Remko Pasveer: 38 years young

Signed as reserve goalie for Ajax, by Erik ten Hag. And as a result of injuries and suspensions (Onana, Stekelenburg) he became Ajax’ first goalie and even with Jay Gorter breating into his neck, the veteran goalie has snatched that role up at Ajax and potentially also in the Dutch National Team. As Wesley Sneijder commented the other day: “Pasveer is currently Holland’s best goalie and deserves to start”.

We’ll see if Van Gaal agrees. The coach is known to be headstrong and contrarian that it’s hard to know. An interview with young Remko Pasveer.

Isn’t it great to see rival goalies getting injured?

“No not really. I mean, we work as a team. And it’s just shitty for Maarten as he was doing so well and even got to the Euros with Oranje. Of course, I got my spot thanks to the issues Maarten and Andre had, but I prefer to win the spot on merit. I just hope Maarten will be well soon.”

You do seem to get along well?

“We do, we’re good together. I see Maarten as my older brother. I mean, the clubs and competitions he played in, he has a World Cup in his locker, got silver in 2010, he is a big name in goal keeper land man. And he shares his experiences and Jay and I love those stories and anecdotes. He had a terrific career, something to be proud of. And Jay is our young brother. There is quite a generation gap, hahaha and we do have fun with that. Jay is very talented but also a bit erratic and he does shoot his mouth off every now and then. The coach will say something and he will be a smart-ass back to the coach. Maarten and I just look at each other and chuckle. We were like that when we were young. He’ll learn. He’s a good kid. And you do need that passion, that will to win. I think it won’t be much longer until he pushes me out of the team.”

But now you are the first goalie!

“I don’t know, it looks like that, but I don’t worry too much about that. I just go from game to game. Do what I can for the team. The coach will pick me if I’m the best option.”

Is it much easier to be a goalie at Ajax compared to say, Vitesse?

“The pressure at Ajax is way bigger. We want a clean sheet every match. At Ajax, they’re quite serious about not conceding. At Vitesse, it was ok to lose every now and then. At Vitesse, you’d also get more work to do and that always makes you stronger. At Ajax, there are matches I don’t see a ball for minutes on end and then suddenly you need to act when the opponent is through. That takes a certain mentality. At Ajax, when we played Sporting away, I was the hero for a while when I had that massive assist on Antony. And 10 minutes later, I make an error and we concede a goal. You will be judged as a mixed bag in that case and I also felt unsatisfied after that match, even when we won. You basically don’t want to be too much in the spot light as the Ajax goalie. That means all is well.”

How do you process a conceded goal like that, the Sporting goal?

“It sucks, and I am really pissed off. I made an error in judgement. I think it was my partnership with Martinez at that point, which resulted in the error. We couldn’t communicate well enough, we were doubting. It taught me again that it’s key for us to communicate well together and to be able to know what the other guys do. We weren’t there yet at the time, I suppose. We won 1-5 luckily. You do need to pick yourself up really quickly because 30 seconds later, the ball rolls again.”

How do you deal with criticism?

“I don’t hahaha. I try not to read it or watch it. I didn’t deal well with it and as everything is so black and white these days, I decided to ignore it. A striker can miss 6 chances and people will say “he should have scored!” and that’s it. When a goalie makes 1 mistake, it’s been analysed and debated for hours on end. One week, I need to be in Oranje, the next week I’m too old.”

Interesting, how you almost signed for Vitesse and now you’re playing Champions League football and you’re part of Oranje.

“It’s amazing and I’m blessed. This is so cool, everything is bigger. The games, the stadiums, the media attention, the quality of everything… I was in contact with Vitesse about my new contract for months and suddenly Overmars called. I said: “You gotta be quick, I was about to sign for a new term.” Within a week it was all settled and I was in Amsterdam.

How is it different?

“Everything is bigger, quicker and better. The players think quicker. The players are very intelligent here, they think and talk football, they constantly scan their surroundings, knowing where the space is… At lower levels, the defenders usually think “let the goalie deal with it”, at Ajax the players want to deal with it. Guys like Daley Blind and Mazraoui or Taylor, you can always play them in. And I need to always be available to them for a back pass if need be. I also need to coach and instruct players on what is happening behind them or something and it’s not always easy. Try coaching your backline versus Besiktas away, or in De Kuip.”

You’re 38 years old. Shouldn’t you kick back a bit and just enjoy?

