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Sunday, August 26, 2012

New Faces 2012-13

Ajax has already fought three Eredivisie matches. After a thrilling 2-2 draw against AZ, they have made two comfortable wins against NEC and NAC (6-1 and 5-0 respectively).

Although nobody knows what's gonna happen until the very end of August, the transfer market is almost closing. The squad is almost fixed now, though there are some missing pieces of a reserve striker and a right winger. It was almost predetermined that Vetonghen would leave this summer, so I just hope he shows impressive performance at the Spurs. However, as you may already know, Anita and Janssen also decided to leave Ajax. This was a sad thing, but Ajax has also focused on doing a good shopping in the market, as well as selling talented players abroad for their desired prices. So let's see the new faces so far.



Lasse Schøne (age 26, Denmark)

His transfer to Ajax was already determined during the last season. He came to Amsterdam on a free transfer. I think it's fair to say that Ajax was very lucky. It is clear to everyone's eyes that he is a great midfielder who can play multiple roles. He can assist goals, but he can also score a goal from a long distance. After Vurnon Anita left for Newcastle United and Theo Janssen openly expressed his desire to go back to his former club Vitesse, Schøne has played as a holding midfielder. So far, so good.



Tobias Sana (age 23, Sweden)

This young winger, who holds dual citizenship of Sweden and Burkina Faso, was transferred from the famed Swedish club IFK Göteborg for an estimated fee of 350,000 euro, and quickly became a big surprise for all Eredivisie watchers. Indeed, his performances in the last three matches were totally amazing, scoring three goals and assisting one. Sana can give a good rhythm to Ajax attacks. He is fast, skillful, never stops running and also has a good vision. Of course he has to develop in terms of his understanding of the tactics of Ajax, especially with regard to the combination with side backs. But still, he can be a true phenomenon this season.



Niklas Moisander (age 26, Finland)

Former captain of AZ finally decided to sign a three year contract at the reigning Eredivisie champions. He once belonged to the reserve team of Ajax, but failed to be promoted to the top team. After the departure of Jan Vertonghen, he is perhaps the best center back in the Eredivisie. He is a genuine Ajax-type center back who can both defend and build attacks, and his leadership and experience were desperately needed for the very young squad. Furthermore, his three year contract is ideal for Ajax as well, because, within three years, a log-term heir of Vertonghen will certainly develop. Stefano Denswil is the most likely candidate for that post.



Christian Poulsen (age 32, Denmark)

Ajax recently announced that Poulsen signed a deal until 2014. Like his Danish compatriot Schøne, he came to Ajax on a Bosman. He will be the most experienced player in the squad, having played in almost all major European football leagues. Many see him as a squad player who advise young players with his experience, like last year's Ooijer. I've seen many people saying that he is not expected to gain much playing time, but now that there is no defensive midfielder proper in the squad, he will fight a healthy competition for the position against Schøne and perhaps Serero. This is also a very good signing for Ajax.


More players might come to Amsterdam, but so far, I think Ajax has made right decisions in the market. Let's make our fingers crossed for their 32nd Eredivisie title.




  




Thursday, July 26, 2012

Ajax's Preseason / Who's Doing What?

Ajax is back.


They have fought six preseason matches so far, and have won every single game. Yesterday they  fought the only preseason match played in their home stadium Amsterdam ArenA against Celtic. The result was 4-0 while Ajax showed brilliant performance without the services of some influential players like Van der Wiel, Boerrigter, Sulejmani and Janssen.


Ajax has not been very active in the summer transfer market. They eventually sold former captain Jan Vertonghen to Tottenham, and some players also left the club (including Bulykin, Aissati, and my favorite player Lodeiro...). They have acquired three players so far; Lasse Shorne from NEC, Illan Boccara from PSG and Tobias Sana from IFK Goteborg. Heerenveen's Narsingh was their target, but he decided to go to PSV instead. AZ midfielder Adam Maher has told that he would take into consideration a move from AZ if Ajax showed a genuine interest. But this is not going to happen since there are too many attacking midfielders now, though it is obvious he is one of the most talented young players in Holland.

Ajax is going to play two matches against Premier League clubs. Here's a selection of players for their training camp in England.


