The horrifying Nigel de Jong tackle that has MLS fans enraged
Daaaamn Nigel, back at it again with the dirty tackles.
If the name Nigel de Jong rings a bell for you, casual soccer fan, that's for good reason. The Dutch star is drawing the ire of MLS fans after his latest cheap play, which had Portland Timbers midfielder Darlington Nagby stretchered off the pitch Sunday.
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De Jong received just a yellow card on the play, but his challenge of Nagby during Sunday's match between the Timbers and Los Angeles Galaxy was brutal. Watch as he stomps on Nagby's left ankle.
Nagbe was stretchered away after the play, and later had to leave the field in a wheelchair. (At the time of this writing, his official injury had not been announced.)
Fans and media alike have called for MLS to hit de Jong with a heavy suspension. The Timbers' official Twitter account even tweeted bitterly at the Galaxy after the match.
"Are you even surprised?" Portland quips and the Los Angeles. Perhaps you wonder what that's referencing.
In the 2010 World Cup Final, a Dutch player unleashed a horrifying, Bruce Lee-style flying kick on Spain's Xabi Alonso? It was a notorious play in front of a global audience. And, yup -- the flying kicker was de Jong.
There's more, too.
During a 2010 match between Netherlands and the United States, de Jong broke the leg of American midfielder Stuart Holden on a questionable challenge.
Holden, who is now an analyst, addressed de Jong's latest offense Sunday night on Fox Sports 1.
"I’m sitting here and now I’m seeing this challenge first hand on Darlington Nagbe, and it makes me feel sick because I know what Darlington Nagbe is going through," Holden said. "We saw him sitting there. He had the towel over his head. We saw his body mannerism, and that’s a man that knows he’s done something serious.
"I don’t want to speculate what it is, but I know it’s not good. And de Jong did go over and apologize, but there is absolutely no excuse for that type of challenge. We don’t need it in the game. It’s horrific. It’s horrible. And he’s going to get retroactive punishment."
May that retroactive punishment be swift, because it's certainly deserved. Yet again.
Sam Laird is Mashable's Senior Sports Reporter. He covers the wide, weird world of sports from all angles -- as well as occasional other topics -- from Mashable's San Francisco bureau. Before joining Mashable in November 2011, his freelance work appeared in publications including the New York Times, New York Times Magazine, Slam, and East Bay Express. Sam is a graduate of UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz, and basketball and burritos take up most of his spare time. Follow him on Twitter @samcmlaird.