“Oh but I do enjoy this! Massively. My age is just a number man. I enjoy everyday, on training, with the other goalies, with the lads. I enjoy seeing Timber play, the kid is only what, 20 years old and so in control, so focused. Most people enjoy strikers and goal scorers, I can really enjoy watching Martinez or Blind play. I can enjoy it more now, when I was 28 years old I was focused on my own game, now I can take in more, my vision has expanded in a way. Van der Sar was 40 when he quit and I like that, I don’t feel 38. I am one of the lads in the dressing room and can have fun with the youngsters as well. As long as I feel good, I’ll be doing this.”

Your dad Eddie was an Eredivisie goalie for FC Twente and your daughters also play. Three generations Pasveer, that is cool.

“Yes my dad will come and watch me always, when we play at home. He’s so involved, we always analyse the matches. He’s a real mentor like that. He had heart issues and had to close his physio practice but he still works with older guys now, doing gym and keeping them fit. He used to be my goalkeeper coach you know and before his heart problems, he’d always talk to me as my coach, hahaha. Now he’s mellowed a bit and he just gives me some tips here and there. Both my daughters are football mad. They play, but not goalie. One is left back, the other left winger. They play tennis too. They really enjoy the life, and are very committed supporters hahaha.”

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50 comments

  1. As for PSV. It’s important to realise that some billionaire dude took the chair of the Board at PSV and he is a fan. Which comes with the risk of the guy trying to interfere with the technical decisions.

    The Board is trying to make ends meet. Financially, PSV is not doing great. So, the club decided that either Gakpo or Sangare should be sold off, for big bucks.

    Man United wanted Gakpo but dropped out of the race. Southampton and Leeds were the only clubs making an offer. Gakpo didn’t want to go there and Technical Director John de Jong, who reports into Marcel Brands, the MD, supported this. Better to keep Gakpo for another season, he thought, and get into the CL.

    The Board suggested strongly to De Jong to sell Gakpo. De Jong didn’t.

    So now they still have the financial woes and not much later PSV is blocked by Rangers and have to settle for Europa League football. The Board decided not to fire De Jong but to send a motion of distrust to the management. Brands wanted to keep De Jong but the former PSV midfielder decided to leave the club, as he didn’t feel he was supported.

    Marcel Brands lacked the strength to go against the Board and wasn’t able to convince De Jong to stay.

    Ruud van Nistelrooy, apparently, was livid about this. John de Jong is a mate and an ex colleague and team mate. Ruud was not amused.

    Add to this that they miss their key attackers (Luuk and Madueke) and they never got a stand in for Luuk de Jong (they have no other striker!!) and the problems are clear to see.

    Their defence is mediocre. Their midfield has quality. Their attack is lightweight.

    On a good day, Veerman, Simons and Sangare are great. On a bad day, the team is mediocre.

    Guus Til is not good enough for the ambitions of PSV. He didn’t do well in Moscow, he didn’t do well in Germany, and he is not doing well at PSV. He lacks quality (first touch, handling speed). What he does have, is hunger, lungs and legs.

    He only faired well in the “AZ Slot” style of playing, which is essentially a 4-4-1-1. Til has freedom to run and be active with a couple of solid midfielders as a block behind him. He’ll score goals. He does this for PSV as well. But his overall contribution to the team and the play is limited.

  2. Sorry Jan and continuing on from last post. Also nearly lost the write up.

    @ Anthony

    “I would love to hear why you think these 6 points are wrong but your “daddy” claims are correct. Otherwise, its time to stop the witch hunt. Are you able to have an open mind and consider maybe your “daddy” claims are nonsense?”

    Did my best, hope I have addressed to the point. Before I start let’s go back to what the initial standpoint or simply what I said So to not stray away.

    “Is Blind so important to the team that without him the team cannot function as when he is in?

    Is there any reason why the the team cannot play back 4.?

    Is it in the best interest to sacrifice a winger for an extra defender given there are so many quality option stacked in the forward department?

    If you can solve this puzzle you will solve everything.”

    I kept this in mind while writing and then in context to your points. Remember it’s not about whether blind should in team or no.

    1.Van gaal dictator

    I thought dictators dont listen to anyone. But either way from where did you bring this up. still if you want just go back search and read the history about van gaals rise and downfalls if you want to know about him
    .
    As for the claim that van gaal has to bow down to his assistant so that his son can play. I didn’t say that either. I mean this everyone knows how close daddy blind and van gaal are from family point of view. no doubt there would be some give and take ( unspoken) from affection point of view. It’s natural.( Van bommel/ van Mawjik) 2012 was it. It certainly points in that direction especially considering a worn out defender who is still starting in NT and no one else cannot get the nod ahead of him if he is available.

