Siem de Jong experienced an emotional evening at De Graafschap on Friday by scoring twice against FC Den Bosch (3-0) in the last game of his long career. The attacking midfielder left the field at De Vijverberg with a guard of honor.
“It was a boy’s dream to finish here at De Graafschap, close to the parental home where it all started. That is beautiful and special and that my last match goes like this makes it even more special,” said 34-year-old De Jong in front of the camera ESPN.
The six-time Oranje-international put De Graafschap ahead in the fifteenth minute and in the 37th minute it was hit again. Shortly after the break he was substituted and his teammates formed a guard of honor for him. De Jong’s children and his wife were waiting for him at the end of the guard of honor.
“I knew it was going to be emotional, but I didn’t know my wife and my kids would be there. That made it an emotional moment. I also realized then that it’s really done.”
‘Had a lot of trouble after matches on artificial turf’
De Jong was especially successful at Ajax, with whom he became champion four times. He also played for Newcastle United, PSV, Sydney FC, FC Cincinnati and sc Heerenveen. Last summer, De Jong returned to De Graafschap, the club where he played in the youth academy with brother Luuk de Jong.
“I wanted to play here for one or two more years. It has become a year,” said De Jong, who failed to reach the play-offs for promotion to the Eredivisie with De Graafschap.
“Despite the results, it was nice to play here. The atmosphere is always great at De Vijverberg. Physically this season was disappointing, I had a lot of problems after matches on artificial grass. That got me thinking. It was a difficult decision to to stop, but it’s good. De Graafschap now also has a nice group of young players.”
De Jong does not yet know exactly what he will do next. “First I’ll take a little longer vacation than usual. Then I’ll orient myself and maybe follow an education. The idea is to eventually do something in football, because I think that’s where I enjoy it most.”
