Tag: Neres

by Jan

The Big Erik ten Hag Interview

In the past, we had the Big Interview series and had prominent football icons like Johan Cruyff, Louis van Gaal, Guus Hiddink and Bert van Marwijk, among others. Time to add Erik ten Hag to that list. I truly believe he is a world class coach and he deserves this interview here. Thanks to VI Pro.

Ajax is the best of the country again. Finally!

“All compliments were nice and just as well. But we knew we needed silverware. And with the double, the first since 2002, we finally rewarded ourselves with something tangible. In top sports, its about winning! This is the crown on a tremendous season.”

How much does this mean to you?

“A lot! Firstly, it’s hard to win the title in The Netherlands. Look at PSV. They won basically everything. And they could focus on the title fully, which we couldn’t. But in May, we were still fighting on three fronts. It was all about PSV and Ajax and we couldn’t slip up. If you look at the points PSV won, they normally would have the title. And for me as a coach, it’s a milestone isn’t it? I am proud of the players, the staff, everyone. It’s the success of the collective and our challenge will now only get bigger.”

And also in the manner Ajax likes: dominant and attractive football…

“That is partly why we are proud and happy. It’s not just winning. It’s winning beautifully. And people will talk about this team in 20 years time I think. That is partly why we do this. And it needs to lead to titles.”

Who had expected this last year?

“Also in our darkest days, I knew I could get this team to play at this level. I was convinced of it. But that the players would be this good and the team would develop as it idid, I didn’t expect that. I don’t think anyone expected this.”

A year ago, your VI interview sounded bitter. There was disappointment in Amsterdam.

“Well it was a tough season. The pain of Nouri’s situation was huge. Is huge! That placed a wet and cold and heavy blanket on everyone. Everyone loves that kid and this had a tremendous impact. And it was tough to turn that around. We did win games and we played ok, but we didn’t win a trophie. But I saw that our management was building something amazing in the background. Marc Overmars, Edwin van der Sar, Henk Veldmate and Said Ouaali were performing magic and when negativity was at its peak, we kept on believing in our vision. I believe in staying true to your vision. I despise opportunistic behaviour.”

Last summer was the big turnaround, working on a new team?

“Well that started much earlier. In March 2018, I was in Southampton with Marc Overmars to talk to Dusan Tadic. My analysis about last season was clear. We lacked balance in the squad, in that important age group of what I call the middle category. Players with experience, but also with desire. We didn’t have any. Well, Tagliafico but he was a new signing too, basically. And Nico is a born winner, a fighter and so important with his mentality. We had to make steps in mental strength and this is how our blueprint for a new season started.”

Ajax needed to make a step, which is why Overmars signed you, correct?

“Something had to happen but it’s not easy in Amsterdam. There is a vibe of “we know it all” here. And they did linger too long in the historic successes. Football has developed and Peter Bosz as an example, was successful in making changes. But…he still left. There was too much resistance and that culture needed shaking up. Which is why Alfred Schreuder and I were brought in. We were coaching from outside of the club and that always brings resistance. And that is ok, but I always felt support from the key people in the club. By the way, my mission wasn’t merely “make Ajax champions”, my mission was also to make Ajax Europe prof. To introduce modern elements of the game. After 1,5 years we won the double and made it to the semis of the CL. That is just great.”

You did break with the old 4-3-3 system?

“But I wasn’t the first to do this. I do remember that Adriaanse got a lot of flak when he started fiddling with the house style, but the qualities of the players determine the system, not the other way around. And it’s not even about systems. It’s about what you do in possession, when you lose possession and in those turn around moments. And you need to be able to change that up.”

This season, the so-called Double 6 was the solution?

“Well like I said, the players’ qualities determine how you play. Take Frenkie de Jong. We have really been looking to find ways to use his skills in the best manner. Where can he play best, for the team and to showcase his talent. Everyone was screaming: Frenkie is the biggest talent, etc etc. Well yes. But, where? In midfield? Ok, but which role? His quality is that he makes the forwards perform better. He is a wanderer, an adventurer, he’s always on the move, like a shark. With the ball, often, but also without the ball. So if you put him on 6, he’s away too often. But you need to give him freedom, otherwise you can’t the best out of him. It wasn’t an easy puzzle, so I dediced to play with two number 6s and only one attacking mid. And in this way, we can also dominate the half space, and force opponents to choose. So on the first day of pre-season, that is how we started. And we started without Frenkie, by the way, as he wasn’t fit at the start of the pre-season.”

Did you plan for him and Donny van de Beek to be the two 6s?

“Yes, this goes to show that plans are just plans, the reality needs to want it as well, haha. And in reality, Donny is also a player who likes to be on the move. For both Donny and Frenkie it is a strength. So Lasse fulfilled the role perfectly! And Lasse wouldn’t be the ideal #6 by himself. He really needs a dynamic player with him and they have a click now. Denmark also plays with a double 6 and Lasse does really well for them to.”

And then there was Hakim Ziyech…

“Yes, last summer we were convinced Justin Kluivert would stay and Hakim would leave. And it became an interesting jigsaw, yet again. We had Lasse and Frenkie for the 6 role and I had Tadic, Neres, Ziyech and Donny for the other midfield role… But these seasons are long and we knew we needed all players. The competition was huge and then sometimes a player is benched who feels he should play. It’s part of playing in the top. Lacazette, Lukaku, Gabriel Jesus, Gareth Bale, Dybala, they all spend time on the bench. But the fun thing is, all the players (Donny, Neres, Hakim, Tadic) can look back on a tremendous season! And all this humbug was created mainly by people outside of the club. Internally, we never really had any issues. We never were distracted and we demonstrated that we had a squad of first team players… Everyone played their part: Huntelaar, Dolberg, Veltman and also the youngsters.”

And Tadic as central striker!?

“That worked so well versus Bayern. Just perfect. And he kept on developing. Dusan is such an amazing player. He can play on either wing, on the #10 spot but I never thought he’d be my #9, hahaha.”

