Left Back Football

Ajax had a now amended rule that stated that only youngsters of a certain age could be awarded a professional contract. Javairo Dilrosun turned 16-years-old and anxiously waited for a contract offer from Ajax as Manchester City showed interest in him before the young Dutchman travelled to Manchester, met Patrick Viera and was given a tour of the club’s facilities. Dilrosun eventually made the move to England where he was joined by Rodney Kongolo as the duo formed a friendship and bond at the club. With the prospect of first-team football, incredibly low, Dilrosun ended his sojourn in England for a move to Hertha Berlin as he has not looked back since.

In the Under 19 European Championships in 2017, Dilrosun played on a highly talented team with Che Nunnely on the other flank, Joel Piroe as the striker, Teun Koopmeiners at the base of midfield with Dani De Wit while Armando Obispo played at centre-back with Justin Bijlow in goal. Nunnely and Dilrosun were livewires on each flank as they opened their campaign against Germany with an exhilarating performance. The Germans took the lead before Dilrosun crossed for Piroe to head in the leveller. Dilrosun then had a free-kick saved for De Wit to have a free-header deflected in off Piroe. Dilrosun then had his third goal involvement as he supplied Piroe with a precise through ball for the PSV youngster to round-off a hat-trick.

Dilrosun stood out with his courage in possession as well as his fleet-footed close control as the ball seemed glued to his feet as he glided in and out of 2v1 situations. He then had his third assist of the game when he backheeled for Jay-Roy Grot to finish with aplomb. A year after Jadon Sancho moved to Borussia Dortmund and started the process of setting the Bundesliga alight, Hertha Berlin made an astute move in signing Dilrosun for their youth team. Within weeks of pre-season, Pal Dardai promoted him to the first team where he continued to impress with goals in pre-season friendlies as he began to trust the Dutch youngster.

In an away match against Schalke in the Bundesliga, Karim Rekik pulled up with an injury and was replaced with his counterpart in Dilrosun as Hertha switched one former Manchester City youth player for another. Dilrosun instantly announced himself to the Bundesliga when he took on a long ball to dribble past Weston Mckennie and cut back for Ondrej Duda at the top of the box for the midfielder to finish. It was his second cross since being introduced as his control in trapping the ball in the air while in stride was incredible. Dilrosun also showed great physical developed as a compact player with a stocky build, holding off opponents and using elaborate tricks and flicks to lead Hertha on the counter. The then 20-year-old built on his fine start to the season, with two assists and one goal in his first three appearances for Hertha Berlin.

Dilrosun rapid rise led to a callup to the Dutch National Team but succumbed to an untimely injury, just moments after he came off the bench as the injury ultimately derailed what could have been an incredible debut season. Hertha fans were left with just a taste of what he was capable of but he returned this season, picking up where he left off almost a year before. At home to Fortuna Dusseldorf, he despatched a looping cross with a sumptuous half-volley as he went on a surge in the early stages of the season. At home to Paderborn, he scored one of the goals of the season, cutting in off the left flank with the ball glued to his foot and glided into the box, with one defender in his way as he moved to his right then cut back to his left, leaving the defender soundly beaten on his backside before finishing with aplomb to score.

Javairo Dilrosun through ball in the centre.

He scored another beautiful goal at home to FC Koln when he took the ball in the centre and smashed a strike past the keeper from range. However, he has missed the stability of Pal Dardai as under Ante Covic and Jurgen Klinsmann he has been forced to play a variety of roles in a variety of systems. Under the former German National Team coach, he has been forced to play as a defensive winger in a conservative and counter-attacking system. Dilrosun participates in the defensive side of the game, giving his fullback support, pressing the opposition and winning possession to launch counters but this restricts his attacking potential.

Covic sought to play a more attacking style but the inexperienced manager failed to properly implement his ideas into some sort of cohesive style on the pitch. Away to Koln, Dilrosun played in a more central role, receiving possession, working passes through the lines and instigating combinations to create opportunities. The young Dutchman was quite impressive in this role but is more effective when he is challenging fullbacks in 1v1 situations as his close control and his proclivity for step-over dribbling manoeuvres can befuddle defenders. Dilrosun possesses the ability, balance and close control to go either side of a defender which constantly keeps his markers guessing as he prefers to work cut-backs to the top of the box and lobbed crosses to the back post. The 21-year-old also poses a dilemma for fullbacks when he drives to the by-line as he can nudge past a defender in tight spaces or cut the ball back to his opposite foot, leaving his marker sliding for the advertising hoardings.

The most impressive aspect of Dilrosun’s adaptation to high-level professional football is how well he physically compares to fullbacks. The former Manchester City youth player has long legs and a compact core physique which means he is not easily nudged out of possession by the opposition. It also helps when he can get in between an opposition player and the ball in a defensive aspect to win possession. In his debut against Schalke and a few times since, Dilrosun has deputised as a more central striker, showing good hold up play to lead his team on breaks.

“I’m a winger that can play on either the right or the left. Sometimes I can play centrally behind the striker, but I prefer the wing. I have a lot of pace, agility and technical ability. I love taking defenders on in one-on-ones. I’m left-footed, with room to improve on my right. I also want to become more efficient in front of goal by scoring more goals and getting more assists. I’m from Amsterdam and I played a lot of street football. I learnt a lot of my skills on the streets which I took into my time with Ajax and developed further. Football is more physical in England. I developed more in that regard during my time at City,” said Dilrosun upon joining Hertha in 2018.

Dilrosun was unfortunate to have struggled with an injury last season as we have only seen his true potential in spurts. However, as Hertha embark on a journey where they have the financial muscle to accrue the world’s finest players and aspire of marching higher up the Bundesliga, he will be a key player for the capital club as he continues to develop. Manchester City sign stars at the expense of the progression of their academy products as Hertha should not follow suit and target a more sustainable growth with clever acquisitions and players from their academy.