BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Nigel de Jong born 30 November 1984 is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Italian Serie A club Milan and the Netherlands national football team. He joined the Ajax youth academy as a youngster and worked his way through the ranks to make the first team at age 17. Two years later, he made his international debut and won a 2010 World Cup runner-up medal.
De Jong moved on from Ajax in 2006 to join Hamburg in search of first team football and then moved to Manchester City in January 2009 for an estimated £18 million, where he became an important part of City's holding midfield. A tireless grafter, he has garnered a reputation of being a combative and feisty player in his performances, a reputation that has earned him nicknames such as "The Terrier" and "Lawnmower". He moved to Italian side Milan in August 2012.
Club career
Ajax
On 19 October 2002, De Jong made his debut for the Ajax first team.[5] He scored his first goal of his senior career on 18 February 2003 in a 1–1 draw against Arsenal in the Champions League. He became a first team regular the following season, in which Ajax won the Eredivisie title. In 2004–05, his last full season in Amsterdam, De Jong was named Ajax Player of the Season. After a period when he appeared regularly in midfield, he found himself sitting on the bench more often than being in the starting line-up. On 7 December 2005, it was announced that De Jong did not wish to extend his contract with Ajax, which was due to end in July 2006.[9]
Hamburg
On 26 January 2006, De Jong signed a four and a half-year contract at German Bundesliga club Hamburg, the transfer fee approximately €1 million. At Hamburg he joined two other Dutchmen: Rafael van der Vaart and Khalid Boulahrouz. He made his Hamburg debut two days later in a 2–1 defeat at Nuremberg. In March 2006, De Jong scored the winning goal in Bayern Munich's first ever defeat at the Allianz Arena. The following week he received the first red card of his career for a second booking in a UEFA Cup match against Rapid Bucharest. His season was cut short in April, when he required surgery on a knee problem. The injury also kept him out of the Dutch squad for the 2006 World Cup, though he was later put on standby after regaining fitness.
Manchester City
On 21 January 2009, De Jong was signed to Manchester City for an estimated fee of £18 million by manager Mark Hughes who deployed him in the role of midfield enforcer in a team whose defence badly needed reinforcement. He signed a four-and-a-half-year contract. and was assigned the number 34 shirt. He made his debut for the club against Newcastle United on 28 January 2009. He made sixteen appearances in the Premier League over the second half of the season.
De Jong was given a start against Arsenal on 12 September 2009. He was named Man of the Match by Sky Sports in a 2–1 win over Chelsea on 5 December 2009.[19] By the end of the season he had become a firm fans' favourite as well as being one of new manager Roberto Mancini's first picks as defensive midfielder as the team narrowly missed out on a Champions League berth. De Jong scored his first goal for Manchester City in a 2–1 victory against West Ham United on 1 May 2011.
De Jong was a member of the City side which won the 2010–11 FA Cup and the 2011–12 Premier League, making 137 appearances and scoring twice before being sold to A.C. Milan in August 2012.
Milan
On 31 August 2012, De Jong joined Italian Serie A side Milan for £3.5 million rising to £5 million depending on appearances, signing a three-year deal. De Jong scored his first goal for Milan in a 3–2 loss against Lazio on 20 October 2012.
International career
On 31 March 2004, De Jong made his debut with the Netherlands in a friendly game against France. He was overlooked for the squad that went to play in UEFA Euro 2004,[7] and missed the2006 FIFA World Cup with a knee injury.
He was selected by Marco van Basten to play for De Oranje at UEFA Euro 2008. During the tournament, he was played as a "screening midfielder", partnering with Orlando Engelaar in central midfield.[7] This resulted in De Jong playing three[24] out of the four games that saw Holland reach the quarter finals stage with the Dutch team finally exiting the competition through an extra-time defeat by Russia.[25]
He scored his first international goal against Iceland on 6 June 2009 in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying match, which sealed the Netherlands' passage to the 2010 World Cup.
De Jong was part of the Dutch team for the 2010 FIFA World Cup managed by Bert van Marwijk. The player was in the starting line-up for their first match in the competition, a 2–0 victory over Denmark. He was suspended in the semi final against Uruguay after receiving his second yellow card of the tournament in the Netherlands' quarter-final win over Brazil. He played in the Final of the competition, which the Netherlands lost 1–0 to Spain after extra time. In the early stages of the match, De Jong made a chest high challenge on Xabi Alonso, with his studs making contact with the Spaniards ribs. Referee Howard Webb later stated that he would have sent off De Jong if he'd had a better view of the incident.
De Jong was part of the Netherlands UEFA Euro 2012 squad. The Dutch were eliminated in the first round after losing all three matches.
Scores list Netherlands' tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 6 June 2009 | Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland |  Iceland | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Style of play
De Jong began his career as a creative midfielder or forward.[ At Ajax he played a number of positions, including central midfield and right wing.De Jong credits his conversion to a defensive-minded player to Huub Stevens, under whom he played at Hamburg. His new approach earned him the nickname "der Rasenmäher" ("the Lawnmower"). De Jong is typically the most defensive midfielder in his team. When his team's defenders are in possession of the ball, De Jong will often drop back towards them to receive it. Sometimes De Jong is the sole holding midfielder, but often he plays alongside another defensive player, such as Gareth Barry at Manchester City or Mark van Bommel for the Dutch national team. De Jong had the highest passing completion percentage in the Premier League in the 2010–11 season out of the top 50 players (90%).
During an international friendly on 3 March 2010, De Jong fractured the leg of Bolton Wanderers' American international Stuart Holden as the result of a late challenge, causing Holden to be sidelined for nearly two seasons. In the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final he kicked Spanish player Xabi Alonso in the chest, a challenge for which De Jong admitted he was lucky not to have received a red card. On 3 October 2010, in a Premier League match against Newcastle United, a tackle by De Jong on Hatem Ben Arfa resulted in the latter being carried off the pitch with a double fracture of his left tibia and fibula. Nigel de Jong was later dropped from the Dutch national team for an unspecified period of time, but has since been reprieved. De Jong however has never received a red card during his time at Manchester City. To date the only red card De Jong has received in his professional career was a sending off for two bookable offences in a match for Hamburg against Rapid Bucharest in the 2005–06 edition of the UEFA Cup.
In December 2013, Spanish football website El Gol Digital ranked de Jong at tenth in its list of the world's dirtiest footballers.
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