Frenkie De Jong wears Nike’s Tiempo Legend football boots. Their the perfect silo for someone who mastered how to dictate the tempo of a game. Press-resistant and able to deliver a long pass forward, De Jong benefits from the cushioned touch of the soft Flytouch Plus upper. The conical layout allows him to twist and turn and to dribble forward as needed.
Tiempo Ready Pack
Just like all players affiliated with Nike, De Jong began the 2023/24 season with the Ready Nike boots. Specific to the Tiempo, the boot sported a white colourway with a red tongue and black Swoosh outline. The black outsole enabled the boot to show the Tiempo’s white logo on the heel.
United Tiempo
Upon the release of the Tiempo and his switch to that silo, De Jong tested out the United Tiempo that sported an orange look with a bespoke repeating U graphic. United Tiempo was part of Nike’s collection that was dedicated to the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
What was de Jong Wearing?
Like Musiala, de Jong was wearing the Nike Mercurials before switching to the synthetic Tiempo Legend 10. The difference though was that de Jong favoured the low-cut Vapors. His stint with the popular Nike boots spanned a few generations, wearing the Vapor 12, 13 and 14 in the process.
Frenkie De Jong is a natural passer as evident with his high pass completion rate. More importantly, his pass completion rate only indicates his quality vision on the pitch, explaining how he can do playmaking from a defensive role. His control over possession and extraordinary movements have caused other football personalities to also compare him with Iniesta or Xavi.
De Jong was born on May 12, 1997, in Gorinchem, Netherlands and spent his youth career in Willem II from 2004 to 2014, the season which granted him a senior career debut with the said club. He joined Ajax at the start of the 2015-2016 and spent the first half on loan with Willem II while the rest with the reserve team Jong Ajax.
It was at this point that he started playing at the defensive centre of midfield. He became a first-team regular throughout the 2017-2018 season and 2018-2019 season, the year when Ajax won the domestic double of league and cup since the 2001-2002 season. Ajax also made a good impression in the 2018-2019 Champions League by knocking out the likes of Real Madrid and Juventus in the round of 16 and quarterfinals respectively, before eventually bowing out of the UCL to Pochettino’s Tottenham Hotspur in the semifinals.
This led to De Jong being recognized as the 2018-2019 UCL Midfielder of the Season. Given his youth and performance as a deep defensive midfielder with playmaking abilities, Barcelona signed up his services as a potential long-term replacement for one of the club’s pillars in Sergio Busquets. Internationally, he had Netherlands getting a runner up finish in the 2018-2019 UEFA Nations League and individually got awarded as the UEFA Nations League Finals Young Player of the Tournament.
