Sergiño Dest says he’s having confidence issues, but he’s right on track

Sergiño Dest says he’s dealing with confidence issues, but the statistics say that the 20-year-old is being a bit hard on himself. Coming to FC Barcelona and jumping almost straight into the starting XI is enough of an accomplishment to give any youngster at least a year of good will, but Dest wants more – and that’s why Culers should like him so much.

“For me, it’s important to get that confidence back because I feel a little bit unconfident right now,” Dest said to La Liga World.

Since the 2-2 draw against Valencia when Dest only played 45 minutes, I figured that the American was carrying a knock. Since Sergi Roberto has been injured, Ronald Koeman has had no choice but to play Dest. Oscar Mingueza has allowed some rotation, but the right flank has largely been Dest’s responsibility.

He hit the ground running and he knows it. There must be something to playing left-back when he arrived. Though it is a position that he had already played with the United States men’s national team and two matches this season with Ajax, to jump directly into the fire at your lesser position obviously endowed him with the confidence that he could make it in Catalonia. Since then though, a sense of normalcy could have crept in, and with it, doubt.

“That’s the most important thing for me right now: get the confidence back and play like I used to play and then I think I have a lot of potential.”

He knows he can play better than what he’s been in the last few weeks. The last match he played all 90 minutes was the 3-0 trouncing of Real Valladolid, which was also the last time the Dutch-born right-back collected an assist. Since then, pedestrian performances against Huesca and Athletic Club have shown a player either less willing or less capable to aid the attack in the ways that Culers know he can.

The bright signs defensively have remained. There have been occasional lapses, but Dest’s performances have been better than advertised since leaving Ajax. 1.4 tackles and 0.3 interceptions don’t seem like much, but his foul rate is down from his time in the Netherlands and he’s improving at the physical aspects of La Liga that are much more challenging than the Eredivisie.

If the pressure of playing for Barcelona has stripped him of some of his confidence; he certainly isn’t the first. Other than Ansu Fati and Ronald Araújo, it’s hard to say if anyone in the squad has played with unwavering confidence this season. Every single player in the team, especially some of the veterans like Antoine Griezmann and Clement Lenglet, have struggled with confidence and form. Dest’s confidence problem could be as much a team problem as an individual pitfall.

As is the case with any young player, there will be ups and downs. Frenkie de Jong, who signed on this day two years ago, has had more downs than ups with Barcelona, but things could finally be turning around for the 23-year-old. The moment Dest gets his confidence back, Koeman can focus on getting confidence back in the rest of the squad, or as we like to call them, the veterans.

Dan Hilton is an American journalist, broadcaster, and current Editor-in-Chief of BarcaBlog. Extensive work as a play-by-play broadcaster, producer behind the scenes, and quite average player in his younger years has given him a well-rounded and informative perspective on the sport. Alongside BarcaBlog founder Francesc, Dan started The Barcelona Podcast in 2017

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Source: barcablog.com