That must be a bummer for Dolberg. Is he on his way out now?

“Certainly not. Kasper is tremendously skilled, but he has not had a single injury free pre-season. And it is so hard for a player to not be able to have a solid pre-season. Dolberg is a fighter and we still saw some brilliance of him this season, didn’t we?”

But he is not your primary striker? He is not a starter?

“But no one is, in my book. And I told them this. There is a hierarchy, yes, but whether you’re 19 or 29, you play when you’re the best for the position. And Kasper is still young, this is all part of his development. And Klaas Jan as well, he could think “I’m the #3 striker, I’ll relax a bit” but he is as hungry and keen as when he was 23… I think, because I didn’t know him back then. But we extended Klaas Jan’s deal, because he’s crucial for us as well.”

Also important, the interchange between coach and players improved this season.

“I think that started last season already, but this season we did get a boost. When Keizer and Bergkamp left, that was a shock for some. Earlier in the season, the team had to deal with what happened to Nouri, and this season, we came back from a well deserved break and we started fresh. And don’t forget, players like Blind and Tadic do something to a squad when they come in. And Matthijs became my skipper. Cool as a cucumber, very mature, a real leader. And a good communicator. Dusan is my vice captain. A tremendous duo.”

Which other players are your strongholders in the squad?

“Definitely Daley. Not a big talker, not the extraverted leader, but the tactician of the squad. My right hand man on the pitch. He sees everything just quicker than any of the other player and he always makes the right decision. I use him as my extension and he only needs three words to know what I want. Klaas Jan is important with his experience and Andre Onana as well. That is rare, that I mention a striker and a goalie. Usually they’re quite individualistic. But they are people persons. They manage, they talk and coach. And then there is Lasse Schone. Lasse is control personified. He’s relaxed, calm and collected. A wonderful guy. A technician pur sang, but also a sober team player. Very intelligent player and everyone here loves him. He can hang with the teenagers and he can mingle with the board, you know?”

And Frenkie and Ziyech as the leaders on the pitch?

“Exactly! Frenkie is so important as a player. He became our conductor on the pitch, he determines the rhythm of the team. He takes care of the yield of the attacks, finds team mates, opens up spaces and then Hakim… The classic individualist, in the good sense of the word. You need him to make the difference and at times you need him in the team structure too. He can see the team cohesion and he sees the bigger picture. Whenever resistance is at its highest, Ziyech shines. We have many players who can create but in the final third, no one is as  good as Hakim.”

How do you operate with these players?

“We find each other when need be. Blind, De Ligt, Tadic, I will always keep them in the loop. And then we have different team talks, in difference combinations. We look at things from multiple perspectives. Tactics, group dynamics, agreements we make on and off the pitch, you name it.”

Can you name an example?

“Well, before the Groningen away game, I decided to go a day early and spend a night in a hotel close to Groningen. When we played Vitesse a week later, the players came forward and said they would appreciate that again. Leaving a day early and staying in a hotel, like we do with European games. One of the key aspects of coaching, is listening. Verbally and non-verbally. My task is to find out: what makes my players perform best? Within the boundaries we put on them as a club, we are open for the preferences of the players. I do this with my staff as well.”

Last season, your analysis was hard and critical. What is your current view of what needs to improve?

“Good ain’t good enough. We need to get better. Push boundaries. In July, we start at level zero again. Trophies are all in the cabinet and we need to start again. We do have a good foundation, but on the first day, we have zero points, like all other teams. We need to try and keep the quality of the squad at this level and if possible improve it. We signed Razvan Marin, a player with tremendous dynamics in his game. Our speed up front is another aspect we need to improve. Neres is quick, and Dolberg too but Kasper is playing in the axis and doesn’t have the space to run into, usually.”

With Frenkie, De Ligt and potentially Ziyech leaving, you will need to build a new team.

“Yes that is what might happen. We are prepared. But there will also be surprises, you can’t stop that. But Ziyech was expected to leave last summer and stayed, so who knows. He might not leave…”

Do you fear an exodus?

“I don’t fear it, but we need to plan for the worst. If you ask me, who do you fear for when he leaves, I have to say Tadic. What a season and what a tremendous yield we got from him. We have the commitment of Onana, Tagliafico and Mazraoui that they’ll stay. That is a good sign.”

How will you deal with the players who leave?

“Replacing Matthijs de Ligt is the biggest challenge. We have some options in mind. We signed Marin for Frenkie de Jong. But both De Ligt and De Jong are special and can’t just be replaced. This applies to Ziyech as well. Neres can play from the right but he’s a different type of player. Hakim is a real playmaker and we’ll probably need to go and find one if he leaves.. Or, can we find him in our youth system? We are mapping all of this now.”

Martin Odegaard was the ideal replacement for Ziyech?

“But even him, who is probably gone to Spain, he can’t just replace Ziyech. He too is different. We will see what happens and probably need some time to solve the new jigsaw.”

Quincy Promes is coming from Sevilla. That is a similar coup as signing Tadic and Blind.

“Yes, I think we are becoming more and more interesting also for big name players in his age category. Our image has gotten a boost and players will enjoy playing the sort of football we play.”

Your image got a boost too. The media are now lining up to smother you with compliments. What does this do to you.

“During the season, not so much. Simply no time for that. All energy and focus goes to the team and the process. I do enjoy successes, but briefly. It’s not who I am. I want to stay sharp. Some people start to believe in the stories about themselves and I try to remain realistic. In media, some people painted me as a loser, last season. This season, I saw in some media the word “legend”. I have to laugh about both. It’s ridiculous. I do monitor the messages in the media for the impact it can have on the team. Good or bad, it will reach me and the dressing room and then I need to manage it. Simple.”

Always: control control control…

“That is the job. I need to know what stimuli people get and need and what they’re influenced by. And where new people show up, new ideas are coming in too and people started to get scared. In Amsterdam, there is also the superiority. The “We are Ajax!” mantra. I see the benefits of this, don’t get me wrong, but I also see the danger. We introduced a modern approach and it worked. The performances on the pitch are crucial in this. Through the successes, people started to buy into it.”

