Fred de Jong (born 5 April 1964) is a New Zealand former footballer who played as a striker and represented his country in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Fred de Jong
Personal information
Full name Frederick S. J. de Jong
Date of birth (1964-04-05) 5 April 1964 (age 60)
Place of birth Ōtorohanga, New Zealand
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1984–1987 University-Mount Wellington
1988–1990 Marconi Stallions 71 (23)
1990–1993 Fortuna Sittard 53 (6)
1994–1998 Central United
1999–2000 Football Kingz 21 (6)
International career
1984–1993 New Zealand 21 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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De Jong played senior football with Mt. Wellington before moving to Australia, helping Marconi Stallions to consecutive National Soccer League titles in 1988 and 1989. De Jong then took advantage of his heritage, joining Fortuna Sittard in the Dutch Eredivisie (First Division) in 1990, playing against the likes of Romario and Dennis Bergkamp. De Jong played three seasons in the Dutch top flight (53 games; 6 goals) and one more in the Eerste Divisie (Second Division). He returned to New Zealand after the Dutch 1993–94 season to play domestically for Central United and later played in the Australian National Soccer League for the Football Kingz 1999–2000.[1]

International career

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De Jong marked his All Whites debut with a substitute appearance in a 6–1 win over Malaysia on 3 April 1984 and ended his international playing career with 21 A-international caps and 3 goals to his credit, his final cap coming in a 0–1 loss to Australia on 30 May 1993.[2][3]

Post playing career

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De Jong retains involvement in football serving as a director on the New Zealand Football board[4] and as vice president of the Oceania Football Confederation.[5]

He is an occasional TV commentator for SKY TV in New Zealand[5] and has been a contributor of football related articles for the New Zealand Herald.[6]

Personal life

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De Jong's son Andre represented for the New Zealand U17 team at the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup in UAE.[7] Andre played on the team, along with Alex Rufer, son of Shane Rufer and Matt Ridenton, son of former New Zealand All White's player Michael Ridenton.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Australian Player Database". OzFootball. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
  2. ^ "A-International Appearances – Overall". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
  3. ^ "A-International Scorers – Overall". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Archived from the original on 16 June 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
  4. ^ "NZF Administration". New Zealand Football. Archived from the original on 21 June 2008. Retrieved 28 June 2008.
  5. ^ a b "The OFC Executive Committee". Oceania Football Confederation. Archived from the original on 30 January 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
  6. ^ "Fred de Jong Archive". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
  7. ^ "Soccer: Talented sons follow the trail blazed by their fathers". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  8. ^ "Oceania sextet take aim at world stage – FIFA.com". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2013.

He is now involved at Ellerslie AFC,where he coaches the 13th grade metro team which his son plays for

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