    2.look what you have just said.

    “He likes the system and it works – independent of protecting blind”

    Then in 3

    “dumfries can bomb up and down the wing all day and have coverage, and of course, blinds lack of speed is protected”

    Can somebody pliss explain to me what does this mean.

    Now I will look outside of the box here and take into consideration how Dumfries exploded in this system at euros and with a more formidable back line this time around it seems to be a good strategy but what’s my point here is we also have quality wingers now who can give us important goals and not just options in context to Blind or Dumfries bombarding fowards and giving assits. Now Can this be compensated for with a defender less or will one defender less have a drastic impact on the team compared to the current set up. Now if you go back and see before the change its was only Blind that came under spot making the the team vulnerable in the backline and not the CBS. Montenegro draw, Norway draw. 433 setup

    “Daley Blind 4/10: Started the game well, but then drifted off and proved to be a defensive liability. He was caught out on more than one occasion and crucially for the Montenegro equalizer.”

    “It was a tricky evening for Blind, who drifted in and out of the game at an alarming rate. In the final third, the experienced defender carried no threat while managing to win just two of the eight duels he contested. Worse still, Blind lost out against Nikola Vujnovic when Montenegro scored the equalizer”

    “Daley Blind 5.5/10: Blind did not have his best game at left-back and struggled to contribute to the attack. Also picked up a silly yellow card that means he is suspended for the game against Montenegro.”

    Now check this out after the change in formation and Vs quality opponents.

    Vs Germany (352)

    Tyrell Malacia 6.5/10: A steady performance from Malacia, who started at left-wing back. An energetic defender who looked more comfortable in the position than Blind did against
    Denmark.

    Vs Denmark (352)

    Daley Blind 5.5/10: Blind was given the nod over Wijndal or Malacia as a left wing-back. He showed his ability with an assist for the opening goal. However, Blind’s lack of pace was exposed for both goals. Defensively a liability at times but he plays due to his passing ability.

    Clean and clear and hope this should settle the dust. This is why I always say + and – equals zero. Denmark is Denmark. Not all teams will expose and then allow them to make a come back. Don’t need to continue but will do either way.

    Now 2 – 4

    “What is so bad about creating a shape that enhances your strengths and covers your weakness?”

    “We want to utilize our amazing CB list. of course that further makes sense to play with a back 5 so we get one of ake, timber, de ligt, de vrij on the field.”

    once again going in circles, why sacrifice somebody who can be more important to the team, get (goals) to somebody who needs protection, dictated by the tempo of the game and will put strain/ drag the team down.

    I know it can be argued that defense and discipline can also wins games like what van gaal said after the Belgium game especially while admitting they also played bad, it shouldnt be forgotten how Argentina in 2014 came tactical flaw less and it led to a stalemate. No goals. Belgium looked toothess upfront, Argentina and Brazil won’t be like them this time around and even compared to 2014

    then the stats also show they have conceded more after than before but I know the argument here again will be quality of the team played.

    3.in context to this “a back 5 provides protection/compensation to get the most out of our players. timber and ake can step into midfield more freely, bergwijn and depay have more freedom to express themselves(they don’t play as traditional wingers or strikers in this system)”

    I did a break down of the stats that I provided before and after which I didnt post and it clears shows how Memphis scored and assited more 8/4 to 4/1 before and after but again the argument here will the quality of teams played.

    As for others Ake and timber to move forward freely , I don’t think playing a back 4 restricts this and looking at how Frenkie drops in as a third CB was equally if not was working to perfection

    5. world class city vs Malacia and lackluster Man United . you sound like as if all the 4 goals scored while he was on the field was because of him. yes he needs to be protected but not to the extent that van dijk and Frenkie have done over the years bailing out Blind. but to be fair comparing malacias city performance and making it an argument for him being vunerable is just to weak and unconvincing.

    6.There is absolutely nothing to prove that playing with an extra defender 352 complements the team better to 433. and it pretty much ambiguous to say just because they played 3-5-2 Vs stronger opponents it complements them better. You will never know this.

    7. @ eduardorw

    LW Danjuma, gakpo,

    RW Lang, Bergwin

    ST Depay,Janssen Bobbery

    1. Yes. I think it’s in one of the posts even. Krul didn’t want to come to Holland for 1 hour of tests, while nurturing his little newborn. He said “By now Van Gaal should know what I can and cannot do. I was the penalty killer in 2014.”