How long will you be coach here?

“Who knows. I have the intention to stay, and to be honest: I haven’t thought about leaving at all. My contract is extended and I have no intention of leaving but you know how it is in football. I do have to stay critical about the circumstances in my job. The available funds, the vision and values, you name it.”

What is a realistic expectation for next season?

“We want to be part of the group stage in Europe. Even if it’s the Europa League. We all want to be playing Champions League football but it is not an automatic thing anymore. We are still a Dutch club. Domestically, we need to play for the title. Full stop. The resistance in Holland is not good enough. We are so much better than the rest, with PSV. And in that battle you can’t afford a single misstep. We want to build an attractive team, play offensive football and win matches. But playing for three prizes in May, that is unique and you can’t expect that to happen again, just like that.”

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by Jan

“Ajax’s biggest game ever”

We love hyperboles… We actually witnessed one in action yesterday. With Stevie G watching on from the stands in Anfield, the man who led his team to the CL win in Istanbul, after being 3-0 down at half time… That vibe was present in Liverpool yesterday and must have inspired the Reds like nothing else. And only a few people realised that we are watching a huge shift in hierarchy in world football. After many many CL finals, we will see a finals without either Messi or Ronaldo. Their reign ended. The new super stars are called Van Dijk. De Ligt. De Jong. And they will reign supreme in the next decade.

Tactics won yesterday. Tactics, Klopp’s to be precise, in combination with the typical English gung ho mentality and energy. And how is Wijnaldum a typical example of Liverpool’s heavy metal football. Gini runs, tackles, pushes, scores, jumps and passes… What a game, what a team! From their goalie to their right back to their Egyptian pharao Mo Salah. Respect!

And yes, Tottenham Hotspur will be inspired by the Liverpool feat. Sure. But it will also have done something with Ajax. Don’t worry.

Ten Hag calls it the biggest game in Johan Cruyff Arena ever. That is probably not true. But for him and his team, it will be true. And for all the fans tomorrow as well. It will be the first time in 23 years that Ajax might get into the CL finals. Two years ago, they reached the Europa League finals under Bosz, which was quite a feat already, but the prestige of the CL finals is unprecedented. In this century, no other Dutch club reached this far. In 1996 Ajax lost the finals vs Juve on penalties and that was it.

Should Ajax win the CL, they will add a cool 22.5M euros to their bank account. They’ll play the World Cup for clubs too which will bring them around 3.5M euros. All in all, this season Ajax could write 42.5M euros for reaching the group stages of the CL. And don’t forget, Ajax started all this early in the season as qualifiers… Ajax will earn around 100M in total as a result of their European adventure.

Dutch football in general will benefit greatly as Ajax will earn heaps of coefficiency points, which will result in an easier entry in European tournaments in the future.

What can we expect tomorrow?

It seems Ajax’ squad is top fit, with the exception of David Neres who has some slight issues (but will play).

Mazraoui is back in full fitness and his tremendous turn as a sub – in combi with Veltman’s not so great game – will probably mean he starts as right back again.

“When you have the ball you can avoid getting into duels. In the first phase of the first half, we demonstrated how this works” – Erik Ten Hag at the presser

This quote above tells us how Ten Hag will want to play. The same as he did in the first 30 mins at White Hart Lane. With Ziyech and Neres coming in tight. With Tadic dropping to midfield at times. With Frenkie de Jong dropping next to Blind and Veltman moving inside to offer more options. And zipping the ball from foot to foot.

“We didn’t anticipate their changes well enough and as a result it became fight football,” – Erik ten Hag on Ajax TV

Ajax failed to have enough players around target man Llorente to grab the second ball and entered the arena for fight where avoiding and using the space to play out of trouble was a wiser option.

“After the break we managed to set the team up to deal with Spurs. Defensively, we were well positioned and never really got into trouble” – Erik ten Hag for Veronica TV

In the second half, Neres and Ziyech don’t press together. Ziyech presses the central defenders while Neres drops back to support his midfield. Matthijs de Ligt follows Llorente to challenge the long balls while De Jong drops back to fill the space in the centre of defence. He also does this when Blind follows the wandering Moura.

When Spurs has longer spells of possession, Ziyech and Neres drop back as wide wingbacks. It’s telling that Hakim Ziyech had the most successful tackles of all Ajax players (6).

“We failed to execute our game in possession. We should have had the peace to keep the ball longer. There was so much space on the other end of the pitch and we should have used this for the change pass and to let Spurs run ragged. In those situations, you can pounce.” – Erik ten Hag for Veronica TV

Ajax sees most space available for the full backs and Ajax prefers to use Veltman, as Tagliaficio would use the space Frenkie de Jong likes to dribble into. The plan was for Ajax to use the ball on one flank and then use the cross pass to utilise the space on the other end. Ajax fails to do this. Until Mazraoui comes for Schone. The right back (and former playmaker) constantly finds space behind Eriksen, like with the spell which resulted in Neres shot on the post.

This will be the key lesson for Ten Hag: when Spurs uses the diamond in midfield, the interplay between Ajax’ holding midfielder and full backs allows them a route out of trouble. This will probably prove to be a convincing response to this Tottenham Hotspur version.

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by Jan

Ajax’ Delight with Ajax’ De Ligt

I have to admit, I truely don’t know where to start… This blog is a Dutch National Team blog, and your humble blogger is a Feyenoord fan, but I am drooling with glee when watching this Ajax play. And I am not alone in it. The whole world watches and the whole world seems delighted to see what they can do!

Johan will be resting in his final resting place with a grand smile on his face…

You probably know all the stats better than me… It’s been 22 years since Ajax last was in a CL semis finals. It has been a long time since Ajax beat Juve, etc etc.

And back in the day, teams were only allowed to have 3 foreign players!! So any team was forced to have domestic talent in their team, and could only shop for 3 starting spots.