Goalkeepers:
Kenneth Vermeer
Jasper Cillessen 

Mickey van der Hart


Defenders:
Gregory van der WielToby Alderweireld
Daley Blind
Ricardo van Rhijn
Dico Koppers
Ruben Ligeon
Joël VeltmanStefano DenswilMitchell Dijks
Nicolai Boilesen


Midfielders:
Vurnon Anita
Christian Eriksen
Siem de Jong 
Theo Janssen
Davy KlaassenLasse Schöne
Thulani Serero


Strikers / Wingers:
Kolbeinn Sigthórsson 
Miralem Sulejmani
Derk Boerrigter
Lorenzo Ebecilio
Aras Özbiliz
Viktor Fischer
Jody Lukoki




Almost nobody is guaranteed a spot in the starting line-up, with some exceptions of captain Siem de Jong, goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer and playmaker Cristian Eriksen. Siem de Jong will play either as attacking midfielder or striker. Anita and Janssen will compete for holding midfielder spot,  though I guess coach de Boer will choose Anita over Janssen considering Anita's performance last season. Eriksen's partner can be De Jong, Schone or Jansssen, while this season will be very important season for Serero and Klaassen, who will spend their second season at Ajax's top team, if they want to become a top-rated player (strictly speaking, this is going to be Klaassen's first season at the top team after graduating from the youth, though he has already made appearances for both the Eredivisie and the Champions League). Eyong Enoh and Mats Rits are also the ones at the first team though they are not participating in the training camp in England.


Toby Alderweireld will probably start. His partner will be either Blind or Denswil, if Van der Wiel leaves the club (then Van Rijn will be the right back). If Boilessen will be the first choice for the left back position if he is 100% fit, but Koppers and Dijks can also be options. In particular, Dijks has been showing good performance during these preseason matches. 


If there's no injury concern, and if everybody stays at the club, you can easily choose one striker and two wingers; Sigthorsson in the spits (striker), with Sulejmani on the right and Boerrigter on the left. But this is uncertain because all of these three players had awful injury problems last season. Ebecilio and Ozbiliz can be reliable substitutions. Currently, it seems that Viktor Fiscer is also a candidate for the left wing. He can play as offensive midfielder, but he played as winger and won the man of the match at the friendly against Celtic There is no doubt that he will become a major player in Europe if everything goes well. Furthermore, Ajax has recently announced that they have reached an agreement with IFK Goteborg on the transfer of Tobias Sana. I've heard he is a good winger, though I've never watched him play. Probably Ajax will take another one or two players in the transfer market, while Sulejmani could leave the club this summer (I know this is just hype, but I've heard Arsenal is interested in signing him...)


Danish allstars at Ajax!

Janssen has even said that Ajax is not a title favorite due to the lack of experienced players. But Ajax is not the only one feeling anxiety about the next season. Luuk de Jong and Ola John have left Twente for their respective next steps. AZ's Rasmus Elm is about to leave the club for CSKA Moscow (where Japanese superstar Keisuke Honda is playing). PSV is doing good business in the market, having won the race for Narsingh and getting back Van Bommel, but whether they can really be a great team after that disastrous 2011-12 season remains to be seen.




So my guess is that the Eredivisie is going to be a roller-coaster season again. I hope Ajax wins their 32nd league title, but I also hope I can see the appearances of many young, talented players in the league as a whole.






Thursday, May 3, 2012

Ajax is landskampioen!

Ajax beat VVV 2-0 and this was the time when they succeeded to retain their Eredivisie title. This is their 31st title in Holland.


Siem de Jong scored twice. He again proved that he can score goals at decisive moments. He did exactly the same (scored twice) against Twente last season, which brought the championship for the first time in many years to Amsterdam. The victory was rather comfortable for Ajax, as they maintained over 70% ball possession.


Ajax have experienced a lot of problems this season. Injuries, conflict among the executive board, and elimination from the Champions League... they have overcome all these challenges and eventually grown stronger.


De Boer already told that Vertonghen had played his last game in the Eredivisie. He will perhaps leave for one of the Premier League clubs (though De Boer recommended Barcelona!). And the game was probably Ooijer's last match in his career. Some players will leave, but still Ajax have wonderful players who have developed rapidly throughout the season. I hope Eriksen, Anita and De Jong will all continue to lead Ajax.


Ajax have been loyal to their own philosophy. The success of the Ajax top team coincided with the renovation of their youth academy. Ajax A1 showed their quality to all the football fans in Europe, as new talents like Davy Klaassen, Lesley de Sa, Stefano Denswil, Joel Veltman, and Viktor Fischer played excellent football in the NextGen series. These young kids have never appeared in the Eredivisie matches (with some exceptions of  Klaassen and Ligeon), but the future is blight for Ajax.


Here's De Boer's comment after the victory, saying that the second title feels better than the first one.

