FIFA World Cup 2010 Final: Dutch Midfielder Relieved But Disappointed
Nigel De Jong, the Dutch midfielder who was involved in the most unsavory of incidents during the World Cup final has come clean and expressed his thoughts regarding, his high footed tackle on Xabi Alonso.
De Jong is famous for his competitive style of play for both his country and club. The Dutch midfielder was lucky not to get sent off after his foot caught the Spanish midfielder, Xabi Alonso in the chest. As a result of the tackle, Nigel De Jong was just shown a yellow card.
Howard Webb, the referee who was in charge of officiating the final had some tough decisions to make during the match between Netherlands and Spain. His appointment before the match had been criticized due to his increasing errors in the matches between big football teams.
Only three players out of Holland’s starting eleven were not yellow carded during the match. Those three players were Wesley Sneijder, Maarten Stekelenburg and Dirk Kuyt. De Jong’s compatriot, John Heitenga became the fifth player in the history of the FIFA World Cup to get sent off in the final match of the tournament.
Nigel De Jong accepted after the match, that he was relieved when Howard Webb only punished him with a yellow card after his tackle on Xabi Alonso. The Dutch midfielder stated that he was concerned that the color of the card might be red instead of yellow.
De Jong conceded that the tackle looked quite dangerous and that he didn’t see Xabi Alonso approaching the ball. The Manchester City midfielder explained that he was focused on the ball and didn’t mean to hit Alonso on the chest with his boot.
Nigel also added that he was a bit worried, but the referee just gave the yellow card to him, so it turned out to be a little lucky in the end. De Jong did not join his coach and other team mates in condemning Howard Webb’s performance in the World Cup final.
He said that it is easy to blame the referee but he added that some of the decisions were strange and when the referee himself sees them on T.V, he will realize that he committed a mistake. De Jong quickly added that the biggest fault was not with the referee. The Dutch defensive midfielder remarked that, he was familiar with Howard Webb from his premier league refereeing displays.
Nigel De Jong also criticized FIFA for slowly taking the physical element out of the game. He explained that he was a bit old school when it came to football and that because of FIFA’s new rules, the game was not exciting for the players anymore.
He stated that FIFA should let football remain football rather than change it. The Dutch midfielder also expressed his disappointment due to losing the final match of the FIFA World Cup. He said that to lose a world cup final is really hard. He also stated that he is extremely disappointed because of the result but reflected positively on the coming days, saying that the Dutch should be happy with their achievements after a couple of days of grief.
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