The day before, the sports media recalled the final of the most exotic world championship. Under the sound of buzzing vuvuzelas, the national teams of the Netherlands and Spain fought for gold in South Africa 13 years ago.
The meeting was not full of attacking football, but the ending turned out to be interesting. In the 62nd minute, the Netherlands team, which was undefeated in the tournament, could open the scoring: Arjen Robben hit goalkeeper Iker Casillas from a lethal position. In the 109th minute, the Oranges remained in the minority, and already in the 115th minute they conceded the only goal.
Cesc Fabregas punched through the defense with a pass, Andreas Iniesta fired hard into the far corner from Marten Stekelenburg. The Barcelona legend then ripped off his shirt, paying tribute to his friend who had died of a heart attack, and drowned in the arms of the world champions at five minutes to none.
However, at the beginning of the meeting there was an episode that was supposed to cross out all the hopes of the Netherlands for a trophy. In the 28th minute, Nigel de Jong went to the rebound and laid down Xabi Alonso with his exposed foot. The spikes of the boots stuck into the chest of the unfortunate Spaniard. The episode looked so creepy that some commentators even fell silent.Surprisingly, Alonso was able to continue the match. Even more surprising is that De Jong got off with only a yellow card: the British referee Howard Webb took pity on the offender, being afraid to break the final. Yes, this played into the hands of the intrigue… But immediately made Webb (and not de Jong at all) an anti-hero.
If the British had a VAR system, the scandal would definitely have bypassed him.
The Spain midfielder doesn't like to remember that clash. Alonso only says that the blow was the most painful in his career.
But de Jong confirms the position of those who did not see malicious intent in the actions of the Dutchman. The football player assures that he fought for the ball to the end and did not see the opponent running towards him. On the replay, it is noticeable how Nigel does not take his eyes off the falling ball and sees Khabi only when his foot has already flown towards the chest.
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"I just wanted to play ball, at that moment I thought only about it. I didn't see Alonso coming. He was in the blind zone. I didn't even think that I should be removed. This is an accident. Luckily, the match was officiated by an English referee who saw a lot of hard clashes. He took pity on me because I immediately raised my hands. Subsequently, we saw Alonso, but did not remember the episode. Just a piece of football history. Maybe one day we'll meet, have a beer and have a laugh… After all, he won that match and had the last laugh.» (FourFourTwo)
Nigel de Jong
World Cup silver and bronze medalist
De Jong, who retired in 2021, will be remembered by fans as one of the toughest and most uncompromising defensive midfielders of our time. In Ajax, the rude man was even called the «lawn mower». It's funny that the statistics of the champions of the Netherlands and England are not at all amazing (unlike his highlights on YouTube): in 563 matches, the player received 121 yellow and five red cards.
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"I made a mistake when I didn't send off de Jong for a foul against Alonso. The footballer's leg was raised high, but I couldn't be sure of the degree of contact. After the match, in which I had to show a lot of cards, I was very upset. But the support that I received from loved ones helped me to come to my senses. (The Guardian)
Howard Webb
British Judge
< For the luck of the skinhead policeman, who in the summer of 2022 headed the judiciary of the English Premier League (EPL), the Spaniards put the squeeze on the «orange». Otherwise, the fans would have serious (and fair) claims against the referee, because by this decision he could deprive the national team of the main trophy in the history of Spanish football.