"For the fans, last season was special because they waited so long for the third star on the shirt. But for me and my staff this one feels more beautiful seeing what happened this season. All the injuries we had and then the turbulence through all the problems in our board, but we stayed loyal to our vision."

Feyenoord's coach Koeman praised De Boer.

"I know Frank well, and he did a great job and won a deserved title. Nobody gave a dime for the chances of Ajax when we beat them at the end of January, but Frank stayed calm despite all the board turbulences. He never used it as an excuse and kept everything far away from his players and that deserves a big compliment."
(See the whole news article here)



Ajax will fight the last match of the seasons (vs Vittesse) probably with young or inexperienced players. This is also going to be a very interesting game.


Anyway, many congratulations to the players and those who live in Amsterdam!
And I would like thank the club for having shown us wonderful football.













Thursday, April 26, 2012

One Hand on the Title? (and a little bit about the future...)

So this is my second blog post of this month (Sorry, I'm kind of busy these days...)

After their last match against Groningen, Ajax have won 11 consecutive games in the Eredivisie. Ajax have gained 67 points so far, and now they are sitting on the top of the table with 6 points ahead from AZ. Only 3 games are remaining, which means Ajax need only 4 points to secure their league title.

The entire team is in good form these days. Boerrigter, Sigthorsson and Van der Wiel have all recovered from injury, and Boerrgter scored 3 goals in the recent 2 games! Sigthorsson has also scored 2 goals since his comeback. What's making Ajax strong these days is the increasing variety of players who can make a difference on the pitch. De Jong has scored 14 goals this season (and I think it's fair to say that he is already a very dangerous striker), but even when he plays as a midfielder, coach De Boer can send Sigthorsson or Bulykin to the pitch!

So these days I often wonder who will be playing on the pitch next season (of course I know it's too early). Vertonghen will surely leave the club, and Van der Wiel will also move abroad. Aissati once expressed his wish to leave the club, and considering the current situation, I don't think Lodeiro will be playing at Ajax next season.


De Boer told that he wanted AZ's Moisander or NEC's Nuytinck as potential replacement for Vertonghen. And Ajax recently announced that they reached an agreement with NEC on the transfer of Danish midfielder Lasse Schone. Schone is an offensive midfielder with good vision and technique. He is also good at mid-range shots, so my image of him is something like "(Eriksen + Janssen) / 2". I think he can be used immediately upon joining the team. 






De Boer said an interesting thing about this transfer. This is what he said. 


"Lasse fits our philosophy perfectly. He's a creative player who can both score and assist. We like that type of player at Ajax. He’ll have to compete with the other midfielders for a spot. But this season has shown that we really do need everyone. We need a good, broad selection. Earlier this season, we needed to call up some A-juniors. With a good player like Lasse on board, we’ll have even more options next season." 
So the aim of Ajax is clear; To get more options for midfield. And Shorne himself knows that he is not guaranteed a spot in the squad. But one interpretation of this comment is that the coach does not really want to call young players into the first team squad. This is perhaps because De Boer believes in the academy. Jong Ajax fought the NextGen series and showed great performance (they went to the final and lost against Inter on penalties). Having young players concentrate on their time at Jong Ajax is one way to preserve the Ajax brand.

Another target is Heerenveen's Narsingh. He is perhaps the best winger at the moment in the Eredivisie. He is a graduate of the Ajax academy, so he knows how to play at Ajax. He has made 22 assists this season. Just incredible. He already told that he wanted to move to Ajax, so I hope the two clubs reach an agreement on a transfer fee. 


Moreover, according to Voetbal International, Ajax are keeping an eye on AZ's side back Simon Poulsen. Ajax already have at least three players who can play at left back (Blind, Koppers and Boilessen), but from an objective point of view, I think Poulsen is the best side back among them. Poulsen admits that he is happy to hear the news that Ajax are following him, but he also tells that he wants to play in another league.


One more player that's worth talking about; Rodney Sneijder. Wesley Sneijder's younger brother is a product of the Ajax academy and now is on loan at Utrecht. He has the same kind of play style as his brother. He has good technique, good vision and accurate kicks. I want to see him play at Ajax again, but De Boer is unclear about him. (they say that he doesn't value Suneijder...)


So that's all I know about transfer news around Amsterdam. I'm looking forward to seeing these players joining Ajax, and I also hope that those who leave Ajax will have a good football life elsewhere.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Theo Janssen and Ajax Midfield

Last weekend Ajax showed a brilliant performance and beat Heracles 6-0. Their next Eredivisie match is scheduled on Wednesday, which means there is no game this weekend. So today I would like to focus on one Ajax player; Theo Janssen.



