The successes of the Surinamese stars with the Dutch national team did not tempt Serginio Dest to represent the low lands team, so he followed the choice of his “heart” and defended the colors of America until he became one of the most promising stars of the team that will compete in the World Cup in less than two months.
Dest is on the list of the US national team, which will meet its Saudi counterpart as part of the two teams’ preparations for the international competition, Tuesday evening, in the Spanish city of Murcia.
Dest is the only son of a Surinamese-American father and a Dutch mother. Suriname is a country located in the north of South America. It is the smallest in terms of area and population in the entire continent and the only country in the Netherlands because it was part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands until it gained its independence in 1975.
The name is attributed to the “Surin” tribes, the indigenous people of the country before their expulsion in the sixteenth century by the American Indians.
Dest lived a happy childhood in the Dutch city of Almere, and he enjoyed all the games he required, thanks to his father’s government job, which facilitated his early years. foot.
Dest remembers how he first fell in love with soccer during his interview with the ‘soccer bible’ website: I was very young, when I was in school I always played soccer, one day when we finished our school day I went home with my friends, then my mother told me that we can Playing football on a real level at City Academy, I told her: Awesome! I want this.
He continued, “My friend went with me during the first training session, and since then I have not been able to stop playing the game, and here I am now.”
Dest played from 2009 to 2012 at Almere, then moved to Ajax and played with the youth teams until 2018, following which he spent one season with the first team before moving to Barcelona and from there to Milan.
Dest was entitled to represent the Dutch national team because of his mother’s nationality, and to follow the example of many stars of Surinamese origin who starred in the orange shirt such as Gullit, Rijkaard, Davids, Seedorf, Wijnaldum and others, but he preferred to be with the US team and defend its colors.
Speaking to ESPN regarding his decision, Dest says: “Everyone wants you when you’re doing well, but the US team helped me when things weren’t going well. I would have played with Ajax in the first place.
He continued: Every time I did not reach the stage of the final selection of the Sunni teams in the Netherlands, my father reminded me that I also have an American passport, I always remember those who laughed at me when I told them that I would reach special stages in my football career, now I am here and they are trying to win my affection , but I know exactly who was with me during my hard times.
He concluded: My heart told me that representing the US national team was the best decision for me. I grew up in Holland and love it, but in life you have to make some difficult decisions. America made me feel like it was my home.
Dest played his first match with America in September 2019 at the age of 18 years and 10 months, as he participated for 68 minutes in the loss from Mexico with three goals without a response.
With the start of the 2020-2021 season, Dest became the first American player in history to represent Barcelona, and the fifth American to play in the Spanish League.
The “La Liga” website highlighted various aspects of the former Ajax player’s life and stated that Dest prefers percussion over drums during his spare time, and that he was seen more than once playing with a band in the streets of the Dutch capital, Amsterdam, and the Milan website indicated while introducing his new player at the beginning of the season. This season, rapper Drake is Dest’s favorite star in the music world.
Dest wore the colors of Barcelona for 21 million euros and a contract that extends to five seasons from Ajax, and said during an interview with the Dutch “NOS” regarding his first meeting with Lionel Messi: Messi does not speak English, but it was a special thing, of course, that I met him.
“To be honest, I don’t know what Messi said to me, but we were smiling, so I think he said good things, right?”
Dest, accompanied by Messi, participated in the Barcelona shirt in 37 matches in all competitions, winning 21 of them, drawing 7 times, and suffering nine defeats, and Leo passed a decisive pass to his American colleague during the six-goal victory over Real Sociedad in the “La Liga”.
During the same interview, Dest revealed why he preferred to move to Barcelona, saying: My favorite player, my role model, and my idol, Ronaldinho, played for Barcelona and made history with the team. When I learned that Barcelona was interested in me, the decision was easy.
Dave van den Berg, assistant coach for the US under-20 team, talked regarding Dest’s style on the field during his interview with the British Guardian: He can give you a heart attack when he decides to dribble into a guest space from his midfield.
And he added: He manages to dribble 99 times out of 100, and we don’t want him to stop doing that, I think that’s what distinguishes him.
Dest pointed out that golden advice from one of his friends is to make him play without tension or feeling pressure, which helps him to dribble, and he told “EAPN”: There is a boy I used to play football with in the street, and he said to me one day: You shouldn’t get nervous quickly Because if you get nervous, you’ll do weird things on the field.
He concluded: Until now, if the opponent puts pressure on me to snatch the ball, I think of what he said right away, so I can do the right thing.