Today, Man City, Real Madrid, Juve, Bayern, they could technically buy all the best players from anywhere and present them as the “local team”. And still, Ajax manages to do what they do on a meagre budget (compared to the big boys) and with 6 home grown players in their line up (De Ligt, Frenkie, Donny, Mazraoui, Veltman, Blind)…

It is just mindblowing!

And I didn’t write a post on the home match vs Juve (I did plan to do so, but life is getting in the way at the moment…moving house, flu attacks, internet dramas, work, etc)…

I was quite positive about Ajax’ chances coming into the game, like I was vs Real Madrid. But my positivity quickly evaporated when I saw how Ajax started!!

They were completely off their game. They were overwhelmed with the tremendous tenacity Juve demonstrated, and some of them clearly were suffering from tension in the body, with balls bouncing off feet, passes not arriving and even Mr Cool (Frenkie) dribbling senselessly into cul-de-sacs…

Onana got it wrong early (Can pressing onto him) and with Mazraoui having to be subbed and then C Ronaldo’s goal after 20 minutes and the disarray in Ajax’ defence (De Ligt bumping Veltman out of the way), I truly thought our national pride was imploding like never before.

(From L) Ajax’s Dutch defender Daley Blind, Ajax’s Brazilian forward David Neres, Ajax’s Danish midfielder Lasse Schone, Ajax’s Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt (Rear), Ajax’s Dutch defender Joel Veltman and Ajax’s Dutch midfielder Donny van de Beek celebrate with fans defeating Juventus in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg football match Juventus vs Ajax Amsterdam on April 16, 2019 at the Juventus stadium in Turin. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP) (Photo credit should read MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP/Getty Images)

Mazraoui is not a defender. He was developed as playmaker in the Ajax youth and as a result is quite comfortable on the left and right of the pitch. Just like Daley Sinkgraven is a midfielder, originally, and Daley hadn’t played a proper match for months on end. Oops.

But… something happened.

I think Ten Hag / Schreuder made some positional changes in the midfield (telling Frenkie and Lasse to guard the back four with a double 6 system (two controlling mids) and pushing Veltman and Mazraoui/Sinkgraven high up on the pitch, to allow Onana/De Ligt/Blind an outlet…

I also believe Juve felt they could take their foot of the gas a bit, leading 1-0.

And I believe Ajax started to play with mentality of “well…we’re out of the competition now, so lets just play for it”…

And magic happened!

A mishit by Ziyech ended up at Van de Beek’s feet and he didn’t lash out like he sometimes does, he simply passed the ball in the goal.

That will have rattled Juve and when Ajax reached the half time break, 1-1, I was getting the feeling that they’d be best positioned to progress. Because conceding another goal wouldn’t change much for Ajax and their game plan.

Alternatively, if Ajax would score the 1-2, Juve would have to score two goals! Those sortathings will get in the players’ heads…

And Ten Hag managed to settle the players’ nerves in the half time break and the second half was all Ajax!

The telling thing for Ajax being their composure on the ball when playing out from defence, finding the right pass, the right run…never hitting it upstream blindly, always with an idea, a though.

And boy, what a chances Ajax got to truly humiliate the Old Lady and score not 1, 2 or 3 but 4 or 5 goals!

1-4 would not have been an outrageous end score. Neres missed a sitter (use your right foot!!), some decision making didn’t end up going well, Schone was unlucky with a dipping free kick and a half volley later on in the game, etc etc…

Ajax even managed a really flowing one touch attack over the right wing, with some composed passing by De Jong, Ziyech, Tadic, sadly not resulting in a super dooper world class goal!

Captain De Ligt was at fault with CR7’s goal, one could say. So the skipper stepped up and paid Juve back after more than an hour’s play.

The corner was kicked by Schone, De Ligt timed well, jumped high and slammed the ball into the corner, in between two Italian defenders. That is a feat for any player, but for a 19 year old kid, it is just incredible.

Ziyech, outstanding in Ajax’ campaign but a tad off his game now even managed a superb goal, curling the ball into the far corner… this would have settled matters but the Moroccan playmaker was 1 toe offside, apparently and the goal was disallowed…

There were some shaky last minutes with Juve pushing for a miracle and when Daley Blind – another Man of The Match performance – seemingly handled the ball in the final minutes, a gasp was audible from the Ajax camp.

But one specific camera angle showed the VAR that the ball didn’t actually hit his arm, but bounced of his chest/core and therefore: no penalty and Ajax was confident it had done the job!

The joy and celebrative eruption was completely warranted, after the game, with a somewhat overweight Marc Overmars performing a class – albeit static – belly slide in front of the fans…

All Ajax players and staff members after the game were in agreement that “yes, Ajax should have scored more goals and taken the opportunities and all that” but the euphoria won vs the criticism of Ajax’ lack of effectiveness…

“Now, we need to get our head in the game again, because next Saturday, it’s FC Groningen!”

Some conclusions:

  • Ajax will be robbed blind this summer, even Ten Hag will be hunted (Schreuder is on his way to become head coach at Wolfsburg)
  • Van de Beek deserves a starting spot in Oranje
  • De Ligt will be the most expensive defender this coming summer (100+ million)
  • Ajax will win this CL
  • Overmars should not do belly flops and ruin the pitch of the opponent

 

Cinematic highlights both games…

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by Jan

Future Stars: Golden Boy Matthijs de Ligt

In a week in which Ajax needed penalties to overcome Fortuna in the National Cup, Feyenoord beat FC Utrecht 1-0 and needing 20+ goal chances to do so, John van ‘t Schip got sacked at PEC Zwolle and Real Madrid is shivering the best news of course was Matthijs’ winning the Golden Boy award.

If there is one player of which it is certain he will be a Dutch football star for many years to come, it is the 19 year old Ajax skipper. I mean… let that sink in: 19 year old Ajax skipper!

His election was not a surprise to anyone. When you are a defender and you only made 1 foul on your own half in half a season, well… That is quite the statistic.

So, in a line of players like Lionel Messi, Paul Pogba, Mbappe and Rafa van der Vaart, Matthijs is European football royalty.