Everybody knew that Janssen was one of the best players in the Eredivisie when he was transferred from Twente. He was going to be a player who could lead the young team, and he was expected to become a regular set-play kicker in the team. In terms of these points, he has proven his high quality so far. But as many people had anticipated, it took a long time for him to be fit in the tactics of Ajax. At first many people did not believe that he was the best option as defensive midfielder. That prediction was in part proven to be right, as Janssen has recently played excellently as offensive midfielder.This was partly because of the growing injury list of the team. Striker Sigthorsson's absence forced De Boer to put De Jong at central striker, and somebody else had to replace De Jong's former position in midfield. It was a logical decision of De Boer to put Enoh or Anita at anchor, with Janssen and Eriksen playing a more offensive role. Therefore, many would think that De Boer's masterplan has been ineffective. Even an offensive team like Ajax needs at least one hardworking defensive midfielder who can provide a balance to the team. But anyway, Janssen is still one of the best players in the Eredivisie. Vitesse's Japanese defender Yasuda named Janssen when he was asked on twitter who the best player in the Eredivisie was. (He named three players; Grooningen's Tadic, PSV's Mertens and Janssen).



So I agree that Janssen should be playing as offensive midfielder in today's squad. This is because of the presence of Vertonghen. Vertonghen often decides to move into midfield to build attacks, so somebody else has to remain backwards to prepare for opponents' counter attack. Janssen simply is not suit for this role. If the club chose to buy a classical type of center back as a replacement of Vertonghen (Twente's Douglas, let's say), the situation would be different, but this is not what I want to talk about today.

Let's see Janssen's play (watch his latest video below). In the match against Heracles I felt that he was playing differently than before. Instead of concentrating on making long through passes behind the opposing defenders, he himself ran behind them and got closer to the goal.



Ajax are excellent at maintaining the ball, but they tend to fail to turn their high ball possession rate into goals. You often see the midfielders remaining where they are after passing the ball to the attackers. They rely on the attackers' individual brilliance. However, De Jong can be an exception. He is good at running behind the defense and score a goal, so when he is playing as offensive midfielder with another reliable striker up front, Ajax can put more players in front of the opponents' goal. But when De Jong has to play as striker and Eriksen and Janssen start as offensive midfielders, nobody in midfield tries to threaten the opposing goalkeeper on their own. (It is true that Eriksen has been trying to score more goals these days, but he has much room for improvement as to his shooting skills.)

This was different in the last match against Heracles. Janssen was more eager than ever to get closer to the goal. Janssen's role was more like No.10, and this was actually very effective as he scored one goal and assisted one more. I don't know if this was a result of De Boer's instruction. Also, it remains to be seen which players will be playing in midfield next match as Sigthorsson has made his comeback and De Jong no longer needs to play as striker. But as for the last match, at least, I guess everybody can agree that the man of the match was Janssen. At Twente, he scored 10 goals last season. You can say that he is not just a player who can assist others' goals, but is a great offensive midfielder who is dangerous in front of the goal.

The next match against Heerenveen will be extremely important for the title race. Keep our fingers crossed so they can remain as champions!

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Eredivisie - Ajax vs PSV

Last Sunday Ajax defeated PSV 2-0, and it was indeed a crucial victory for the title race as the rival team Twente also dropped points. Aissati's great goal (whether he intended or not) and Siem de Jong's calm penalty kick led to the victory.

from english.ajax.nl


Ajax's starting line-up seemed defensive at first sight. Anita and Enoh were both starting members. Janssen missed this game as he received a yellow card in the last match, so perhaps Eriksen was the only one who could make a difference in midfield and in front of goal. The team maintained fast and tight pressure all around the pitch. 


Like in recent matches, Anita often dropped down in the defense line when in ball possession. This gave Vertonghen more space and time to progress up front so he was able to give mid- to long-range passes to attackers. By doing this, Vertonghen complemented Janssen's absence. But all this would not be possible without hardworking Anita. Anita has been in impressive form these days.


Van Rijn also showed good performance. His one-on-one defense against Mertens was perfect, and he made good overlap runs many times. I had been thinking of him as a down-to-earth kind of player excellent at marking an opponent, but this time he showed good dribbling and passing technique near PSV's goal. He is developing rapidly.


After the victory at Old Trafford against Manchester United, Ajax gained confidence and have played excellently. Seven matches remaining in the Eredivisie 2011-2012. They are coming closer to the top.



