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Feature: Memphis Depay, future of Dutch football

By Jesse Wieten  (Xinhua)    20:13, June 27, 2014
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RIO DE JANEIRO, June 27-- Dutch international Memphis Depay scored twice during two performances as substitute, making him the one of the most notable players at the World Cup and a candidate for the Best Young Player award.

With his two goals Depay became the only Dutch substitute ever to score twice at the World Cup and also the first Dutch player to score twice in his first two World Cup matches.

"I am living in a nice world right now," Depay told a press conference on Tuesday. "It is very nice to play on this stage and do my thing. I am very happy. I became a better player in recent weeks. I learned a lot from the players around me. They made me wiser."

To be happy was not obvious for Depay in his youth. He was born in Moordrecht, close to Rotterdam, on February 13, 1994, from a Ghanaian father and a Dutch mother. His parents divorced at an early age and the young kid had a difficult early youth.

After both World Cup matches Depay kissed his pulse with a tattoo of his late grandpa, who was like a father to him. With his biological father he has no contact anymore. That's also the reason why he doesn't wear his surname on the back of his shirt. He does not want to give his father that honor and therefore he plays with his first name Memphis.

In 2006 Depay moved from the academy of Sparta Rotterdam to PSV Eindhoven, where he developed into one of the biggest talents of Dutch football. With the Netherlands Under-17 team he became European champions in 2011, after beating Germany 5-2 in the final.

That year Depay also started to train with the first team at PSV and later that season he made his professional debut. In the following year he became a regular and in the 2013/2014 season he turned into a key player for the Dutch club. His main weapons: a fierce shot with his right foot, his speed, strength and technique.

Maybe most of all the main quality of the 20-year-old forward is that he has no fear. Even at the biggest stage of all, the World Cup, he shows no signs of nervousness, just wants to pass his opponents and kick the ball into the net. An so he did during his World Cup debut against Australia (3-2) with a long-distance match-winning strike. Against Chile (2-0) Depay added the second goal in injury-time, from close range.

Although Depay doesn't lack ambitions at all, he is satisfied with his current role in the Dutch team, as a supersub.

"You have to be realistic," he said. "When you play with great players like Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben in this system it's logical that I'm on the bench."

However, with Van Persie and Robben already in their thirties, the future of 'Oranje' could be Depay.

(Editor:Wang Xin、Bianji)

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