On the afternoon of March 3, 2010, at a chilly Amsterdam ArenA, United States midfielder Stuart Holden took a single, deft touch to stop the momentum of the ball before pivoting to his left.
Play was in transition, momentum in flux. For the next few seconds, Holden is still a budding English Premier League standout, having torn up the EPL with equally surprising Bolton Wanderers that same season. Enter Nigel de Jong, approaching from Holden’s left with a powerful, upraised cleat.
The enforcer known as the Lawnmower broke Holden’s leg with resulting tackle, and though the American would return for the USMNT in time for that summer’s World Cup, he suffered a similar injury the next season with Bolton and was never really the same player.