There are two types of deep-lying central midfielders in soccer: those known to put in the hard challenges, sit in front of the center backs and do the "dirty work" of the game and those who sit back and spray smart passes all over the field.
Nigel De Jong is the former of those two options and he did a very bad thing Sunday night. In the 73rd minute of the LA Galaxy's 1-1 home draw against Portland, De Jong put in a strong tackle on former Akron star Darlington Nagbe that has drawn the ire of many in the soccer community.
You can see the challenge here:
Just a yellow. (Nagbe stretchered off) #LAvPOR #MLS pic.twitter.com/4qnlQiZqmY
— Ben Jata (@Ben_Jata) April 11, 2016
De Jong was only shown a yellow for that challenge, and Nagbe remained in a heap on the grass until he could be helped off the field. He spent the rest of the game with a towel on his head, a giant bag of ice on his left ankle and needed to be helped off the field after the game.
To his credit, De Jong did come over after the final whistle and appeared to apologize to Nagbe. But that doesn't mean he won't be subject to retroactive punishment by MLS and won't receive abuse from the general soccer community.
He was the center of the FS1 commentating crews conversation for the remainder of the game, and Stuart Holden opened up on the two's altercation in March 2010 in which De Jong broke Holden's leg in an exhibition match.
That challenge, like the one that occurred Sunday night, was horrendous and didn't do anything to alleviate the reputation that De Jong has earned of being hotheaded and reckless on the pitch.
Unfortunately, Nagbe appears set for a long stint on the sidelines and De Jong will likely be playing again within a month. Regardless, challenges like this shouldn't be accepted in the modern game and it's sad to see a player facing a bad injury on a worse challenge.