  3. The 5-3-2 thing is very simple.

    In a 5-3-2, the width comes from the Wingbacks
    In a 4-3-3, the width comes from the Wingers

    In our current 5-3-2, the width comes from Dumfries, Blind
    In a 4-3-3, it would be Berghuis, Bergwijn

    Dumfries would not thrive in a 4-3-3, so his performance would go down, and also we’d be adding Berghuis (who everyone here hates) into the formation.

    The 5-3-2 allows us to use 3 of our world class players, and it allows Dumfries to be best played, and it allows Bergwijn to attack through the middle.

    We also don’t have a real striker, so we’d be missing that part of the 4-3-3.

    It’s so simple that I hate that people are complaining about this switch. Especially when those same people (you know who you are) were BEGGING for a 5-3-2, when Frank de Boer was so determined to play 4-3-3. Hypocrisy at its finest.

  4. Also, as an Ajax fan I was initially very skeptical of the Pasveer signing. I kept praying for the day Onana could come back, or hope that they might promote Scherpen for the interim and then sign Drommel or something.

    But I’ve had to eat my words a bit, because he’s really coming through for us. Good reactions, good with his feet. It’s not often at Ajax you see a 38 year old blocking the pathway of the kids into the team, so he must be doing something right.

  5. @ wilson
    1. Yes a dictator does not listen to anyone else. That was my point. Van Gaal is a dictator and tactical genius who has made it to the top level of coaching. He surely would be able to analyze blind, malacia, team shape, and team cohesion without bias. He spends weeks preparing for international breaks. Surely with this level of meticulous planning, he isn’t making his team selection based on friendship. Again, he is a dictator, which means he also is not scared of difficult conversations or confrontation. Based on his character, he does not seem too shy to have a conversation with danny to say, your son is not going to start today. Again all the signs of van gaal as a person and coach support the theory that he is not choosing blind because of “daddy”. Your only claim is that it can be natural for some people to embrace nepotism over tactical decisions. It’s nonsense.

    2. My point is that the 5-3-2 is chosen because its best for our squad (not just blind). It is not a decision made solely to protect blind and get him on the field because of “daddy”, which is your claim.

    3. I can explain this further. Having 3 cb allows our wingbacks to push higher up the field. If they did this in a back 4, we would leave major gaps in our fullback channels which would drag 1 of 2 cb out wide or require our cm to be pulled out of shape. neither is ideal so in a back 4 our fullbacks would be more conservative in how high they push, how often, and if both go at once(which they may but then frenkie has to sit back and we lose out on his skills in the build up play).

    2-4 This is where tactical decisions get interesting. If we play with a back 5 we allow our fullbacks to get higher and create width. This allows our 2 strikers and cam to have attacking fluidity. No longer will bergwijn, gakpo, danjuma etc have to offer this width. This means they have more freedom to express themselves, find pockets of space, create better attacking patterns (as bergwijn depay and gakpo are closer to each other to create tight interplay passing vs 1 of them on the left side and one on the right). But i think the key part that excites me is that our attackers in a 5-3-2 have more freedom to play. In a 4-3-3 the tactical discipline of the wingers is much higher. They have to track back to help the fullback defend, they can go missing for parts of the game as they can get isolated out wide, they will also start the transition from defense to offense deeper in our own half which makes them less threatening in the counter attack. A back 5 will also allow the outside cb to shift to cover our wingbacks, our wingbacks provide width (both at once – without requiring frenkie to sit too deep during build up play). So the claim that taking off a world class cb for an above average winger will result in more important goals is not a fact. Our squad pool is better suited to 5-3-2 and based on what i said above, i think it allows our attacking 3 players to be more effective than if we had 4 players who require higher levels of discipline. Now lets look at numbers of players in attacking positions. a 5-3-2 allows both wingbacks, a cam, 2 strikers to be in deep attacking positions with one cm usually arriving late into the box. thats 5+1. A 4-3-3 allows 3 forwards, 1 cam. with usually only 1 fullback in a deep position plus maybe 1 cm arriving late. This is 5+1 as well. Adding another attacking player does not mean that our tactics does not become more attacking. It is all about how you deploy the tactics, rather than which personal is on the field. Simplistically speaking, would you rather have 3 attackers who are more involved in key central areas with 2 wingbacks occupying the wide spaces or 2 attackers (cam and st) in the central areas and then have 2 attackers in wide areas. Based on our player pool, i want bergwijn gakpo, depay, lang, danjuma in central areas using quick passing patterns to break down opponents and provide a threat inside the box. See Gakpos goal vs poland.