It is noteable to mention to that Justin Kluivert got to third place, behind Liverpool’s Trent Alexander Arnold.

But, I believe he is the first defender in the whole series and that makes it extra special. Just like Virgil van Dijk was Player of the Month in England recently, the first defender to get that honour in many years (following Dutchies like Van Persie, Bergkamp, Van Nistelrooy, Van der Vaart and Krul).

The spotlights were on De Ligt (and other Ajax players) already in the transfer jungle and it seems Barcelona is happy to wait for the right moment (coming summer?) to sign the youngster. While picking up his award in Turin, Juve threw in the big guns (Pavel Nedved) to convince De Ligt to cancel his Spain flight and head to Italy instead…

Ajax coach Erik ten Hag is incredibly proud of this player. “This is a highly prestigious award. A tremendous honour. He is so young still but already has so much under his belt. And it shows also where he could end up. Usually, it’s forwards that get the plaudits and now a defender. And he did it all himself. How he work, what he invests… It’s a tremendous stimulus. I can see him improve even more. He is so down to Earth and you can see him eat it all up, and enjoy it all. He is so motivated to learn. This award will be like doping for him.”

At the Tuttosport Gala in Turin, the presenter of the night couldn’t control himself and asked De Ligt about Juve. “Juventus? A wonderful club. A huge club. It’s great when your name is linked to a club like Juve, but currently my focus is Ajax.” The presenter: “But…playing with C Ronaldo?”. Matthijs: “He truly is an inspiration for me. His dedication to the game, he is always looking for challenges.”

Nedved with De Ligt

The award show was further augmented with a series of photos of De Ligt, one where he was an Ajax ball boy, posing with Suarez. “Hahaha, yes Ajax will give young players chances… I was a ball boy then, I’m the skipper now.”

Asked about the players that went before him: “Oh that list, yes… I looked them up and I think I know that list by heart, hahaha. Messi for me is the top of the top. I was six years old when he won this award. I am so proud.

In the Eredivisie, De Ligt is hardly challenged. Striker like Luuk de Jong are not a real challenge for him. Matthijs is strong, quick, tall and reads the game astonishingly well. It’s more the Idrissi (AZ) and Van Persie like strikers / forwards in Holland that might be able to surprise him. Only one foul on his own half, in 14+ matches… Did I mention that?

But internationally, De Ligt still have some big chores ahead of him. The Bayern CL game at home for Ajax, showed how hard it can be to defend against world class strikers, from the category Benzema, Cavani, C Ronaldo or Diego Costa.

Take the Lewandowski goal against Ajax. A De Ligt mistake for sure. In the Eredivisie, that would probably never be fatal. Lewandowski lives for these types of situations. Wober is ball watching. Lewandowski sees it and immediately makes a run into that space. De Ligt sees it but gets startled and instead of playing him off side by stepping up, he drops back and allows the Bayern striker to be on side: 0-1.

A mistake a more experienced defender might not make. And a mistake that will allow De Ligt to become that more experienced defender. As the saying goes: I owe my good decision making to my experience. I owe my experience to the bad decisions I made.

De Ligt’s real asset is not his defending per se. There are many good and solid defenders in Europe. But there are not a lot of defenders who can play ball like De Ligt. He has a good pass in his legs, he can dribble too. That is what you get with a central defender who was developed as a midfielder.

Against Bayern’s 4-4-2, any wrong pass would immediately to a counter, as we saw. But De Ligt is the player with the highest passing accuracy. The passes don’t go forward too often though, which is changed when in the second half Blind and De Jong change roles and De Ligt moves more to the right, where he can successfully feed Ziyech.

In the second half, there is one situation that shows how good De Ligt really is. First he takes the pointy end out of the Bayern counter by moving into Coman and when Rafinha enters the box with potentially two tea mates to pick out, De Ligt doesn’t bite but defends the space and keeps really in control.

Any other player might feel forced to choose. De Ligt simply stays on the front foot and keeps an eagle eye on the movement of the two forwards and the decision making of Rafinha. Rafinha gets confused, De Ligt can intercept his pass and with his kick upfield launches Dolberg who will claim the penalty as a result and puts Ajax in front (Tadic).

De Ligt did have some errors in the game, slight ones, but they did result in two goals. Typical, when you play against a top team. In the run up to the penalty, he is too late in letting Lewandowski go and move up to Thiago, which results in Tagliafico making the wrong decision. And with the 2-3, he realises too late that Mazraoui is out of position and he can’t block the shot anymore.

Matthijs’ team mates are to blame for these last two goals, but De Ligt couldn’t rescue the situation.

The Polish gunslinger does score twice but has hardly a win in the personal duels with De Ligt. He loses most aerial battles and is on par with De Ligt in the 50-50 challenges.

De Ligt’s biggest point to improve is his agility (or lack thereof). Matthijs reads situations amazingly well but if he makes an error, he lacks the explosivity and agility to correct it. Of course, a lot of amazing defenders lack this (Boateng, Kompany, Terry) so it doesn’t mean all that much, but improvement in this area will surely make De Ligt a sensational defender.

Typical for the down to Earth dude he is, after the Bayern match the Ajax captain said the infamous words: “Ok, this was a real challenge.”

 

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by Jan

Ajax and PSV on the up and up

Main pic: Ziyech and Tadic brothers from different mothers

The Dutch football fan has gone through a lot these last years. Drama in Europe, disaster with the national team, Ziyech going for Morocco and even Amrabat preferring the country of his parents.

How things can change.

Now, with Ronald Koeman and a plethora of young talents on the up and up for the national team, we an all feel positive again. De Ligt, Van de Beek, Bergwijn, Hateboer, Promes, Memphis… And now Frenkie de Jong is part of the prelim squad.

And although Ziyech is a bad loss, Sophyan Amrabat might not be so much. The young midfielder has issues at Feyenoord, he doesn’t handle a bench role well and feels misled and is on his way out.

