Nine months on from that challenge and Nigel de Jong is an unchanged man. Slightly more guarded, perhaps. Bruised by the ‘witch hunt’ that left a longer-lasting impression than his studs on Xabi Alonso’s chest in the World Cup final.
But as he steps back on to the big stage at Wembley on Saturday, Manchester City’s Dutch enforcer will go in as hard as ever. Offer no quarter and expect none in return.
It is why he loves football, loved watching Roy Keane and Edgar Davids, and why he jumped at the chance to be part of occasions like the titanic FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United.
‘The thing is I’m still the same player,’ says De Jong. ‘I still give 100 per cent in every game. I always try my best for my club or country.
‘But it’s not like I only give challenges and then cry about it when I get a challenge back. I’m not like that. You have to pick yourself up and dust yourself down.
‘If you make a good challenge, shake hands and that’s it. No hard feelings. As long as there’s no intention (to harm), there’s not a problem.
‘That’s my perception of English football and that’s why I came here. I watched how the culture was here and I loved it as a small kid when Roy Keane went in to a hard tackle.
‘When Keane and Paul Scholes were there, every opponent knew there was no chance with them in United’s midfield.
‘It was the same thing with Edgar Davids when he played for Juventus. I was lucky to work with Davids on the Dutch team so I saw close up how he put his body on the line to be the main guy on the pitch. For me to see that, he was a big idol.’
Keane is long gone but De Jong expects to do battle with Scholes at Wembley on Saturday.
‘I’ve got no fear of anybody, to be honest,’ he says. ‘I respect him. He’s clever. He can read a game so well. He can take a punch and he can give one as well. I’ve seen some good and bad challenges from him, but I’ll give him that.’
There was widespread surprise that English referee Howard Webb only gave De Jong a yellow card for his infamous kung-fu challenge on Alonso when Holland lost to Spain in South Africa last summer.
He has been booked a further nine times this season but not, it has to be said, for the tackle on Hatem Ben Arfa in October that left the Newcastle player with a double leg break.
De Jong did not escape punishment, however. He was axed by Holland coach Bert van Marwijk and vilified in his homeland. ‘In Holland it was much worse than in England,’ he says. ‘There was a witch hunt and my family were suffering.
‘The only thing you can do is let your feet speak on the pitch. If you see how people are talking now this last couple of months it’s been a lot more positive.’
Tough-tackling and tenacious despite his size, De Jong is crucial to Roberto Mancini’s team. When the manager rested him at Liverpool on Monday, City were fatally exposed and torn apart.
The midfielder knows just how important a victory over United today would be in helping City emerge from their neighbours’ shadow.
‘City have got the label now that we’re the biggest spending club in the world and all the negativity that surrounds it,’ says De Jong, one of the longest- serving players at the club even though it is just over two years since he arrived from Hamburg for £18million.
Driving forward: De Jong has been one of City's best performers in an up-and-down season
‘Of course people are jealous. How many clubs in the Premier League would like a spending limit like City? Everybody’s trying to put us on the ground and that’s normal. People are afraid of something new, and something new is coming in the football world.
‘The semi-final now is more important for me and the team than a World Cup final. United have that little edge on us because they have beaten us three times late on. Hopefully it won’t be a fourth time.’
Manchester City's Adam Johnson says he has not heard from his next-door neighbour Rio Ferdinand as City prepare to take on Man Utd in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/13093862.stm
Van der Sar: I’m feeling so cool
EDWIN VAN DER SAR is refusing to get carried away by the prospect of completing an impressive Manchester United medal collection in his final Old Trafford season.
Dutch keeper Van der Sar, 40, knows an FA Cup winner's medal is the only one missing from his time with the club.
But being one game away from the final does not faze him.
He said: "An FA Cup medal is missing from my collection but I am not going into the game more focused or tense because of that.
"At the end of this game against Manchester City, there is no medal or honour - it is just a semi-final.
"Obviously, it would be a great achievement to reach the final and give ourselves a chance of winning the tournament but at the moment I am not that bothered."
Man City boss Mancini confident of Sheikh Mansour relationship
Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini is confident he has a good relationship with the club's board.
He has to hope Sheikh Mansour and chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak do not lose faith in him as quickly as they did in Mark Hughes.
Mancini said: "I have a good relationship with Khaldoon - but after our Liverpool result I don't think he's happy.
"He is like an Italian, like me, when we lose a game he is angry.
"Different from the Englishman. After the game for an Englishman everything is finished and he starts to think about the next game.
"I have a good relationship with Khaldoon and Sheikh Mansour. They are good men and they can win everything in the future."
But do they understand you cannot build a trophy-winning team overnight?
Mancini added: "I think so... they understand it takes time."
Liam Gallagher Taunts Manchester United
VIDEO: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/footbal ... efault.stm
Manchester City fan Liam Gallagher has put the boot into Manchester United star Gary Neville, calling him a boring player who dresses like 'an estate agent.'
Speaking on BBC1's Football Focus which will be aired at lunchtime today ahead of FA Cup semi final, the Oasis star taunted United fans, saying...
'We're a lot smarter and more stylish. They still wear Adidas Samba and tuck their shirts in.'
Comparing City striker Mario Balotelli to Neville, the 38-year-old said...
