The surprising calm of Dean Huijsen, "a chill guy": "His personality makes him different"

Dean Huijsen is " a chill guy ." That's what Arda Güler and the rest of the youngsters in the Real Madrid dressing room have dubbed him, referring to his calm off the pitch. He's constantly on his phone and on TikTok , the craze of his generation, and in the week and a half he's been with the Real Madrid team, he's won over teammates and assistants by being simple, by keeping things simple: in the mixed zone, he answers with just four words per question and is the quickest to finish speaking to the media, a goldmine for the Communications department 's time, and on the pitch, he's already the general captain of Xabi Alonso 's defense. He distributes the game just as he spends the day: with the calm of a veteran.

The Spanish national team center-back, born in Amsterdam but raised in Malaga , hasn't been influenced by his transfer fee of 58 million euros , the most expensive fee for a defender in Real Madrid's history. Nor has he been influenced by the responsibility, which has become undisputed due to the injuries to the rest of the defenders. Nor has he been influenced by his age, having just turned 20 , or the media hype surrounding Bournemouth and the Bernabéu. " He looks like he's 30 ," admits the Whites' Palm Beach club, which faces Salzburg in the early hours of Friday (3:00 a.m.).

In a single move and in just over a week, Madrid has patched up the wounds in its defense and, in particular, has corrected some of the deficiencies in its playmaking, one of the team's main problems. Huijsen has a 90% passing accuracy rate , with three long balls that created scoring chances, and with the composure necessary for Alonso's style.

"He has exquisite technical and tactical skills , a tremendous ability to interpret the game and always choose the best option," Francis Hernández , former coordinator of the lower categories of the Spanish Federation and one of the reasons why Huijsen left the Netherlands U-19 team and joined the Spanish team, explained to EL MUNDO.

"We were monitoring his progress, and when we saw there was a possibility of him playing for Spain, I traveled to Italy, where he was playing, met with him and his family, and told them about our project, and it worked. He was very clear about it; he felt Spanish and was hoping to make that move," he explains. " He had significant potential . That size, that way of moving, that physique... Tactically, he was already interpreting all the concepts of the game very well," Hernández summarizes.

In February 2024, he received Spanish nationality, made his debut with the U21s the following month, and in March 2025 with the senior team . In May, he signed for Real Madrid, and by June, he was already the leader of the defense. An extraordinary rise that has left the staff of the Federation and the Real Madrid team in awe.

"He's evolved in winning duels and in the air, and he adapts to any style of play. If you add to that his personality, which is something out of the ordinary and what makes him different, you end up with a 20-year-old who naturally handles situations unbecoming of his age. He plays with a calmness that's astonishing at that age," insists Francis Hernández.

His debut for Spain impressed Real Madrid and further convinced those surprised by his transfer fee. Huijsen made his debut for Luis de la Fuente's team in a match at home to the Netherlands, with the crowd whistling every ball he took. He didn't care. " It was like he was in his schoolyard ," they say.

His family, his parents Donny and Mascha , and his brothers Damien and Don, have a lot to do with this tranquility. His parents are in the United States, accompanying him and watching him when Madrid's training camp allows, although Dean, relaxed, sometimes doesn't notice. At the Madrid match in Charlotte, his parents approached the pitch before the game to greet their son. They raised their arms and called out to him, but the Real Madrid center-back walked past with a blank stare. " A chill guy ."