There is a unique thrill in reading old matchday programmes and stumbling upon the exact moment a global superstar was just beginning to break into the public consciousness. Page 6 of the October 2013 FC Groningen booklet features the away manager’s column by PSV boss Phillip Cocu. Hidden within his recap of the recent international break is a sentence that aged like fine wine.
Cocu, in his first full season as head coach, reflects proudly on the Dutch national team’s recent 8-1 demolition of Hungary and 2-0 win over Turkey. He writes: “Het doet me goed om te zien dat er een nieuwe generatie Oranje-spelers aankomt, waarin ook PSV een rol speelt (Bruma, Willems en Memphis – red.).” (It does me good to see a new generation of Oranje players arriving, in which PSV also plays a role: Bruma, Willems, and Memphis).
In October 2013, Memphis Depay was just a 19-year-old winger. He hadn’t yet dropped his surname from his shirt, he hadn’t yet covered his body in iconic tattoos, and he certainly wasn’t a global brand. He was simply a highly touted prospect taking his first steps on the international stage. Cocu casually grouping him with Jeffrey Bruma and Jetro Willems as the “new generation” is a brilliant piece of foresight printed in black and white. Furthermore, Cocu notes that PSV missed a staggering 14 players during the international break, highlighting the massive disparity in resources between the Eindhoven giants and their hosts at the Euroborg.
A Look into the Future
Phillip Cocu’s prediction of a “new generation” was spot on, but the trajectory of the player he simply called “Memphis” would eclipse everyone else on that list. Memphis Depay would go on to become the undisputed talisman of the Dutch national team, chasing down the all-time goalscoring record. His career would take him from PSV to Manchester United, Olympique Lyonnais, Barcelona, and Atlético Madrid. Reading this 2013 programme is like looking at a baby photo of a footballing giant—a fleeting moment when Memphis was just a talented teenager preparing for a tough away game in Groningen.