    5. I never blamed malacia for all the goals. I used this game as an example to show that neither blind or malacia are perfect defenders. Both make mistakes. The question is – does the benefit of malacias 1v1 defending improve the team more than blinds benefits of technical and tactical excellence, experience etc. Again this is tactical choice but the fact that it is debatable means blind is not washed up. You may disagree with van Gaal, because you obviously know more than him, but blinds inclusion is based on merit and a tactical decision – NOT because of “daddy”.

    6. I am not sure how you can claim that no one will ever know if one shape suits a team better than another shape. There are many ways to do this. for example: 1. look at results. 2. watch game footage and compare the two. Which created better attacking plays, which shape resulted in fewer chances, were the chances given up based on individual mistakes or set pieces etc.
    In fact, this is the primary job of a coach. to tactically analyze which formation and player personal gets the best out of the squad. Now you could claim that I am not the right man for this assessment, and you would be right. The way I see it, is that only 2 people are qualified to make this assessment – van Gaal and Wilson.

    7. Are you seriously trying to say that our attackers are better than our cb’s? depay bergwijn and gakpo are the starters currently. So the question is – is one of danjuma, lang, janssen or brobbey better than ake, de vrij, de ligt. 2 of the attackers are in belguim, one is on the bench for ajax and danjuma is hot and cold (with injuries) at a decent squad. Ake is starting on arguably the best team in the world at the moment – certainly in england. De vrij is in poor form but his class for inter has been consistent for years winning Serie A, De ligt is a young player who is getting minutes for the best team in germany and a team that consistenly is one of the best in the world. Just looking at minutes played at the highest level, our 3rd choice CBs completely outshine our 4th string attackers. Surely you can acknowledge this wilson?

    So again, 5-3-2 is a tactical decision that is not being made because of “daddy” or to accommodate blind. The decision to play blind over malacia is a tactical decision based on merit and is not because of “daddy”. We as fans may want to see things differently but you should at least be able to acknowledge that van Gaal is making these decisions based on his tactical acumen and not at all because of nepotism or some conspiracy theory.

  6. @Derek – I think your 5-3-2 comments are well articulated. Good post. Also love to see someone changing their opinion on a player based on performances!

  7. 1-6 probably worst loss in Ajax history. It will take a lot to recover from this. Weak team with paper made players. A good team cleanup is needed. Tadic needs to go in MLS or Turkey, enough. So should Blind, sorry if anyone here gets offended. Poor Pasveer, seemed like 78 instead of 38 years old.
    Admiration for Napoli, a team with completely unknown players, whopping Liverpool and Ajax. What a coach Spalletti is. Actually this Napoli is more like LVG Ajax with the way they dismantle the opposition. A very entertaining team.

    1. No one is offended by saying BLind needs to go or Tadic need to go.

      Some of us get offended when others claim Blind is in the NT because of his dad. That is what pisses me off.

      i also would like to see more of Malacia.

  8. Im just reading the comments after the 6-1 and laughing at the comments.

    @Anthony

    I think we are playing the cat and mouse game. I can go on to discuss more but we will not reach to a conclusion. What do you think?

    1. Of course, because when Ajax get hammered by the Napoli side that hammered Liverpool it directly says something about the quality of the players.

      But when PSV get laughed off the field by Cambuur, you’re still calling for Veerman in the squad.

        1. you are quick to cuts corners now when napoli had some of their best players depart after the end of last season. what quality you are you talking about.

          1. You cannot be denying that Napoli are one of the best sides in Europe right now. They slaughtered Liverpool in a game that could have been 7 or 8. They’re on top of Serie A right now and playing some of the best attacking football in the continent. This wasn’t a poor Ajax team losing to an average Napoli team, it’s a good Ajax team losing to an amazing Napoli team.

            You have this unfailable argument that when Ajax get a good result it’s because the opponent wasn’t very good, and then when they lose, it secretly shows their level. And this rule only seems to apply to Ajax.

          2. Napoli are top of serie a and top of their champions league group all while playing quality soccer and you think it’s cutting corners to call them a quality side. What does a team have to do to be considered quality? Maybe if Napoli signs buttner you’d respect them.

