Belgium has produced some extraordinary footballers over the past few decades, including Eden Hazard at his brilliant peak, Kevin De Bruyne with his generational vision, Paul van Himst, Wilfried van Meer and the entire ‘golden generation’ that many believed would ultimately bring the World Cup to Brussels.
Manchester City forward Jeremy Doku shows off his beautiful goal-scoring performance
But despite all this talent, Belgium has never lifted the sport’s most coveted trophy. Now, a new superstar may emerge with a skillset unlike anything this country has ever seen. And if current trajectory continues, Manchester City forward Jeremy Doku could be the player who can lead Belgium to much-needed glory.
Dribbling phenomenon with legendary comparison
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Doc has been phenomenal from the moment he arrived in the Premier League, but this season has seen him make an undeniable breakthrough. His performance in Manchester City’s 3-0 win over Liverpool before the international break was more than just impressive, it was telling.
The 23-year-old left Liverpool’s right side to shreds, leaving Conor Bradley and anyone brave enough to get in front of him completely helpless. He capped off his performance with a stunning solo goal, earning him Man of the Match honors and sparking glowing praise from analysts across Europe.
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Among those voices was journalist Jan Mulder, who offered a comparison to Garrincha that is rarely used in modern football. Yes, it’s Garrincha. The Brazilian icon is considered by many to be the best pure dribbler in the history of the sport. Mulder described Doc’s style in almost poetic praise:
“When Doc sees five centimeters of space between four players, it slips through. I look at Jeremy Doc, desperately searching for the lyricism to do justice to his game.” He goes further, suggesting the young winger may already have achieved legendary status.
Unique skill set: pure chaos, pure brilliance
It’s not just his speed that makes Doc special. Many players are fast. It’s the way he uses his combination of instant acceleration, balance, misdirection and fearless willingness to rush at defenders time and time again. Mulder emphasized elements like Garrincha:
“He received the ball, stopped… pretended to dribble with his hips… did nothing… stayed still, and then suddenly Garrincha and Doc were barreling down the sideline at devastating speed and out of sight.”
Belgium’s golden generation peaked in 2018 and 2022, but ultimately fell short. They had world-class stability, structure and creativity through De Bruyne, Hazard, Vertonghen, Witsel and Courtois. What they lacked was unpredictability. chaos. He acted as a game breaker at the moment when his organization was not strong enough. Doku can be that player.
