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 six weeks. 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.
Read more about this topic: Nigel De Jong
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