Jean-Paul de Jong (born 17 October 1970) is a Dutch professional

football manager ''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...

and former

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...

who most recently coached

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

' under-18s. He is best known for his lengthy spell as a player with FC Utrecht, appearing in nearly 450 official games in 14 years and winning two major titles.

Career

Born in

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

, de Jong had several trainee spells, including with country giants

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...

and

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or commonly Ajax, is a Dutch professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. ...

. He made his professional debuts in Germany at the age of 20 with 2. Bundesliga club

VfL Osnabrück VfL Osnabrück is a German multi-sport club in Osnabrück, Lower Saxony. It currently fields teams in basketball, gymnastics, swimming, table tennis, and tennis but is by far best known for its Association football, football section. The footba ...

, appearing sparingly over the course of two seasons. In 1993 de Jong returned to his country and city, going on serve a 14-year spell with

FC Utrecht Football Club Utrecht () is a Dutch professional association football, football club based in Utrecht. The club competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football league system, Dutch football, and plays its home matches at the Stadion ...

. In total he played 370

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

matches, in which he scored 11 goals; as the side appeared in three consecutive domestic cup finals, winning twice, "Mr. FC Utrecht" (as he was

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

d) was on target in the final of the 2002–03 edition, opening the scoresheet in a 4–1 win against Feyenoord. On 22 April 2007, de Jong received his 83rd

yellow card Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative co ...

in the league, surpassing the record number of cards received by a player which had been previously held by

Barry van Galen Bart "Barry" van Galen (; born 4 April 1970, in Haarlem) is a Dutch former professional footballer. He debuted in Dutch professional football on 17 August 1991 (Haarlem - Telstar 2–1) and internationally for the Netherlands national team on 1 ...

. During his final season as a player, in which he contributed with 21 matches to a comfortable ninth place, he completed his coaching training badges and began to work as a youth trainer with the club.

Honours

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...

: 2002–03, 2003–04 *

Johan Cruyff Shield The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footbal ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

References

External links

Stats at Voetbal International

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jong, Jean-Paul De 1970 births Living people Footballers from Utrecht (city) Dutch men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Eredivisie players USV Elinkwijk players FC Utrecht players 2. Bundesliga players VfL Osnabrück players Dutch expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Germany Dutch football managers Dutch football coaches FC Utrecht non-playing staff FC Utrecht managers FC Eindhoven managers Roda JC Kerkrade managers AFC Ajax non-playing staff