Sunday, March 25, 2012

Ajax in Japanese Media: An article on "De Toekomst"

Tomorrow is going to be one of the most important days for Ajax this year, and a victory against PSV will be significant for the fight for defending the Eredivisie title. But today I'd like to introduce an interesting Japanese article about Ajax.



The article from Japanese football magazine World Soccer King has a rather long title. If you translate it directly into English, it's something like "What is the future of youth development systems which can be seen from the innovation that prestigious Ajax are working on". You can see from the title of the article that Ajax are now trying to do some "innovation" in their youth academy, and they are becoming a role model for all clubs in the world trying to enhance the quality of their youth development systems.


Needless to say, Ajax are renowned for their youth academy, called "De Toekomst" (The Future). The youth academy has produced so many wonderful players so far. Wesley Sneijder (Inter), Rafael Van der Vaart (Tottenham), Nigel de Jong (Manchester City)... All these top-rated players today are from De Toekomst.


The article starts with the comparison between the English national team and the Dutch national team in the 2012 World Cup. England were beaten by Germany at the round of 16. The 14 English players played in the match were from 10 different domestic youth academies. However, there were 7 players who were trained in the Ajax youth academy in the Dutch national squad, and the team eventually advanced to the final round. The author of the article, who was an England fan, was surprised by this difference. The success of the Dutch national team coincided with the "resurrection" of Ajax, which won the Eredivisie title in the 2010-12 season. The team was composed by promising young players who were all from the youth academy, such as Maarten Stekerenburg, Gregory Van der Weel, Christian Eriksen, Siem de Jong, Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld and others.


The article focuses on Ajax's strong adherence to the "family". In the past, the top team was doing training separately from other teams, but nowadays everyone at Ajax, regardless of the category they belong to, train themselves on the same field of De Toekomst. It quotes the words by David Endt, team coordinator at Ajax. Endt says, "We are always adventurous. We attack, create chances, and play at speed. We do not develop players for other clubs. We train young players in order to achieve our ideal style."


Every team can scout promising young players with good technique. But what is unique about Ajax? According to the article, Ajax put great emphasis on self-responsibility. They don't control everything about their youth players. The players have certain degree of freedom. They may go home right away after the training, but at the same time, they may go to MacDonald's after that. If they want to develop, they will have to think about what they ought to do. Sneijder tells that he has seen many players leaving the club because they didn't do what they should have done when they had to concentrate on football.


Coach Frank de Boer and Danish attacking midfielder Eriksen both emphasize the importance of De Toekomst. The youth academy is the heart of the entire Ajax.



According to the article, Ajax scout only those who can make themselves understood in Dutch or English. They value development of young players as a human person. That is why players like Eriksen and Boilessen, both from Denmark and both the products of De Toekomst, have been capturing attention from all around Europe these days.


The article then touches upon the unique youth development strategy of Ajax. The youth academy does not focus on the development of football skills when the players are under 12. Instead, they focus on what they call "coordination skills", that is, a wide variety of athletic skills including running, jumping, throwing, catching and many others. For players under 13, Ajax allocate 40% of the entire training on programs that are not about football per se. These programs include, for example, judo and yoga. By doing this, De Toekomst aims to produce all-round athletes.


Furthermore, the article introduces the cutting-edge technology at the youth academy. De Toekomst has an innovative training center called "miCoach performance center". The following is the advertisement video made by adidas.


By using this technology, they can gather useful data about their players, with the help of professors and students of the University of Amsterdam and other expert scientists. De Toekomst tries to use these data in order to enhance players' capabilities, instead of punishing players showing low performance. The staff reveals that the budget allocated to establish this system came from only a tiny part of the money they gained when they sold players like Sneijder and Suarez.


"85% of a player's capability is determined by talent", the staff says. "20% can be added by practice. The rest is what we can accumulate. If you can enhance 1% of a player's capability, it will be 11% in the entire team."


Coach De Boer also emphasizes the importance of this new technology. He believes that they can develop further by combining their traditional tactics and mentality of Ajax and these new technologies at the youth academy. Everyone tries to imitate successful models, such as the one at Ajax, but nobody can copy their mentality, atmosphere and Amsterdam itself.


The last part of the article is impressive, so I will try to translate it all.


In 1991, a robust boy from Ondiep, working-class quarter in the suburb of Utrecht, made his first 40-minute trip home. He was holding a ball with a string for practice. He was told to show his achievements of practice to his coach within a week.