'Balotelli's a character but he needs to sort his napper out. I like characters - if the world was full of f****** Gary Nevilles, it would be bobbins. He looks like an estate agent.'
PATRICK VIEIRA'S POT-SHOT AT ARSENAL
FORMER Arsenal skipper Patrick Vieira last night blasted his old team as fancy dans who lack bottle.
He also warned that Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie could be on their way if the season ends without a trophy again.
“I am an Arsenal supporter,” said Vieira, who was renowned for his combative style in his nine successful years at the club.
“I am frustrated because it’s the team who play the best in England. I love watching them play.
“But there’s nothing in the end. The Arsenal players are doing it right but they’ve got to add something, especially in their physical impact.
“In our time, Tony Adams, Martin Keown, Nigel Winterburn or Ray Parlour certainly had less quality in their play but they’d put their heads where others wouldn’t put their feet.
“Arsenal don’t have the killer mentality of Manchester United. The problem is that important players like Fabregas and Van Persie will finish by asking questions.”
The comments of Manchester City star Vieira came on the day Gunners boss Arsene Wenger confirmed Starsport’s report on Tuesday that Van Persie and Abou Diaby had a half-time bust-up at Blackpool six days ago.
“Of course I’m pleased about the passion,” said Wenger. “I never was worried about the mentality of the team.”
Wenger also warned yesterday that Jack Wilshere may not available for England’s vital Euro 2012 qualifier if plays in the UEFA Under-21 Championship. He raised the stakes in his battle with the FA by claiming the midfielder could be short of match fitness for the game in Bulgaria on September 2.
He insisted there was no way Wilshere would be ready to face Holland in a friendly on August 10 because he would have only just returned from his holidays.
If Wilshere goes to Denmark he could be playing with the Under-21s until June 21 if they reach the final.
“The rules from FIFA are that you have to give four weeks’ holiday to a player,” said Wenger.
“It would be better for him not to play in Denmark. I will have to give four to six weeks’ holiday to the player.”
Wilshere is set to make his 47th appearance of the season for club and country tomorrow in the league clash at home to Liverpool.
“Ryan Giggs is still playing at 37 but he has never played in a major international tournament,” said Wenger. “That means he always had a good rest every summer.”
RAG MIND GAME OF THE DAY
Manchester United's Sir Alex Ferguson questions mental strength of Manchester City players
Red Devils boss has suggested Roberto Mancini's players could struggle to cope with the pressure of playing at Wembley as they aim to win their first trophy in 35 years
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has questioned the mental strength of Manchester City ahead of the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
The Scot has suggested his players are better prepared for the semi-final as they have played at Wembley more times than their opponents.
“It’s possible,” said Ferguson in an article in The Mirror. “I don’t know the mental side of any of their players, because I’ve not worked with any of them.
“Only Roberto [Mancini] will know that, he’ll know his players much better. But it’s very difficult to block out [the occasion], simply because sometimes it overrides everything else.
“And Wembley is an occasion stadium. When you go there it’s for an important reason, and that can affect some players. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. It’s a fact."
Ferguson believes his players' big-game experience could stop their city rivals from winning their first trophy in 35 years.
“I know my own players and they’ve obviously been used to big game situations many times, so we don’t have to conquer that.
“I have a group of players who are confident going into games, their attitude is great and I couldn’t ask for a better situation than I’ve got.
“The players are in form and the squad is getting stronger with players back [from injury].
“It wouldn’t matter which game we were going into, I’d believe in these players.
“At the moment they’ve got a great momentum about them, which is a fantastic thing to have at this stage of the season.”
WAG OF THE DAY
OTHER BOLLOX
Chelsea have sounded out several agents to look for prospective buyers for 33-year-old striker Didier Drogba, who has only one year left on his contract at Stamford Bridge. The Times
Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish is set to use summer transfer funds to buy one big star and rely on younger players from the academy for squad depth. Metro
Arsenal captain Cesc Fabrigas is unsure whether he will move to Barcelona this summer or stay at the Emirates. Metro
Arsene Wenger is bracing himself for a major shake-up of Arsenal's backroom staff in the summer, with the possibility that assistant Pat Rice could leave after 15 years working as his right-hand man. Daily Express
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has warned Dimitar Berbatov to raise his game if he wants to win back his place in the starting line-up. Daily Mirror
Ferguson has also compared the in-form Javier Hernandez to former England striker Gary Lineker. Daily Mail
Under-fire Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier will be given another year to make his mark at Aston Villa, provided the club wins its battle with relegation. Daily Mail
West Ham vice chairman Karren Brady says striker Benni McCarthy was "devoted to filling his belly more than filling the net" after the club pulled the plug on his disastrous goalless 15-month spell at Upton Park. Daily Mail
West Brom boss Roy Hodgson fears Fernando Torres will score his first Chelsea goal against the Baggies when the two sides meet at the Hawthorns. Daily Mirror
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says England need to choose if they want Jack Wilshere to play for the U21s in the European Championship in June or in the senior team's matches in August and September as he cannot play in both. Independent
Stoke's Jermaine Pennant admits his spell in prison for drink-driving in 2005 has affected his chances of an international call-up. "If you can't rub it off you can't do anything about it," he said. Guardian
