win duels. I’m quite an old-school defender in that way. You have a lot of defenders now who just stay in position, cover the spaces.
“But I also like to defend one-on-one, battle against the opponent. At Ajax I was used to playing a really high line. Sometimes too much, maybe. That’s quite risky. Now at Juventus it’s about finding a balance.”
De Ligt commented on the importance of defensive instinct and how Giorgio Chiellini is an example of a player who has developed throughout their career.
“You can definitely improve. For example, Giorgio is now 37. And right now he plays like he is reading a book. He knows: ‘OK, this situation will happen, and then this will happen now.’
“And obviously he didn’t have this when he was 20. So with experience, he learned. But it’s also a little bit about having the feeling. The feeling where something can go wrong, or where the guy’s going to pass the ball.
“That’s something quite natural. And I think all the good defenders in the world have this.”
The 22-year-old spoke about the importance of Juventus’ winning mentality and how it makes a difference for them.
“The most important thing for me is to win. At Juventus, if we win 1-0 and play bad, honestly I think everybody will still be happy. And if you play amazing and lose 2-1, you’re not happy.
“Every team has a certain DNA, that’s different in every club. If you defend really high and you lose 5-0, 4-0, then yeah. OK. Maybe it’s better to stay a bit lower.”
De Ligt touched on how much his career has developed at such a young age.
“There was a lot of things coming at me at a young age. A lot of talking. Every little mistake became something really big. But the most important thing is to see the big picture.
“When you win the Golden Boy award, that gives some pressure. But as a player, you have to love the pressure. Because it says you are something good. Seeing it this way gives me some space in my head.”
Finally, De Ligt discussed Massimiliano Allegri and what he is like as a coach.
“His biggest quality is he understands that it doesn’t have to be pretty all the time. It’s all about winning. And that’s also the mentality of Juve. It doesn’t matter if you play well. It’s just about the three points. Step by step, we understand more what he expects from us.”
Matthijs de Ligt: ‘The dirty work is so important. I find it really nice’ | Interview by @jonathanliew https://t.co/1ZccVgLxqe
— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) March 12, 2022