With Feyenoord, we do have one more reason why Dutch fans should feel aggrieved. Four trophies in three years might look ok, but the Stadium club is losing ground (and sympathy) fast, with some lacklustre performances since winning the title.

Amrabat in Feyenoord’s jersey

Yes, they won the national cup last season, but they also finished 4th in the league with a huge gap between them and PSV. And yes, they won the Cruyff Shield this season but not with amazing football so much.

When playing Trencin from Slovakia (with a budget comparable to Sparta), the former champions were outclassed. After the home game (yes, they created 28 chances and scored 1, but ended the game 1-1) they received the scorn of the nation, as they all said “we are proud of what we did today” in the camera, without a blush on their face. Youngsters like Berghuis and veterans like Van Persie. “Yes we are out of Europe but this performance allows us something to build on”. What??

Creating 28 opportunities is good, but only scoring one is simply horrific! Taking an opportunity is also a quality!

Feyenoord also lost their first competition match and now finally was able to get a win, at home, vs lowly Excelsior. And even though the final result was 3-0, it wasn’t a clear cut win. The third goal came really late and Excelsior created too many chances (on super hit on the post) for comfort.

Robin and Feyenoord still stumbling vs Excelsior

But Feyenoord doesn’t look like a team with a lot of confidence and the vibe doesn’t appear too positive. Amrabat has demanded a transfer as he’s sick of playing second fiddle. The former Utrecht midfielder was praised last season when he made his move to Feyenoord (a 4 mio euro deal) but while he was told Clasie would not come to Rotterdam and El Ahmadi’s spot was his, Clasie was signed anyway and the not-yet-fit Southampton loanie was not only offered a starting spot, but was also made vice captain! Amrabat had enough. Today, his move to Club Brugge was made public (for 2,5 mio euros…).

Another player who was brought in with lots of expectations was former club kid JP Boetius. Brought in from the cold (FC Basel) and now side-tracked after refusing to train (some weeks back) and now for collecting a stupid red card. Coach van Bronckhorst has enough of Boetius and he too is allowed to move away. The third potential player leaving is Tonny Vilhena. He is high on the list of several French and German clubs and when the price is right, Feyenoord will most likely let him go.

Another tough season ahead for Feyenoord? Focusing on the national cup again?

The two teams most likely to battle for the title, Ajax and PSV, are well on their way to make it to the Champions League.

So, how good is it to dream a bit about two Dutch clubs making it into the Champions League?

Ironically, this is the first time the Dutch champs need to qualify to get in, and many people feared we might end up with zero reps in the CL, but with PSV doing good business vs BATE and Ajax winning at home vs Kiev, we might have two!

Wild man Van Bommel preaching restrain

Both clubs went in with the confidence they needed. PSV in an away game, only 3 days after a league match. But they did ever so well. BATE seemed to start much more aggressive as expected and got ahead in the game. It took some time for PSV to wake up, it seemed. To match the level of aggression and energy, but from a football perspective, PSV outclassed BATE. BATE could have had the 2-0 but failed to capitalise. Luuk de Jong tried to trick the ref for a pen but the PSV captain got rewarded with a yellow card for diving. Not much later, PSV did get that penalty for a hands ball. Pereiro scored a solid 1-1.

PSV was the stronger team in the second half but failed to put a big gap between themselves and BATE. Luuk de Jong played a tough match and he missed a clear cut chance, but Lozano demonstrated his class with a very cool curler. Hleb’s equaliser was the result of a Zoet howler. A highly embarrassing move by the experienced PSV goalie. The ball fell in front of him. A BATE forward appeared to lunge in but was too far away. Still, Zoet clearly afraid for his teeth decided to push the ball girly-style, right on the instep of Aleksandr Hleb: 2-2. Not Zoet’s strongest move.

Everyone expected that to be the final score, as the equaliser came with mere minutes to play, but in the first attack after that goal, Angelino attacked yet again on the left flank and his gifted left foot delivered a peach of a cross. Sub Donyell Malen had just come on and he sprinted inbetween the two centre backs and headed home the winner.

Donyell Malen scoring the winner, his first senior goal

A just reward for Van Bommel’s men (and boys) although PSV could have won with a bigger margin.

I personally also found the dive by both De Jong and Lozano (second half) worrying. In particular captain De Jong… He was on on goal, but he lacked the confidence to actually go for his chances and decided to try and trick the ref. A bit of a disgrace. Zoet’s howler is also something I would be very worried about. A goalie can make a mistake. Why not? But to so obviously decide to not throw your body on the line and to bump the ball like a girl back into the field. Whoa…

Mark van Bommel was realistic: “I said before the game, this BATE is not an easy opponent. We were clearly too impressed in the first stage. That can happen, but I am particularly happy with the way we turned that around. We conceded first and seemed a bit out of whack but we fought ourselves back into the match. We should have scored the 1-3 at 1-2. We needed to put daylight between us and now this is typical, what happened: we didn’t score, but they did. I was already at peace with 2-2 and was delighted to see that my players wanted more of the game in those last minutes. I’m happy. Although I also know we aren’t there yet.”

Ajax had a similar sort of match, in terms of vulnerability in combination with excellent play on the ball. With some key differences: Ajax played at home and Ajax got the first goal. Donny van de Beek was punished a couple of times by Ten Hag for poor performances and seemed to have lost his starting spot. With Neres injured, Van de Beek was considered the best replacement due to his runs in behind.

And it was a beautiful passage of play that got the ball in the box right in the stride of the young midfielder who scored the first goal and demonstrated his joy on the pitch as if Ajax won the Champions League.

Ten Hag telling Blind to speed it up a bit

Ajax had a wonderful start but couldn’t score the second. Somehow, Dynamo got back into the game and exposed Ajax’ vulnerability at the back. With set pieces, Ajax uses a mix of zonal and man marking and got it horribly wrong. Schone and De Jong cover the zone at the first post and the rest of the team marks their man. But when De Ligt was blocked by an opponent, Kiev got a free header. Onana was able to parry the ball but Mazraoui was ball watching and his direct opponent got a tap in.