  9. I’ve watched the Ajax game until the 4th goal. Now ya’ll have an idea of what’s going to happen at the WC. When that happen, my comment is going to be ” I TOLD YOU SO”

    On the positive side, I really like Tyler. I think he is awesome. He is great in both attack and defense and great skills on the ball. He definitely deserves a spot on the team. He was the only one that deserve to be recognized tonight. Again, Berghuis was useless and Tadic as well.

    1. Typical Wilson arrogance and condescension to laugh at someone else’s opinion. The Ajax loss has nothing to do with my 7 points so to laugh at them implies you think your now justified and correct when it’s not applicable.

      My 7 points talk about van gaals personality and qualifications, explaining how Holland plays 5-3-2, how to get the best out of our national squad via a 5-3–2, analyzing where we have the most depth on the national squad, talking about how to tell which system is most successful.

      None of those comments are relevant to Ajax playing a 4-3-3 with a different squad than the national team and a different manager. Now of course, you can analyze the Ajax game and take the insights to the national team (player selection, how they play in a formation, etc) but you laughed directly at my comments. So let’s be clear. You laughed at my comments that are not applicable to the Ajax game. Get a grip Wilson and take a personal inventory of how arrogant you are.

      It’s very interesting how when I say malacia and blind are not perfect because of the man utd massacre, you get defensive over malacia but when Ajax are massacred, you laugh at me. What’s the difference? You’re being hypocritical.

      You are right though. We will never reach a conclusion because I don’t think you have the ability to say “I’m wrong”.

  10. https://m.fcupdate.nl/voetbalnieuws/408249/ajax-op-rapport-internationals-zakken-door-het-ijs-tadic-een-2/

    Remko Pasveer: 5
    The goalkeeper prevented Ajax from getting even worse with a number of good saves in the first half. He deserves the compliments for that. Still, the predominant question is what was going on with Pasveer tonight. The routine, who is normally fairly precise with the ball, was a source of unrest. The second half was barely a minute old when Pasveer thought it was a smart idea to play Bassey with hungry Neapolitans behind his back. Result: 1-4 and a line through the good intentions with which Ajax undoubtedly had come out of the dressing room.

    Article continues under videox
    ‘Ik twijfel tussen Ibrahimović of Huntelaar’ | Stekelenburg’s Favorite 11
    Maarten Stekelenburg werd recent 40 jaar en koos daarom zijn favoriete 11 spelers waar hij in zijn Ajax loopbaan mee heeft gespeeld.

    Pause

    Unmute

    Fullscreen
    Devyne Rensch: 3
    Rensch had the thankless task of stopping Khvicha Kvaratschelia. Everyone held their breath. Where the Napoli attacker is in the shape of his life, Rensch has been falling through the ice for a few games. Was it wise to let him start tonight? It’s always easy to talk in retrospect, but you could see from miles away that it wouldn’t work out. At this level you need ‘men’ and Rensch is clearly not that far in his development yet. The way he let himself be played out by Kvaratschelia at 1-5 was telling.

    Jurriën Timber: 5
    No Ajax player escaped the malaise tonight. Not even Timber. The Neapolitans showed up everywhere and that made even the normally stoic defender nervous. Timber lost duels that he normally wins and made choices that we are not used to from him. For example, he was knocked in the air by Giovanni Di Lorenzo at the 1-2 and he covered at the 1-3 without backing. When even Timber is having an off day, you know what time it is…

    Calvin Bassey: 4
    Ajax feared the departure of Lisandro Martínez last summer. The team from Amsterdam preferred not to cooperate with this, but the Argentinian insisted on going to Manchester United. As a replacement, Ajax picked up Bassey from Rangers FC. The Nigerian did well in his first games, but fell through the ice in his first serious test at Anfield. He also did not show that he was a reinforcement for Ajax against Napoli.

    Daley Blind: 4
    Blind is undisputed in the Dutch national team and also indispensable in the starting eleven. But how much longer? The left leg regularly receives compliments for his game in possession, but defensively it leaves much to be desired. And as a left back it is important that you stand your ground… In the first half, however, Blind was completely overrun by the right side of Napoli. In addition, he completely lost Giacomo Raspadori in the equalizer.

    Edson Álvarez: 5
    It was predicted before the game that the battle would probably have to be won in midfield. If there is one player at Ajax who likes to fight, it is Álvarez. But the Mexican couldn’t do it alone. More often than not, he faced a force majeure of Napoli players. Taylor and Berghuis kept running forward without looking back for a moment. You almost feel sorry for Álvarez.

