Nigel De Jong

AC Milan midfielder Nigel de Jong has come to the defence of his international teammate Arjen Robben, who has been criticised by many as being on the decline. He says that the former Real Madrid and Chelsea star is still playing at the top level and that the 31-year-old can help the Dutch national team in the World Cup 2014. Robben has had an up-and-down year in the last few seasons. Last year, it was a very excellent campaign as he helped Bayern Munich lift three major titles. He also scored in the Champions League final to finally shake off the image as a loser.

However, he has also failed to take crucial chances in important matters like the World Cup 2010 final. Ahead of the World Cup 2014, pressure is on the Dutch star, who was certainly not at his best in the final few months of the campaign with Bayern Munich. Despite having a lot of the ball against Real Madrid, he did not create much over the course of 180 minutes. He was one of the players who received a lot of blame for the 5-0 aggregate defeat against the Los Blancos.
De Jong, who has played with Robben for several years, says that the player still has it in him.

“Robben is at the highest peak of his career, his last two years were astonishing, and he seems to be perfectly fit. Van Persie is our skipper, our leader, he didn’t play his best season but this was due to the transition at Manchester United. But I recently heard from him and he’s ready, he’s recovering a good shape. We weren’t a group, there was no cohesion between us and nothing really worked well. Somebody said that if we won against Denmark, then the rest of our tournament could have been different,” said the midfielder.

Lucas Leiva reckons that if Nigel de Jong comes to Liverpool, it would be fantastic for the Merseyside club.
De Jong is currently a contracted player of the Italian club AC Milan, but, he is continuously being linked to Liverpool.
The speculations of de Jong leaving AC Milan started when the Italian giants bought another midfielder in the form of Michael Essien a few days back from the Premier League club Chelsea.

However, Clarence Seedorf who has recently been given the charge at San Siro hasn’t hinted that he is looking to offload de Jong.

De Jong has been a pretty good performer for AC Milan. He had made his way to the club about one and half years back and has already made more than 30 league appearances for the Red and Blacks. Since, he plays in a defensive role in the midfield; he hasn’t got much in his goals’ tally, but, his contributions have helped Milan win matches.

Leiva who himself is a defensive midfielder is currently injured and is expected to remain out for quite a few weeks.
He was being interviewed by a Brazilian sports website on Wednesday. When he was asked about the speculations of de Jong coming to Anfield, he said, “I don’t have any idea about that. Things will become clear in the next couple of days I guess. I would love him to come to us. He is a guy with some experience and if he is signed, we would be strengthened.”

De Jong has got the experience of playing in the Barclays Premier League. He was a Manchester City player from 2009 to 2012 and played more than 100 league matches for them before moving to San Siro prior to the start of the last season.

Nigel De Jong is happy with the fact that his club AC Milan has secured the services of the Japanese attacking midfielder Keisuke Honda.

The Milan management confirmed the signing of Honda a few days ago.

The Rossoneri didn’t have to pay any transfer fee to sign the Japanese international as he had already completed his contract at his previous club CSKA Moscow.

The 27 years old playmaker had been playing for CSKA since the last 3 years, but, at the start of this summer, he had made it clear that he was not going to renew his contract with the Russian club and would look to move to a bigger league.

During his time at CSKA, Honda achieved quite a lot of success. He made as many as 94 League appearances there and found the net 20 times. These are not poor numbers for a midfielder by any means.

AC Milan’s performance in the ongoing season has been really disappointing. They haven’t won even 25% of the league matches they have played so far in the season and they are at no. 13 in the Serie A points table at this point of time. They would certainly be hoping that Honda brings some fresh energy in their camp and help them bounce back.

When Jong was asked about Honda’s signing, he said, “I think he is a very talented player. A few weeks back, I had got the opportunity to play against him and I must say I liked the looks of him.”

“He is a versatile player and he has the ability to find the net from difficult positions. That’s a rare ability. I am glad that he has joined us and I hope that he makes vital contributions for us this season.”

AC Milan’s Dutch midfielder Nigel de Jong has revealed that he is slowly coming to his best once again and he is looking forward to becoming a key member for both and country as well.

The 28 year old moved from Manchester City to the Italian giants in the summer of 2012 after a lack of playing time under Roberto Mancini but a serious injury forced him to miss much of the action in the later part of his first season at the San Siro.