Still, Ajax was in charge. They kept on going, led by a combi of Ziyech and Tadic on fire. Ten Hag had instructed the team to play wide via the full backs, so Tadics and Ziyech can tuck in, with De Jong and Schone on hand in midfield to guard the balance of the team. This resulted in that first goal and Ziyech’s second goal was a bit lucky (deflection) but was also due to Ziyech desire to get the ball before the opponent could react: 2-1. Left back Tagliafico had the third assist on Tadic, who’s crafty flick resulted in the 3-1. After that, Ajax had two balls on the woodwork (header Huntelaar and shot Ziyech) and could and should have scored more.

However, Ajax’s also demonstrated vulnerability in their defense, with Blind and Schone not the quickest and Frenkie de Jong – no matter how good on the ball – lacking the energy and ruthlessness you’d expect from a holding midfielder in challenges.

Still some work to be done for Ten Hag, but the 3-1 is a perfect foundation for the team’s return. “I think we saw a wonderful game. Good spectacle, high paced and we created a lot of opportunities. We could have scored 6 today and maybe should have. But Dynamo also demonstrated to be of good quality. We aren’t there yet. I particularly liked the interplay between the team and the fans, it was almost a perfect night.”

Donny van de Beek was given a standing ovation when he was subbed in the last minute. Ten Hag: “Yes, I did that to demonstrate to Donny that I love him and I rate him high. The fact that he doesn’t always start has nothing to do with that. He’s important for the team and one of my key players.”

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by Jan

New Season: Ajax

With the World Cup behind us, we’re going to look ahead to the new season. Focus on the top 3, initially and some of the upcoming talents in Holland and abroad (Dutch talents, obviously).

NOTE: I started this post way before the first CL match vs Sturm Graz and ended up finishing it after the match…

Ajax won, 2-0. Good game. Ziyech in top form. Huntelaar should have scored. And Ten Hag was actually happy to be able to say: “We played good today, and we can actually play much better even!”.

Was good to see Daley Blind make his come-back with the crowd loudly chanting the “Daley is Coming Home” anthem…

Anyway, the new season….

Starting at Ajax, which made a bold statement this transfer window and is probably not finished with it even. Some will say the Velvet Revolution of JC has ended and is buried now. I don’t think so. I think Cruyff’s statement were misunderstood.

Yes, he said “use ex-players in management, like at Bayern” but that doesn’t mean any combination of ex-players will work… Clearly Jonk did an amazing job at Ajax, but clashed with Bergkamp, just like Peter Bosz and eventually Marc Overmars did. Get the right guys in, and it will work. He also said “use Academy talents” but JC never said “use them exclusively”. A misunderstanding. His beloved Barca, the role model now for Ajax, doesn’t just use Academy talents. Rakitic, Jordy Alba, Suarez, Neymar, Cillesen, Dembele, all players signed for a serious fee. Not developed at Barca, but making the Barca squad stronger and better balanced.

It seems Overmars and Van der Sar have finally convinced the Board of Ajax that – after 4 years without a trophy (only a respectable EL final spot), it is time to spend some money from the savings account on some real improvements on the pitch. Sure, Ajax spend 30mio euros or more on a new Academy complex, money well spent. But with the likes of Kluivert and very likely Ziyech leaving, better players were needed to bring Ajax ahead of Feyenoord and PSV again.

And with the signing of two EPL players in Tadic and Daley Blind, Ajax gave a strong signal. They also got once-upon-a-time talent Labyad to Amsterdam (developed at PSV and back in the Dutch top after a detour via Portugal, Vitesse and FC Utrecht) and youthful prospect Per Schuurs.

And if indeed Frenkie de Jong and De Ligt would go, Ajax will keep on shopping for sure. I think both De Jong and De Ligt will have to cost at least 30 mio euros each and I’m also sure Overmars will have a list of replacements ready.

Ajax means business again! They said goodbye to Bergkamp protege Marcel Keizer (and Bergkamp himself) and placed their faith in the hands of Guardiola adept Erik ten Hag.

The former FC Utrecht coach about last season.

How do you judge your first 4 months at Ajax?

Well, I think the overall sentiment is not that great. But I rather not judge myself publically, that is the job of Ajax’ management. We are not happy, as we didn’t win the title. Full stop. Ajax wants to win the title, always. So if you don’t reach that goal, it’s not good enough. It’s that simple. We were also kicked out of Europe and the national cup pretty early on, so it was not a great season. But, it wasn’t all bad. We do need to be nuanced about our judgement.

What nuances?

Well, the tragedy with Nouri has been underrated. This is not something you shake off in 3 months. And when I signed on, Kasper Dolberg got seriously injured. Huntelaar missed a number of games too, and then we lost Frenkie de Jong, Sinkgraven, Viergever and Cerny as well. To mention some positives: we created the most oppportunities, but we failed to finish them off. We allowed the least opportunities to the opponent and we conceded the least goals. These are important building blocks moving forward. We created 30 big chances more than PSV, for instance. Our effectiveness was a problem. A killer in the box like Huntelaar missed more chances in this last season than all seasons before, figuratively speaking.

But excuses don’t count

They’re not excuses. Without the injured players, we should have won these matches too, but if you do analyse where you stand, you’ll have to mention these things.

The PSV away game was crucial.

Indeed. We were 7 points behind. We could have turned it around there, I’m convinced. We played for the win, playing 1 v 1 at the back. We had 3 major chances in the early stage of the game, but didn’t score. PSV got a chance, they scored. We were chasing the game after that and couldn’t get the goal. But, apart from Utrecht away and PSV away, we won every match. Sadly, so did PSV.”

Was that the Champions’ gen?

Yes, you saw it with Feyenoord last season as well. PSV could play with their fixed team most matches. Their list of injuries was minimal. And we lacked that bit of luck. We hit post and bar most times last season. Don’t get me wrong, PSV won the title rightfully and deservedly, but it was much closer than it seems. We did not have a terrible season. We got to 79 points. That is normally enough to win the title. The last four times Ajax won the title, they collected less points.”

