If you were asked to name the players who scored twice for their country in the second round of group games at this World Cup, Brian Brobbey might not spring to mind quite as readily as Ronaldo, Messi, Mbappe and Haaland.
Still, Brobbey’s brace in a 5-1 win over Sweden was no less important as the Sunderland striker seized his opportunity in Houston to fire the Netherlands to the top of Group F.
He bullied the Swedish defence after being chosen to lead the attack by Ronald Koeman, charging through to score twice inside the opening 17 minutes on his first World Cup start.
This time last year, however, Brobbey was in the headlines for a very different reason after he was revealed to be the mystery Ajax star caught up in a lurid tale of extortion, intimidation and gangland shootings.
It began in December 2022 when Brobbey was approached at a music festival by a local criminal referred to in court as Jeymon A, whom he recognised from their upbringing in the east Amsterdam suburb of Zuidoost.
He demanded money from Brobbey, claiming that he had persuaded Moroccan mobsters from Utrecht to stay away from the player. Unaware of any of this, Brobbey didn’t pay.
Brian Brobbey scored two as the Netherlands thrashed Sweden 5-1 in their second match
While at Ajax, the forward was the target of violent extortion threats – including an explosive being thrown at his car
In the months afterwards, an explosive was thrown at his car, fireworks were put through the letterbox of his mother-in-law’s home, and his sister-in-law’s car was set on fire.
When Brobbey’s childhood friend set up a meeting with the gangster to try and resolve the issue, he was shot twice and needed life-saving surgery. A week later, Brobbey received a text message demanding £130,000.
Jeymon A was eventually convicted of attempted manslaughter and drugs-related offences, and Brobbey was identified as the player last June when he told De Telegraaf: ‘What is private should stay private. This story is a closed book for me. Looking back leads to nothing. I focus on the future.’
A couple of months later he joined Sunderland for £21.6million on deadline day, and spoke recently of the difference moving to the Premier League has made to his life.
‘I’m calmer in my head,’ he said. ‘Sunderland isn’t Amsterdam, you know. I wanted a new challenge, and needed to get out of my comfort zone. That went really well. I train and occasionally family comes by. It’s less hectic here. So I have fewer distractions and more peace of mind.’
The last of Brobbey’s three seasons back at Ajax after rejoining his boyhood club from RB Leipzig had been the most difficult of his career.
He hardly started a game and struggled with injury. It felt as though he had lost the joy of playing football. He was a popular figure at the club, but when Sunderland took him to the Stadium of Light to join his Netherlands teammates Lutsharel Geertruida and Robin Roefs, it felt like the time was right.
After a quiet start, Brobbey flourished on Wearside where he adopted a better lifestyle, working with his old Ajax dietitian Gregory Hirschfeld and sports behaviour coach Patrick Woerst. He has also benefitted from the input of Koeman’s No.2 Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Brobbey brought a bulldozing style to Sunderland and scored seven goals for them last season
A beast of a striker with a bulldozing style, he is well suited to the physicality of English football.
‘This is a very different Brobbey,’ says the player, whose only appearance at the Euros in Germany two years ago came as an 89th-minute substitute moments before Ollie Watkins fired England’s late winner against the Dutch in the semi-finals.
‘This one plays in the Premier League and has become more complete, I think.’
Sweden certainly found that out to their cost after Koeman dropped Crysencio Summerville to the bench following a 2-2 draw with Japan, moved Donyell Malen out to the wing, and started Brobbey ahead of Memphis Depay and Wout Weghorst.
Depay had overtaken Robin van Persie as the Netherlands’ all-time top goalscorer during qualifying, while Weghorst had moved ahead of Brobbey for club and country during that difficult final season at Ajax.
When he was asked about Brobbey’s performance against Sweden on Saturday, the former Manchester United striker made a dismissive gesture with his hand and walked away.
Captain Virgil van Dijk was rather more complimentary. ‘Brian is such an incredibly strong guy,’ said Van Dijk. ‘When the ball comes and he’s got you, you’re never getting away.’
His teammate and close friend Denzel Dumfries draws a comparison with Romelu Lukaku. ‘The similarities between the two are definitely there,’ says Dumfries. ‘With his physique, he can do a lot. When it comes to pure strength, Brobbey is crucial.’
The 24-year-old – who was linked with United during Erik ten Hag’s time in charge at Old Trafford – is expected to start against Tunisia in the early hours of tomorrow (fri) morning as long as he shakes off a minor knock.
The man whose favourite World Cup memories go back to 2010, watching the Netherlands in the final and Ghana (his half brother Derrick Luckassen was on the bench for Ghana against England on Tuesday night) reach the quarters at his parents’ apartment in Zuidoost, will be a handful for any defence at this tournament.
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