However, he has since made a successful return to the club and is hopeful that regular first team opportunities coupled with a good run of form will hopefully get him back into the fold of The Netherlands national team under Louis Van Gaal.
According to Nigel de Jong, he feels as if he is merely 20% away from his very best. He stated that he feels well and he has played a lot of matches for the club in recent times as well and everything seems to be going fine right now.

He also mentioned he wants to become an important member of the Milan team once again and then force his way back into the national team, especially ahead of the World Cup in Brazil. He stated that this year is very important for all the Dutch players with the World Cup looming large and he hopes by February or March 2014, he will be able to get back into the national team and will be ready to pack his bags for Brazil.

Nigel de Jong played in Milan’s 1-1 draw against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League and he feels the team deserved a lot more than the point they got from the match and felt they could have won it as well.

Italian giants Fiorentina have branded the actions of AC Milan as unacceptable, inopportune and late as they attempt to prize Serbian midfielder Adem Ljajic from Florence.

According to reports emerging from Italy, the perennial Serie A contenders have tabled an € 8 million for the Serbian attacker and have also reportedly agreed personal terms with the player despite the insistence of the player’s club that the bid falls well short of their valuation of the player.

The Viola has criticized the actions of the Milanese club’s CEO Adriano Galliani for violating the rules and took to the popular social networking website Twitter to condemn the actions of the club. The club has also issues a statement in order to ward off AC Milan off one of their prized assets as they look to hold on to a player who, they believe will add a lot of punch to the new look attacking lineup that the club has assembled with star signing Mario Gomez from Bayern Munich.

Fiorentina issued a statement on the club’s website where they have blasted the Milanese giants’ approach of a player they do not consider selling and have attempted to warn them off the player. This is not the first time that the club has found itself in hot water as it tries to bid far lower for a player who is not considered a sellable asset by his club.

Recently, Russian club CSKA Moscow had blasted AC Milan for demeaning the club and the player when they bid as low as € 2 million for Japanese international playmaker Keisuke Honda. Milan signed midfielder Riccardo Motolivo last summer after the player ran down his contract with the club and the deal came under immense scrutiny with the club thought to have tapped the player up beforehand.

Italian giants AC Milan had long been on the trails of Japanese international midfielder Keisuke Honda but it now seems that their summer long pursuit of the player has hit a brick wall with the player’s current club CSKA Moscow admitted that they are in absolutely no rush to sell one of their prized assets.

And according to the president of the Russian club, it would be great for both the club as well as the player if he stayed in the Russian capital till his contract expired in December and after that, he would be free to do whatever he pleased.
According to the Russian club, they have been offered a fee in the region of € 1.5 million and € 2 million but according to the Russian club’s president, they don’t need that money. However, he did mention that the player is free to talk to any club he chooses to at this time and he is also free to leave the club if a fee can be agreed.

The club also stated that the player is an important part of the team and he will help the team earn a lot more than the € 2 million they are being offered by helping them progress in the UEFA Champions League. AC Milan had long been on the trails of the Japanese international who had previously been linked with a move to English giants Liverpool but it seems he has his heart set on a move to the San Siro.

The Milanese giants are crying out for a creative presence at the centre of their midfield and had targeted Honda as the one to fill the void but it seems AC Milan will have to wait at least till December or cough up a hefty fee for the player.

AC Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri has said that his team have only themselves to blame after losing a two-goal lead against Fiorentina to put themselves at a disadvantage when it comes to competing against Napoli in the table.

After struggling with form during the early part of the campaign, the arrival of Mario Balotelli has significantly changed the fortunes of Milan. They are now in the top three of the Italian Serie A table with an opportunity to overtake Napoli and finish in the second position. However, they could only manage a 2-2 draw against fourth placed Fiorentina during the weekend.

This was a very bad result considering the fact that Milan were 2-0 up in the match after 62 min on the clock. Montolivo had given Milan the lead after just 14 min, while former Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini scored the 62nd minute goal to give Milan a formidable advantage in the match. They were able to take advantage of the red card given to Fiorentina player –Tomović – in the 40th minute. However, two penalties in the space of 7 min helped Fiorentina get back on level terms even with the man disadvantage.

As a result of this dropped two points, Milan have fallen four points behind Napoli in the table with only few matches remaining.