Some people say you have too many tactical chores and tasks for the players.

It all starts with you, the coach, getting to know the make up of the players. Their characters and personalities are leading. And it takes time before you have that insight. And you, the coach, need to adept to that. What is it the group needs, how do you reach the individual players. I think I did well in the past, offering players the tools they need to shine. Just think about Marko Arnautovic, Eljero Elia, Quincy Promes, Zakaria Labyad, Nacer Barazite, Yassin Ayoub, Deniz Türüç…all creative players who excelled under my guidance. Hakik Ziyech the second season half, was tremendous. Neres played his part.

What aspects do you want to see improvements?

All Ajax players ooze talent. But where it comes down to physical strength, mental strength and tactical intelligence, we need to improve and develop. That is where we lose games, in particular against stronger teams. At times we lack a sense of urgency to win games. Or to recognise danger. Take that first PSV goal, against us. It took one throw in and we’re opened up. And it happened 3 days before that match on training as well! And it happened in the finals of the Europa League vs Man United! It’s not a new thing. And it needs to be dealt with. And against Man United, it was our throw in!! It’s also experience I suppose, which is why we need to buy experience. Talent alone is not enough.

Where do you think Dutch football and thus also Ajax, needs to make big steps?

The so-called turnaround moments. In international football, that is the key moment, more and more. Not just defensively, also in terms of “what do we do when we win the ball back?”. At Ajax it is usually “winning the ball back, and keeping possession”. But I want to see them take the advantage of the game being open. Play the killer pass, make the killer run, right when the opponent is out of balance. When I left FC Utrecht, they were leader of the team scoring a goal within 4 passes after re-possessing the ball. Ajax was somewhere in the mid range. That needs to chance, as those are the moments where you can take full advantage. There is not football nation where the ball goes as often from central defender to central defender. Possession is the goal, it seems. And we need to practice and train to change that around.

Ajax has started qualification campaigns for the Champions League early almost every season but never qualifies because the squad is still in development. That will need to change.

“Well, we started well. We signed Labyad early, we have Tadic and Blind. I think we paid a lot for Blind and he might have been less expensive later in the transfer window, but we want to be as strong as possible come the CL qualification game. We can’t have players being signed by other clubs in mid July and Ajax still trying to find replacements. I want to be able to work with the squad as soon as possible. This World Cup isn’t helping of course, but we’re not the only ones who have that problem”

Are you happy to be able to start the new season from the start, instead of taking over mid-way?

Yes of course. Last season was a difficult one for the club. The focus this season will be on winning, on trophies and results. And to entertain the fans. When you missed winning trophies for four seasons, it’s too long a time. No debate.

Dujan Tadic is quite a signing for Ajax. The 30 year old Serbian artist was signed as a replacement for Hakim Ziyech. But, for all we know, they both might be playing in the same team, that wouldn’t be too bad… Neres, Huntelaar, Tadic up front, Ziyech, De Jong and Van de Beek in midfield… Wow.  The former Groningen and Twente player was always a target for Ajax. And vice versa.

Tadic grew up with family members telling him about the great 1974 Oranje, and stories about Cruyff, Neeskens, Krol and Rep. And young Dujan always wanted to don the Ajax jersey.

When Southampton came kocking some 4 seasons back, Frank de Boer wanted to sign the forward but the then-Ajax board put their foot down. No big money signings!

Now, with Ajax’ kitty filled to the max, Overmars and Van der Sar are allowed to spend. Hence the come-back of Daley Blind and the finally the signing of Tadic.

Tadic: “This is a dream come true for me. Some people have romantic ideas around Barcelona, or Liverpool… For me, it was always Ajax. This is one of the biggest clubs on the planet. I’m proud to finally be here.”

And Daley Blind… he’s now the most expensive signing for Ajax ever. The homeboy who started at a young age at Ajax and almost was written off when he struggled to be recognised for the first team is coming home from Man United. There was interest from other EPL teams, from Spain, Italy, but Daley was never about the money, the fame and fortune.

Daley: “I had options, but none of them were really concrete. It was still early of course, but I had my wishes… Playing every week, playing in a style that suits me, with a coach that thinks about football like I do, in a city/country that appeals to me… and when Ajax came I realised that Ajax would tick all the boxes. I actually look forward to being close to friends and family. So when Ajax wanted to do business I decided to go for it. It feels 100% right.”

But you could have gone to another big club in Europe?

Daley: “Maybe yes, but there is always uncertainty about your position, and there is the language, the cultural changes… I am ready to start a family and I also want to be fully in the picture for the national team, so… this is the logical thing to do. And don’t worry, I am only 28 years old, in the prime of my career so I come back to Ajax to win trophies, to play Champions League football… Not to start thinking about retirement, hahaha.”

Marc Overmars, Ajax has changed tactics? Decided to go for quality, no matter the price tag?

“Well, we always go for quality, but yes, in the past we were more patient, wanted to use the talents more, but if you look at the results in the last seasons, it didn’t pay off well enough. Not winning the title is always an option, when you have clubs like PSV and Feyenoord in your league, but never qualifying for the Champions League via the pre-qualifying games… that hurts. And it takes experience and smarts for those games. Talent is not enough. The mix needs to be right. This time, we had some good options on our radar, and we were able to sign them.”

Tadic was brought in for Ziyech, but he is still in Amsterdam.

“Well yes, but don’t make a mistake: if Hakim doesn’t leave this summer, we’ll be very happy. I can see Tadic and Ziyech in one team, why not? Hakim wants to move only if the total picture is good for him. If the ideal club doesn’t present itself, he’ll probably stay. And why not?”

Is Ajax done buying now?

“Depends. The transfer window is still open for a while, there is interest for Frenkie de Jong of course, for De Ligt, and Ziyech might find his ideal new club, so who knows. We just wanna make sure we are ready for the Champions League now and strong enough to sustain us through the season to win the title. It’s been too long now, we need to win silverware.”

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