Jonathan de Guzman

As influential a voice off the field as he is an accomplished midfielder on it, the experienced Jonathan de Guzman is the perfect character in any squad. "I have to help the young players more and talk to the new arrivals to help them settle into the team," he says of his off-pitch role. 

On the field – and all the more so in new coach Adi Hütter's tactical system – de Guzman is also expected to take the lead. "I play in a more attacking way, see more of the ball and am connected to the defence and the attack," he says. "Putting pressure on, winning the ball back and then attacking quickly and directly is a bit like Dutch football." 

Dutch he might be – and therefore possessing the national predilection for attractive football – but de Guzman is no fair-weather player and is capable of putting in the hard yards with the best of them, as he demonstrated during 2018/19 pre-season in the USA and South Tyrol. "I always tell myself: when you train well, you enjoy it," he said. "That's part and parcel of modern football." 

Indeed, the Netherlands international would not have impressed in five countries as a professional – Netherlands, Spain, England, Italy and now Germany – without a top-level work ethic. 

After catching the eye of Feyenoord scouts in the country of his birth, Canada, de Guzman moved across the Atlantic at the age of 12 and began his professional career with the Rotterdam giants. Thereafter followed stops at – among others – Mallorca, Villarreal, Swansea City and Napoli, from where he joined Eintracht Frankfurt in July 2017. He has swiftly fallen in love with the club and the city. 

"I won the cup in Holland with Feyenoord, in England with Swansea and the Supercup in Italy with Napoli, but what went on here was just crazy," he said, reflecting on the Eagles' 2018 DFB Cup triumph. "I'm delighted to have been part of the team that brought the DFB Cup back to Frankfurt after 30 years."