“The second half was not positive, as we were caught napping. It’s a shame, as this could’ve been a very important victory to cut Fiorentina out of the race for third. We need to stay calm now, as we do some great things and the mistakes are part of the maturing process of this side. Paradoxically, Milan played better against 11 men than 10. We let ourselves go in terms of intensity and were half-asleep. We need to improve in terms of determination and effort,” said Allegri.

AC Milan has defeated Parma in a Serie A match played at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on Saturday. Milan won the match by 2-1. This was Milan’s 13th victory in the tournament. This win took them ahead of Lazio in the points table. Milan currently has 44 points in 25 matches and it is at no. 3. Lazio also has 44 points, but, on the basis of goal difference, Milan is ahead.

The Parma players only have to blame themselves for this defeat. They gave the opposing team some easy opportunities.

Milan took the lead in the 39th minute of the match with the help of an own goal from Gabriel Paletta. It was a terrible mistake by the Argentinean defender. Kevin Prince Boateng’s cross went to him and he deflected the ball into his own net. The whole Parma team was stunned after that goal. That was the only goal scored in the first 45 minutes of play.

Milan doubled its lead in the 78th minute of the match. It was their new signing Mario Balotelli who took them ahead by 2-0. That goal came off a free kick. The Italian striker beat the Parma goalkeeper Micola Pavarini with a sensational shot.

Before this, Balotelli had missed two goal scoring chances that had come his way. But, with this goal, he made up for that.
There was not much time left in the match after Milan’s second goal. Parma needed a couple of goals quickly to bounce back, but, that didn’t happen. Although, Nicola Sansone scored a goal for Parma in the third minute of the stoppage time, but, that goal came too late.

AC Milan’s next match will be a Champions League encounter against Barcelona on Wednesday at the same venue.

The midfielder of AC Milan, Nigel De Jong, has said that he hopes to get 100% fit after going through a successful surgery of his Achilles Tendon. Jong had injured himself while playing in the Serie A match against Torino. That match was played on 9th of December.

Although Milan managed to win that match by 4-2 but, it lost one of its key players for the remaining part of the season. Jong went down in the 22nd minute of the match. He was looking in a lot of pain and he was immediately sent for a scan. The scan reports confirmed that Jong had ruptured his Achilles tendon and he would have to go through surgery.

This was a big blow for AC Milan which is already struggling in the ongoing season. Milan has played 19 Serie A matches in this season so far and it has managed to win only 9 of them. Milan has lost 7 matches and the remaining 3 matches have ended in the form of draws. Milan is currently at no. 7 in the Serie A points table with 30 points and it is 14 points behind Juventus which is at the top of the table. These numbers clearly suggest that Milan would have to perform brilliantly in the upcoming matches to get in top 3 and for that, it needs its best players to be fit. So, Jong’s injury has increased the troubles of Milan management.

However, after his surgery, Jong assured his supporters that he would get back to complete fitness. The Dutch midfielder said, “The operation went smoothly and it was a successful one. Now, I am looking forward to getting 100% fit and making a comeback in the next season.”

“I would like to thank my supporters, teammates and friends who have given me immense support during this tough period.”

Even though there were intense rumours linking Edin Dzeko with a move out of the Etihad Stadium during the summer, few people would argue that the Bosnian has been one of the most influential players at City this season. Following on from the impressive start he has made, the player has stated that he doesn’t want to be a “super sub” and instead wants to establish himself as a regular in Roberto Mancini’s starting eleven.

Dzeko has been one of the most lethal strikers in the top flight this term, with his five goals all being of great significance club. As well as this, he has managed a further eleven goals in competitions for both club and country and this means that his reputation is soaring. However, while the goals have been flooding, Dzeko has made a lot of appearances from the bench and this is something that he wants to change. Speaking to the media after he made another sterling impact from the bench with two goals against West Brom on Saturday, he said, “The manager is there to pick the team and I’m there when the team needs me, but I was never a super sub, even before I came to Manchester City. I always used to play from the beginning [for Wolfsburg] and I scored a lot of goals, not as a sub. In the last few games the situation has been like this and I’m just happy to be scoring goals but I will never be a super sub, I want to play.”

After playing such a huge part in the victory over Saturday, there are big suspicions that Dzeko could be handed a more prominent role in the Champions League game against Ajax on Wednesday. Assistant David Platt indicated that he has given himself a very good chance of starting, so it remains to be seen if he can make such an impact from a starting place.