23-year-old USA international recalls his time at FC Barcelona | OneFootball

Although Jules Kounde has been performing quite well as a right back this season, there is no doubt that FC Barcelona have not been able to find a long-term replacement for their legendary full-back, Dani Alves.

The Catalans have tried different players in this position, but they either could not prove themselves to be up to the task of playing for Barcelona in the long run or were brought in only for a short period of time.

The most obvious case in the former category would be Sergino Dest, who arrived at the Blaugrana club back in 2020 but remained a part of the team only till 2022. He played on loan at AC Milan and PSV Eindhoven for the next two years, before permanently joining the latter team in the last summer transfer window.

The fullback, who is currently recovering from a serious knee injury, appeared in an interview with SPORT and talked at some length about his time at Barcelona.

Firstly, the defender was impressed with Flick’s team, and believed they will be the champions of Spain this season:

“They’re doing really well and have a clear idea of what they want. This year, they can win La Liga because they’re already showing the hunger for the title. They started strong, and now they have to keep it up.”

The USA international was also clear that he will cherish his memories of Barcelona, despite the unceremonious end to his time there:

“It was an incredible and wonderful experience. I will always carry Barça in my heart. It was a shame that it had to end that way because I felt I could still be useful to the club. But when a new coach arrives and has their own ideas, you can’t change them.”

Dest went on to share how his playing style did not exactly match that of Barcelona, and how this led to him losing confidence:

“I agree; I arrived ‘flying,’ wanting to prove myself, to play… and things were going well for me individually. But in the end, I was new here, and my teammates didn’t know me… I have a style where I often take risks with the ball, but here I was asked to play differently.”

“That made me lose some confidence in my decisions, doubting whether I should be myself or change my style, and those doubts end up affecting your performance.”

The player believed the institutional chaos at the Catalan club at the time also contributed to him not performing at his best:

“Without a doubt, but especially at the team level. It wasn’t a good time for the club. The organization was in a kind of depression, there were many off-field issues, and it was a bit chaotic.”

“The results suffered because they couldn’t make important signings either. And then everything is connected. It started with ‘this player has to go,’ ‘that one is really bad’… all of that takes a toll.”

The American defender also highlighted his disagreements with Xavi:

“I wouldn’t say I regret it, because in the end, it was something beyond my control, but I don’t feel that I had the necessary opportunities with Xavi. I felt like I had to play with limits, that I wasn’t myself. I wanted to join the attack, as that’s my greatest strength, but he asked me not to go forward.”

“I believe he wasn’t honest with me. We had several conversations where he said one thing, but then I doubted whether it was really true. In the summer, before going on vacation, he told me, ‘I’m counting on you, don’t read the press.’ And right after I returned, he said, ‘You have to leave.'”

This interview provides insights into why a right-back as promising as Sergino Dest was not able to work out for Barcelona. His mismatch with the team’s playing style, the institutional mess, and his disagreements with Xavi all played a part in his failure.

However, the defender was able to get back to his best after returning to the Netherlands last year, and hopefully, he will continue to shine after recovering from his injury with PSV Eindhoven.