Johannes Jacobus “John” de Jong (born 8 March 1977) is a Dutch retired professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.

John de Jong
Personal information
Full name Johannes Jacobus de Jong
Date of birth (1977-03-08) 8 March 1977 (age 47)
Place of birth The Hague, Netherlands
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
VV Wilhelmus
Den Haag
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1997 Den Haag 69 (19)
1998–2000 Utrecht 71 (16)
2000–2008 PSV 92 (18)
2002–2003Heerenveen (loan) 26 (9)
Total 258 (62)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Best known for his lengthy spell with PSV, he had good passing abilities, also having his career cut short by injury, retiring at 30. He amassed Eredivisie totals of 189 games and 43 goals, over the course of ten seasons.

Club career

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Born in The Hague (Den Haag), de Jong started his professional career with his hometown club ADO Den Haag, in the second division. In January 1998, his solid performances led to a move to the Eredivisie with FC Utrecht, where he continued to perform well.

For 2000–01, de Jong joined PSV Eindhoven. After a good run in his debut campaign (28 matches, three goals, national league conquered) and the second, he was loaned to SC Heerenveen for one season.

On 26 February 2008, after having only played 15 games in four years, all in 2004–05, de Jong retired from football due to an injury he sustained in training in 2005. He was unable to recover even after 35 months of rehabilitation, and subsequently expressed interest in staying at PSV in a non-footballing capacity.[1]

Honours

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PSV

References

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  1. ^ "Injury victim de jong retires at 30". Goal.com. 26 February 2008. Retrieved 26 February 2008.
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