"The academy of Ajax is the world's number one, without doubt." 19 years later, and after countless assignments, the boy told us.

Sneijder, who has gained the most titles among the academy graduates of his age, understands the Ajax youth more than anybody else.





Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Eredivisie - Ajax vs Roda / Ajax 3-4-3 and Japanese 3-4-3


Last Sunday Ajax fought against Roda JC at their home stadium Amsterdam ArenA. The result was 4-1, with Ebecilio's hat-trick and Anita's goal.


Ajax played in a 3-4-3 formation.



This tactic was very offensive because side midfielders Janssen and De Jong cannot play like wing backs. And there was only one player in front of the defense line. In other words, there was a high risk of giving away possession near the sidelines and eventually of conceding goals with the opponents' side attacks. When the national team of Japan sometimes plays in the same 3-4-3 formation under the instruction of coach Albert Zaccheroni, side midfielders are always the likes of Yuki Nagatomo (Inter Milan), Atsuto Uchida (Schalke 04) and Masahiko Inoha (Vissel Kobe, played for Hajduk Split last year), who all are originally side backs. Moreover, Zaccheroni places two central midfielders (Hasebe and Endo) side by side and does not use a "diamond" formation at midfield. So, basically, if one of the two central midfielders or one of the wing backs drops back, the defense line can be formed by four players. By doing this, they can cover the spaces near the sidelines and they are ready for opponents' counter attacks. Similar tactics are used by the Serie A club Napoli.



Turning again to Ajax vs Roda, when I heard the news that they were going to play in 3-4-3, I wondered, "how are they going to deal with the large spaces behind De Jong and Janssen?"

Again, Anita played a significant role. When they were possessing the ball or when they are preparing for opponents' attacks, Anita played next to center back Ooijer. So Vertonghen and Alderweireld were not like "stoppers" or "two of the three center backs" in the classical sense but more like two side backs, covering the spaces behind side midfielders both in offense and defense. This was effective because the two Belgians both had good vision and good passing skills. In particular, Alderweireld contributed to Ajax attacks by giving crosses from the right side. Ooijer and Anita were building attacks backwards with their good passes to other midfielders and attackers.

For me personally, the man of the match was Anita, because the first goal by Roda striker Malki was caused by a mistake of Ebecilio. Without Anita, the tactics used by Ajax could not have been realized. Antia is not just an "all-rounder" who can play at different positions, but a very important player in Ajax tactics. I don't know if the same tactics can be used against strong teams such as Twente and PSV. To be honest, Roda were not playing good football and Ajax were able to dominate possession, but I want to see this formation again.

The title race is very confused. Ajax are sitting fourth with 46 points. They will qualify for the Europa League next season if they end up fourth. The table toppers are AZ, with 49 points. PSV and Twente both have 48 points, but Twente have played one less game so far. The fifth is Heerenveen (45 points) and the sixth is Feyenoord (44 points). Very exciting.





Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Eredivisie - Excelsior vs Ajax: Two Great Couples in Ajax

At the away match against Excelsior Ajax won 1-4. I didn't watch the game because I had something to do, so I just watched the highlight of the game instead. This victory is a natural result because it's obvious that there is a huge difference in the quality of players between the two teams. It is a good news that Ozbiliz has been in good form recently. I think the pace of his development is incredibly fast, and I also believe that he can be in good competition with Boerigter when he returns to action. Here's the highlight of the match.

(sorry somehow can't add a youtube movie on this article, so click on the link below, it will direct you to the highlight of the game uploaded by EredivisieLive on youtube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ_9ST3JO-I

Today I want to focus on four Ajax players. Sulejmani, Lodeiro, Eriksen and Siem de Jong. These young midfielders and attackers have been playing for the first squad of Ajax at least since 2010. Siem de Jong joined the first team in 2007, and Sulejmani was transferred to Ajax in 2008. Lodeiro and Eriksen made their first Eredivisie appearance in January 2010.


Lodeiro and Sulejmani are both very skillful players. They both have good technique and can do what other ordinary players cannot easily do with their creative ideas. When Lodeiro plays at center forward, they show a good combination. They have made many chances for Ajax with their one-two pass.

Take a look at the first goal in the last match. This goal was a result of a good cross from Van Rijn and a calm finish by Ozbiliz, but the cross from Van Rijn was possible because of the good work by Lodeiro and Sulejmani. Suleimani's back-heal and Lodeiro's through pass were both excellent. I remember their combination led to an own-goal by the opponent in the Eredivisie match against AZ (1-1). The highlight above is just 6-7 minutes long, but you can see many good combinations between the two.


