Photo Source: Pacific FC Website Staff- https://pacificfc.canpl.ca/article/defender-marcel-de-jong-journey-to-pacific-fc

On Tuesday, February 19, 2019, Pacific FC created a major splash in the transfer market by announcing the signing of former Vancouver Whitecaps left-back, Marcel De Jong. Born in Newmarket, Ontario, De Jong becomes the first Ontario-born player to sign for Pacific FC. The club made the announcement at The Bard & Banker pub in Victoria. The event was also streamed across the clubs various social media platforms after a fan poll on Twitter reached over 100 votes, requesting to live stream the major announcement.

Marcel De Jong (32) becomes a marquee signing for the Canadian Premier League. The former PSV academy player has earned himself 56 caps for the Canadian Men’s National Team, 196 appearances in Europe, and most recently, 52 appearances in his 4-year tenure in the MLS. De Jong instantly provides Pacific FC with experience and depth at defence. Marcel started his career in Holland playing for Helmond Sport in the Eerste Divisie before moving to Roda JC in the Eredivisie. After establishing himself as a valuable name on the team sheet, De Jong was able to secure a transfer to FC Augsburg. In his debut season, he appeared in 27 games before leading his club to a Bundesliga promotion. After 4 years and 73 appearances, Marcel transferred to North America where he played for Sporting Kansas City, Ottawa Fury, and most recently, Vancouver Whitecaps.

Marcel typically plays left-back but has also appeared in the left-midfield position during his career. He joins the Pacific FC defence core of Kadin Chung (20) and Matthew Baldismo (21). The Van Isle club will surely be looking to him to provide a veterean presence on and off the pitch. In a press release from the Pacific FC website, Marcel also stated, “I’m still hungry and fit, and I have the drive to be a leader and role model for the younger players.”

There is no doubt that Marcel De Jong is a valuable piece to the CanMNT. He has represented Canada at the U17 ,U20 , and senior level. Marcel moved to Holland when he was 4 years old but decided to represent Canada at a national level in hopes of receiving more international caps. Marcel got his wish as he has been a consistent player for Canada including a peak year for Canada in 2015 when he earned 10 caps. In fact, Marcel becomes the most capped player to sign for the CPL.

Since mutually agreeing to terminate his Vancouver Whitecaps contract on February 4th, 2019, there was large speculation as to where Marcel De Jong would play next. Speculation was sparked even more when Twitter user Duane Rollins tweeted the same day that “Marcel De Jong did in fact sign with Pacific FC”. After weeks of speculation, Pacific FC announced that there would be a major club announcement, which as we all know, was the announcement of Marcel De Jong. By signing for Pacific FC, De Jong stays in British Columbia and strengthens his relationship with former CanMNT teamate and PFC president, Josh Simpson.

At the Press Conference, Marcel stated that he was “all in” and wanted to play at this club for the foreseeable future, not just one year. Needless to say, Marcel De Jong is a massive signing for not only Pacific FC but the Canadian Premier League. He only increases the talented PFC roster that already includes Marcus Haber and Ben Fisk.

Other details were also released during the press conference. It was unofficially announced that the first Pacific FC game in history would be on April 28th, at Westhills Stadium, vs HFX Wanderers FC. Training camps were said to be taking place in Tofino, BC, as well as an unknown international locations. Lastly, a major Canadian Premier League announcement was hinted at for Wednesday, February 20th. Needless to say, Pacific FC has turned the tide in the CPL.

Thanks for reading and as always, #ForTheIsle

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Maxwell Mowbray Maxwell is a University of Guelph alumni who started watching football in his first year of university. Though his undergrad was in music, sports journalism has always been one of his interests. Max decided to support Pacific FC due to family past on the west coast, leading him to create his Twitter page, @PFCOntario. Though he is 3300 km away from Westhills Stadium, Maxwell is a dedicated PFC fan and member of the Lake Side Buoys. You can often find Maxwell scouring through the lower leagues of Football Manager games.

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