Kenneth Perez Questions Ro-Zangelo Daal Hype After Impressive Performance
Kenneth Perez is not buying into the Ro-Zangelo Daal hype. Not yet.
The 18-year-old AZ forward lit up Sunday’s 5-2 win over Go Ahead Eagles with two goals and a standout display, but where social media rushed to crown a new star, Perez slammed on the brakes.
On ESPN’s Dit was het Weekend, presenter Wouter Bouwman marvelled at how fast things are moving for Daal as the studio watched back his performance. Perez cut straight through the excitement.
“Take it easy, man. I’m really going mad from all that nonsense about multi-talent, great talent,” he snapped. “He’s a young and decent player. Let’s wait and see what it all becomes. All those superlatives about ordinary players... Calm down, please.”
No “wonderkid” labels. No early coronation. Just a call for patience.
Bouwman then raised another layer to the story: Daal is already on the radar of the Curaçao national team. The implication was clear – international decisions may come quickly for the youngster. “He can also wait a bit longer for the Netherlands,” Bouwman suggested.
Perez’s reaction was short, but telling. “Well…”
No big speech, just a hint of scepticism about fast-tracking anything around Daal.
Not everyone shares that restraint.
Arie Haan, reporting for De Telegraaf, sees Daal’s breakout in a very different light. The former Ajax and Netherlands international named the AZ forward in his Team of the Week and praised the intelligence of his game.
“They kept trying to block off the outside. Then he just went inside,” Haan observed. “He played brilliantly. It’s good for Xavi that another winger is emerging who is developing so spectacularly.”
Where Perez urges calm, Haan is already talking in terms of opportunity for the national team coach.
According to Algemeen Dagblad, Daal is indeed on a “watchlist” drawn up by Netherlands head coach Xavi. He is not alone there. Fellow forwards Lucas Vennegoor of Hesselink and Shaqueel van Persie are also reportedly being closely monitored by the Spanish coach.
So Daal finds himself in a curious place: one analyst telling everyone to cool the noise, another putting him in a Team of the Week and tying his rise directly to the Oranje picture, while two countries keep an eye on his next move.
The goals are here already. The debate has started. How long before the decision about his international future has to follow?
