USMNT: Sergino Dest stunners mean nothing, but that doesn’t matter

Sergino Dest scored two stunners for Ajax on Wednesday night. They mean very little for the USMNT youngster’s development, but when it comes to fandom and support, that doesn’t matter.

Fandom is a funny old thing. There is an inherent incoherence and illogicalness to it that makes it seem unruly and unfathomable. How can a group of people be so engrained and in love with an organisation or a team or even a player or coach that, for some of them, they have never met or experienced?

Fandom does not rely on logic and sound thinking. It is not sober and safe. It is nonsensical and unreasonable. You cannot explain it away — or sometimes even explain the existence for it. It is passion in its purest form.

And so, given that we are all fans of something, even if it is just the betterment of sport itself, the drama and conflict that competition brings, providing accurate, insightful, objective, transcendent, disconnected analysis can sometimes be difficult. We almost want to get swept up with the tide.

This is perhaps truer for the U.S. Men’s National Team than for most teams. There is a certain patriotism that comes with the American team that is not always replicated in domestic teams. While around the world, club football rules the roost, in America, it is the USMNT.

The undying love for country warps perceptions. Anything that is positive is overhyped; anything that is vaguely detrimental is the damn end of the world. So when a young, burgeoning talent scores two wonderful goals for one of Europe’s most storied teams, you can tell what the reaction is going to be before it has even happened.

Full-back Sergino Dest did precisely that this week. Playing for Ajax in the KNVB Cup against SC Telstar, the offensive-minded defender found himself in attacking positions twice, unleashing sumptuous finishes on both occasions.

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His first was a thumping finish into the roof of the net. After sauntering forwards into the penalty area, no defender even near to him, Dest waited and waited as play progressed down the opposite flank. Eventually, the ball arrived at Dusan Tadic’s feet, who turned and laid a simple pass on for Dest, who smartly smashed his finish high, beating the goalkeeper at the near post.

His second was even better. This time receiving the ball more centrally, on the edge of the box, he shimmied and shaked, dropped his shoulder, shifted the ball inside onto his right foot and unfurled a beautiful, curling effort into the far corner of the goal, bending past a helpless dive and outstretched arm.

In reality, these goals mean little for Dest’s development. He is a defender, first and foremost. Goals are not his forte, or what he should be judged on as proof of being a valuable player. It also came against a second-division Dutch team with a 3,625-capacity stadium. These were nice goals, yes, but they mean little regarding Dest’s efficacy and future.

Nevertheless, this is football and fandom rules. When a young USMNT player produces two moments of quality, celebrations erupt. And while that may seem a little unhinged, unruly, illogical, actually, there is nothing wrong with that. Sports would be boring if we treated them without love and fervour and furstration and joy and despair. Being a fan is inherently nonsensical, and yet it makes all the sense in the world; Dest’s stunners mean nothing, and yet they mean everything.