From the Nou Camp and San Siro to SCG
FOOTBALL: It would make quite a “best-of” XI – containing players such as Jaap Staam, Luiz Suarez, Keisuke Honda, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
The common link? They all played with or against Sydney FC playmaker Siem de Jong, who has kept select company in recent years.
The fact that at 29 he is playing in the Sydney derby tonight should be the Sky Blues’ gain, given the experience he has of European nights at venues such as Barcelona’s Nou Camp and the San Siro in Milan.
But it’s also true the SCG is an unlikely venue for a player who only four years ago was being transferred to the English Premier League for more than $10 million, amid a blizzard of hype about his ability.
It’s when de Jong talks honestly about why he needs to be playing for Sydney FC, as often as possible, you begin to understand the things he has gone through.
Dubbed one of the unluckiest men in football by the English media, de Jong has made freak injuries his specialist subject – including two collapsed lungs and getting stabbed in the eye at training.
So now, he just wants to play football.
“The reason I came as well was to play a lot of games, play regularly – that’s what I’ve missed the last couple of years,” he said.
“I played my fair share but not every week for 90 minutes. Even now I feel the tough games are a challenge to play 90 minutes, because I haven’t done that a lot lately.
“For me this is a good opportunity to play well for a nice club in a nice country and hopefully achieve a lot of success. But also, along the way, improve my fitness, my confidence in playing a lot of games.”
As he surveys the SCG, de Jong is clearly bemused at the prospect of playing on a cricket ground, although he wants it to be an occasion to rise to.
“The atmosphere helps, the crowd can give you that extra 10 per cent,” he said.
“I’ve played a few cup finals, a few Champions League big games – in those games you thrive off the crowd.
“The Champions League was special. I think we played five years in a row. Those games are really big – the atmosphere in the stadium, home and away, is amazing.”
That included games away against Barcelona and Real Madrid, giving him a unique perspective on the Ronaldo v Messi debate.
“For me, Messi is the best player in the world – he is pure football,” de Jong said.
“What Ronaldo achieved could be even harder. He worked really hard to get where he is.
“For Messi it came naturally. I’m not saying he didn’t train as much, but it’s based on talent.
“With Ronaldo it’s what you can achieve if you work hard.”
That truism isn’t lost on De Jong now, who admits his role in the Sydney team remains a work in progress.
“It’s still step by step,” he said. “Now in training it’s getting easier for me to play.
“The position I’m in is a bit new for me, and I’m getting used to where I need to be on the pitch.
“It will get more natural, and then, hopefully, I can be more consistent.”