Another good couple in the team is Eriksen and Siem de Jong. Yes, Eriksen can be a good couple with anybody because of his incredible passing skills, but in the last match the two goals by Siem de Jong were both from Eriksen's assist. The third goal by Ajax was an typical example of how Ajax scored goals this season. Eriksen's lobbed through pass is the basis of Ajax goals. Remember the opening goal by Siem de Jong in the KNBV Baker match against AZ (2-3). It was also from Eriksen's lobbed through pass. Furthermore, it seems that Eriksen has recently increased the accuracy of place kicks. That's why De Jong was able to score two goals.

AJAX.NL

From this match on Ajax are going to face medium/low quality teams (Sorry if you are a fan of one of these teams!). In the first half of the season Ajax defeated Roda and ADO with four goals in each game. Ajax also defeated RKC 1-0. So I hope Ajax will make consecutive wins and beat PSV at Amsterdam ArenA on March 25! If everything goes well, Ajax can be the table toppers by the end of March and I think (from an objective point of view) it is by no means unrealistic.


Eresivisie Stangings (23 games):
1. PSV 48 pts (Next match: Twente (3rd))
2. AZ 46pts (Next match: Heracles (10th))
3. Twente 45 pts* (Next match: PSV (1st))
4. Heerenveen 44 pts (Next match: ADO (15th))
5. Ajax 43 pts (Next match: Roda (9th))
6. Feyenoord 41 pts (Next match: Grooningen (8th))

*Twente played only 22 games.
*There's a 9 points difference between Feyenoord and Vittesse (sitting 7th)

Detailed and easy-to-read standings at Goal.com

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Europa League - Manchester United vs Ajax: Ajax, We Are Proud of You!

We gave it our best. After the 2-0 defeat in Amsterdam we had nothing to lose, and we can be very satisfied – to beat Manchester United at Old Trafford is a big honour for us.  - Miralem Sulejmani

After their 0-2 defeat at home, Ajax visited Manchester with nothing left to lose. Manchester United, one of the best clubs in the world, were beaten by the away side Ajax 1-2. This was the best game for Ajax in this season, and coach De Boer became the first Dutch coach who won a game at Old Trafford.

Aras Ozbiliz after his goal


Just after the game began, Park made a good interception and Hernandez scored in a very calm manner. Considering the deference in quality of players (and also the fact that United were the home side), the situation seemed almost hopeless for Ajax. However, Ajax have long history in European football and they have never changed their attacking play style no matter who the opponents are. Ajax never lost their pride and confidence even after the first goal by United. They maintained ball possession throughout the game (United 42: 58 Ajax), and the defenders didn't lose concentration. Sulejmani and Lodeiro showed a good combination near the United goal, and De Jong contributed very much to both defense and attack (he played as defensive midfielder in the second half and did a good job). Vertonghen once told the media that he didn't think he should play like a real captain, but this time he led Ajax with great captainship and excellent reading of the game.

The Man of the Match was clearly Aras Ozbiliz. He became the equalizer with a good half volley shot, and his free kick led to Alderweireld's powerful header, which gave victory to Ajax. Faced with United defender Fabio, he showed good dribbling and passing skills.

from BBC.co.uk
Despite their victory at this away game, Ajax were eliminated from the tournament on goal difference. But I want to congratulate them on their never-give-up attitude. And this experience meant a lot to them.

Of course, from the next match Ajax can concentrate on the Eredvisie only while other Dutch teams in the Europa League (PSV, AZ and Twente) progress to the next round. But more importantly, you should pay attention to the fact that many Ajax players in the match were very young players who made their first team debut just one or two years ago. Left back Koppers (20 years old) and midfielder/attacker Klaassen (19) received their first cap for Ajax just four months ago, and right back Van Rijn (20) five months ago. Ozbiliz (20) made his Eredivisie debut during the last season. Serero (21) made his dream come true last year by joining the Dutch champions from Ajax Cape Town. All others who played in this match, with exceptions of Sulejmani and Lodeiro, are the products of Ajax youth academy. Of course, the match against a big club like United was a good opportunity for them to call attention to their future employers, but also an important moment for their development in terms of mentality as well as football skills and tactics.

Admittedly, the victory was largely attributed to the poor performance by United and the absence of United striker Rooney. However, I was simply impressed and deeply moved by not only their good performance but also the philosophy and mentality they had as a club that had great history in the world of football. I hope Ajax can grow stronger, someday defeat a club like United once again, and hold a title in European competitions. Ajax players and fans should be proud of themselves.

