Dutch midfielder Nigel De Jong has a reputation for his combative and no-nonsense style of play.  The 36-year-old has been a professional footballer since his Ajax Amsterdam days and has featured for eight more teams during a career spanning almost two decades. Let’s examine three major things about Nigel De Jong who plays his club football in the Qatari Second Division these days. Nigel De Jong is on the payroll of Al-Shahania in Qatar. The ex-Dutch international was part of the Al-Shahania squad that suffered relegation from the Qatari Stars League at the end of last season. The Qatari Stars League is the first division of club football in Qatar. Here are three things on Nigel De Jong:

    1. Well-travelled – Nigel De Jong is well-travelled mainly due to his profession. He has played for nine clubs in seven different countries. Nigel De Jong is not new to diversity as he was born to a Surinamese father and a Dutch-Indonesian mother. Apart from boyhood club Ajax Amsterdam, the midfielder has played for Hamburg in Germany, Premier League team Manchester City, AC Milan in Italy, LA Galaxy of the MLS (Major League Soccer), Turkish team Galatasaray, Mainz 05 of the German Bundesliga and the Qatari duo of Al Ahli and Al-Shahania.

  1. Started as an attacking midfielder – It’s almost unbelievable to think that Nigel De Jong began his career as an attacking midfielder. He spent the whole of his Ajax Amsterdam career as an attacking midfielder before Huub Stevens converted him into a defensive midfielder at Hamburg. De Jong would go on to make a name for himself as a tough tackling defensive midfielder.
  2. In the blood – It’s safe to say that the defensive midfield skills exhibited by Nigel De Jong is in the blood as his father was also a defensive midfielder for PSV Eindhoven during his playing career.