CARSON, Calif. – Each of the LA Galaxy’s five MLS Cup titles was built on a strong central midfield partnership, and in 2016, the Galaxy are hoping that the pairing of Nigel de Jong and Steven Gerrard will bring more trophies to the club.
The Galaxy completed a busy offseason on Wednesday when they signed Dutch international Nigel de Jong. For a team that lacked bite in the midfield during their ill-fated 2015 campaign, signing the 31-year-old defensive midfielder presents the Galaxy a solid spine in the center of the park.
“I can provide a lot of protection to the defense in front of them and what is important is to be the man between the offense and the defense,” De Jong told LA Galaxy Insider. “I have to try to keep the balance. I see myself in that center midfield role playing next to Steven Gerrard.”
The Galaxy’s newest midfield pairing may not have played together before, but the two established internationals are quite familiar with one another.
During De Jong’s time with Manchester City, the hard-nosed De Jong was repeatedly tasked with shutting down the Gerrard-led Liverpool FC offense. The two men also faced off once on the international stage with De Jong’s Netherlands earning a 2-2 draw against Gerrard’s England back in a friendly in 2012.
According to Gerrard, this familiarity can only aid the pair mesh on the field.
“I think Nigel can only help the team and the squad with his experience and quality as a footballer. He’s been around Europe, and he’s played in big World Cup games, he’s a quality footballer,” Gerrard told LAGalaxy.com. “I’m looking forward to meeting the guy because I’ve heard good things from [ex-Liverpool and Netherlands forward] Dirk Kuyt with Holland. He’ll make our XI and our squad that much stronger because he’s one of the best at the defensive midfield position.”
Where De Jong figures to be most effective is sitting directly behind Gerrard allowing the 35-year-old the freedom to push forward into the attack. After his first season with the club, Gerrard voiced his frustration about failing to make a substantial impact in the Galaxy’s attack.
Now with his old rival alongside him, Gerrard expects big things in the year ahead.
“He’s one of the toughest opponents that I’ve ever faced. Defensively, he covers the ground very well, he’s very aggressive, he’s very physical. He picks up good positions,” Gerrard said. “For any attacking player that’s looking to play against the Galaxy is going to be in for a physically tough match. I used to have tough, physical battles against Nigel, and he’s certainly one of the toughest opponents I’ve faced.
“To bring that into our squad, I look at where we went wrong last year: we needed to be more aggressive and make fewer mistakes and Nigel will certainly help us to be stronger in that department.”
De Jong is expected to arrive in Southern California sometime next week, and once he does, the Dutchman is eager to develop a rapport with a midfielder that he describes as one of the best that he has ever faced.
“What can you say about Gerrard? Steven Gerrard is the most complete player that I’ve ever played against,” De Jong said. “But we’ll have to see how we adapt on the pitch. I have to be there to see the qualities of the players that I will play with.”
The success of the partnership will be tested throughout the MLS calendar, but Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena is optimistic that his new pairing will wreak havoc on the league.
“We’ll see how it works out. The guess is that it’ll be a very good combination,” said Arena. “They’ve played against each other, and I think that Steven recognizes the qualities that Nigel will bring, and Nigel recognizes the qualities that Steven, [Robbie] Keane, and [Giovani] dos Santos bring as well.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/Insider and contact him on LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com