    Steven Berghuis: 5
    At the press conference, Berghuis talked about a ‘great moment’ to rectify the disappointing results of recent times. The midfielder was also one of the players who had to take Ajax in tow. He tried that by working hard, but in the end it’s about what he does with the ball. And that was ultimately too little. Berghuis may have lost the ball the least of all Ajax players, but he never reached his level for a moment either.

    Kenneth Taylor: 4.5
    One of the trendsetters at Ajax this season. In the Eredivisie he plays as if he has been part of the Ajax midfield for years. But what applies to Rensch also applies to him. At this level, more is required than just technique and nice passes with left and right. Defensively, Taylor clearly fell short. And if there is little success with the ball, there is little left of such a creative player.

    Dusan Tadic: 2
    Schreuder was asked before the match by Rafael van der Vaart whether he would ever consider replacing Tadic. But the trainer was clear: no. According to Schreuder, Tadic is still far too important for Ajax with his leadership abilities. But isn’t it time for the attacker to be judged on his sporting achievements? They leave a lot to be desired. The game, especially in the Champions League, is moving too fast for him and therefore largely passing him by. Luck in an accident for Ajax and Tadic: due to a red card he will not be there next week in Naples.

    Mohammed Kudus: 5
    Can you blame Kudus after tonight? The Ghanaian was again preferred by Schreuder as a striker, but just like in the match against Liverpool, he had to make do with impossible balls. The only ball he could do something with wasn’t even meant for him. Kudus effectively hit a shot from Taylor in the opening phase, which started the evening so beautifully.

    Steven Bergwijn: 3
    What is wrong with the record purchase? Bergwijn was brought in to make the difference, especially in the Champions League, but against both Liverpool and Napoli he didn’t actually appear for a moment in the game. All nice and nice that he has already made six in the Eredivisie, but at the highest level he simply fails. Did he fail at Tottenham Hotspur because he didn’t get a serious chance or was he just not good enough? You’re leaning towards the second anyway.

    Brian Brobbey: Played too short to qualify for a rating

    Davy Klaassen: played too short to qualify for a rating

    Florian Grillitsch: Played too short to qualify for a rating

    Youri Baas: played too short to qualify for a rating

    1. @ Kevin

      Early stages for Meijer. Very well composed on ball like Blind, but perhaps better speed. Passing crossing exceptional as well. Have to see more of him under pressure defensively.

  11. Seven of the eleven that played against Napoli yesterday are oranje ……

    Scary and no explanation for that humiliation, I woke up this morning and I see that schreuder is still the manager , wowwww

  12. This is a bad loss for Ajax, it’s not in question, but the manager is not getting fired over this. Ajax’s curse is that even if they’re down 4-1, they’re going to continue playing offensive football and leaves them open at the back.

    Napoli is an amazing European side this year, and if the draw is good to them, they’ll go deep in the CL.

    I’ve always said that I hope Ajax can go into the Europa League this year. We don’t have the squad to go deeper than the Round of 16, but in the Europa League we could push for that title and give the kids some chance to get knockout experience.

    A bad loss, but don’t overreact.

  13. Schreuder’s after match interview tell me that he is not the man for the rebuild. He basically said Ajax is way behind Liverpool and Napoli. After losing 1-6, he took no responsibility, tell the team that they are not good enough for CL. How does that motivate anyone? If losing 1-6 is not the time for reaction then i do not know when.

  14. I used to criticize the people who ask the coach head after few bad results.

    I believe coaches need time to build their team. So, I am patience with coaches.

    I can forgive the bad games that Ajax have been playing in Eredivisie, I can forgive the loss against Liverpool that could be 8-0 but was just 1-0 thanks to Pasveer and god!! I also can forgive losing 1-6 at home against Napoli…

    But what I can’t forgive, is an Ajax coach saying a “Martin Jol’s boys against children” comment, like Schreuder said after the game, basically stating that Ajax are far worse than Liverpool and Napoli, and we don’t have the level to compete.

    A coach can never say this. If he doesn’t believe in his players he should go. Simple. He cannot kill the morale of his players after a game like this.

    Ajax has evolved a lot since Martín Jol days to come back to the same looser mentality. For god sake, we are Ajax, we (beside Feyenoord – I don’t want that Jan gets angry) invented the total football, we have one of the best academies in the world, we have our own football philosophy, we have won a lot of tiles last years, reached a CL semifinal and a UEFA final and now result that we cannot compete against Napoli???

