LUUK DE JONG comes from a volleyball-obsessed family but he chose football and reached big heights during his career.
The striker was born in Switzerland to sporty parents but his family moved back to their native Netherlands when he was just four-years-old.
De Jong played football from an early age and has gone on to have a long and successful career, playing for the likes of Barcelona, PSV and Sevilla.
He also won 39 caps for the Netherlands between 2011-2022, scoring eight goals.
While he also had an experience to forget in the Premier League after failing to score in 12 games for Newcastle in a 2014 loan spell.
But his life could have been very different if he had followed the path of his parents, both of whom were professional volleyball stars.
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His parents played in the 1970s and 1980s with his mother Lockie Raterink also earned over 90 caps for the Netherlands Volleyball national team
Dad George represented his country 35 times and later moved to Zurich where he was player-coach, leading the team to six Swiss Championship titles.
Lockie also found success in Switzerland, winning the championship on three occasions with Lausanne and once with Luzern.
De Jong’s uncles on his dad’s side Onno and Volko also played professional volleyball, as did his mum’s twin Margot and their brother Pim.
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The Dutchman believes he possesses volleyball genes but used his jumping power to head in balls – with a remarkable 103 headed goals in his career – rather than punch them.
He said of his athleticism: “My playing style, with my aerial ability, it’s quite similar to volleyball — the timing, the jumping — instead of using my hands, I use my head,” he says. “I think it’s in my genes.”
De Jong played volleyball when he was younger but thinks he was right to choose football over his parents’ favourite sport.
He added: “We did some two vs two, my dad and me against my brother and my mother. It was quite competitive but, in the end, I think my mother and my brother won because my brother was a little older.
“I think you’re right. I think I chose the right path.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