    If Schreuder believe we don’t have the level to compete he should go. He should go to with Martin Jol. Let’s start looking for out new F de Boer (he did it well with Ajax at least) Peter Bosz and Erik Ten Hag. We need winners, we need dreamed. We need coaches that believe in Ajax and in the players.

  15. What a debacle eh guys?

    Starting with a quick 1-0 and then losing 1-6.

    From my perspective: Napoli is an amazing side. I’ve seen them beat Liverpool and they have been going from strength to strength.

    They key thing this Ajax is missing, is leadership at the back. Timber is great: next to Virgil or Martinez.

    The gap Martinez and Mazraoui leave at the back is huge. Add to this a Tadic out of form and an off day for Bergwijn and Pasveer and there you have it.

    Tadic should be benched. And Bassey is simply not good enough (yet).

    The break point for me, was the 1-3. Just before half time when Ajax was pushing for the equaliser.

    They went into the dressing room to make plans for a comeback, only to get the 1-4 early in the second half.

    The match somehow made me thing of City-United of the weekend (in which Martinez was also not able to stop the avalanche of goals).

    Schreuder made the mistake of not subbing Tadic (and Berghuis) earlier. The red card could have been avoided.

    I noticed a lot of un-Ajax fouls early on already, mainly by Alvarez. Bergwijn looked annoyed and even Blind – usually a clean player – had a go at some Italians.

    This points to either 1) frustration or 2) simply being too late in the duels or both.

    I will post an analysis shortly. I do not think it’s that easy as Kevin makes it out to be. A goal conceded is usually not the mistake of 1 player. It can be, but usually it’s more.

    Next post is about this.

    1. @ anthony

      Yes you are correct. I’m wrong. I’m wrong that for the last how many years 2014, 2015,2016,2017,2018,2019,2021,2022 Blind in the holy name of ” versatility” experience” “technical to his weakness factor” has been tatically deployed everywhere possible and it has yielded what . Time and time again the same thing? Regardless of in 352,532,433,4231.

      I can go on cutting and pasting his performance rating from the past which pin points to the same thing again and again? Can browse through, all there but that again, it’s wrong and fictious and proves nothing.

      Then it’s not only me who is wrong but others as well out other

      https://youtu.be/8tdWgo5puYM

      So I suggest just hold on tight, buckle up let’s wait for the WC.

      @ Jan

      Please when you are doing the analysis, point out what is the primary and secondary roles of the backline in contexts to mistakes made by others.

      1. @wilson. So much to unpack in your reply.
        You’ve chosen to respond to my claim of arrogance and condescension with more arrogance and condescension. This time in the form of sarcasm. I see you’ve chosen to not take a personal inventory of your arrogance. That’s a shame because humility would go along way with providing credibility to your arguments.

        Next you sidestepped all 7 of my points. It almost seems like you can’t argue my direct points so you use a logical fallacy to support your argument.

        next, to blame blind as the only reason for not winning a World Cup is just ludicrous. Using your logic we should solely blame an arbitrary player for never winning a World Cup in the 100 years before. Do we blame robben in 2010. Van der sar in 2006. Does cruyff shoulder all the blame? It’s a team game, we are a tiny nation. One player is never the sole reason why a team doesn’t win a World Cup in their history.

        Finally, I love that you are saying that if you’re wrong, other people are wrong. That is 100% true. In a world of 8 billion people, I’m sure that many people agree with you and many people disagree with you. Who would you say is more qualified in their assessment. Wilson, other internet warriors(YouTubers) or players and coaches who are LEGENDS in the game. Jan has given lists on lists who endorse blinds credentials.

        I have one final question that I hope you can answer without sidestepping or saying nonsense. Just answer Yes or no – do you believe that you, Wilson knows more than all the elite players and elite coaches when it comes to assessing Daley blind? I know it will be extremely tempting to go off on your typical Wilson rant. I’m asking you directly for a one word response. Yes or no. Are you confident and secure enough in your credentials to say yes or are you willing to be humble and say no. yes or no only please!

  16. I watched Ajax Vs Napoli but stopped when they equalized…Infact ajax started really well,they played some nice pasess and football and they scored…The first goal for Eqilizer was demoralizing for them as Blind could have saved that..When your team is playingwell and you concede due to complenacy of a [player it makes you piss off…the moment i realised i switched of TV and moring i saw its 6-1…This could happen in NT as well,when a crucial game at knock outs we could suffer like this with blind(it was avoidable mistake with better reading and care)..i wouldnt have mind it if it by a slip or falling down or any…
    Ajax players lacks the mental strength…

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