They will return to the title race in their home country. Ajax will face Excelsior tomorrow.


Thursday, February 23, 2012

Eredivisie- Ajax vs NEC / A New Tactics?

Last Sunday Ajax defeated NEC 4-1. Bulykin scored two, and was substituted after playing only 30 minutes (De Boer joked that he wanted to maintain Bulykin's goal per minute ratio). Siem de Jong especially did a good job, but in this article I want to focus on Anita's role.

Vurnon Anita


Anita can play both side back and defensive midfielder. In the match against NEC he played at defensive midfielder due to the injury of Enoh. Anita is below average in terms of bodily strength and defensive skills, but he has agility and stamina.

Anita's contribution to defense was not something I want to mention today. In the last match, his role in ball possession was something you might not have seen recently. In Ajax, ball possession starts from the goalkeeper. When Vermeer holds the ball he always tries to make a short pass to defenders instead of making a pant kick to attackers. Usually, center back Vertonghen or Alderweireld receives the ball from Vermeer and makes a longitudinal pass to one of the midfielders, or Vermeer makes a pass directly to Enoh after two center backs vacate a space. But in the last match Anita tried to receive the ball in between Vertonghen and Alderweireld. By doing this, the two center backs, who both have good vision and good passing skills, can play a more active role in ball possession. When Anita received the ball near the defense line and made a pass to other players, he stepped back into the defense line and prepared to receive a return pass. Moreover, with Anita at a lower position when in possession, Eriksen played at a lower position, too, and built attacks from the rear of midfield.

(When the ball is on the left side)


This was effective at least in the first half.

In the second half they continued to do this, but in a more experimental way. In the middle of the second half, when they were trying to build attacks backward, their positions were 3-4-3. Vertonghen played as a sweeper or "libero", Alderweireld and one of the side backs (who was far from the ball) temporarily became right and left center backs. Anita played in front of Vertonghen, and the other side back, who was near the ball, played as a wing back.

(When the ball is on the right side)

This kind of smooth position changes cannot usually be seen in dutch football, as most Dutch teams do not like to change their 4-3-3 formation. I had been thinking that Ajax were not the exception, but in the match against NEC I saw different Ajax. It is unclear whether this was a new tactics instructed by coach De Boer or just an accident, but anyway I felt that football played by Ajax in the last match was exciting.

Tonight Ajax visit Old Trafford to play an Europa League match against Manchester United. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Europa League - Ajax vs Manchester United

On 16 February Ajax met Manchester United in their first Europa League match this season. The result was 0-2, with the goals of Young and Hernandez. There are many other good and reliable information sources on this match, so I will mainly focus on Ajax players.

Dico Koppers


Coach De Boer basically used the same formation as he did in the last Eredivisie match against NAC Breda. Defensive midfielder Enoh was replaced by Aissati. Bulykin again played at center forward.

They played excellently in the first half. Siem de Jong made a good middle shot, which was reflected by goalkeeper De Gea. Ajax did not easily give away possession, and the defenders showed great concentration. In my view, left back Koppers, though he was still inexperienced compered with other players on the pitch, did a good job in front of Nani. He made a few mistakes and in the second half he was overwhelmed by United attackers, but his contribution was greater than I had expected (though his rating by Goal.com was extreamly low...).

Sulejmani was a starting point of Ajax attacks. His crosses threatened United, so I wished that Bulykin had played better, like he did in the match against NAC. Anyway, the opponent team was Manchester United, not an ordinary team in the Eredivisie. Though he was not weaker in the air than United defenders, he lacked concentration and missed opportunities.

Vertonghen and Eriksen showed why they are closely followed by bigger European clubs. Vertonghen's tackles prevented United attackers from playing freely and saved Ajax many times. He was trying to make good short passes to midfielders, and he seemed to be refraining from make long passes. United defenders could not easily be troubled by long passes from the opponent defenders, so Vertonghen's choice was a wise thing. He was a key player in ball possession.

Eriksen's middle shot after a wonderful dribble in the first half was one of the highlights of the match. He did not give away the ball easily under pressure, and he caused much trouble to United with his technique.

United could not play easily in midfield. Without Enoh, Aissati contributed to both defense and attacks. Of course, Rooney was a little bit too much for him, but he did not lose concentration throughout the match and I think it was OK.


So Ajax played good football. But I have to say that De Boer's substitutions were hard to understand. Why did he made two substitutions in defense? Why did he use inexperienced Lukoki in this important match? When De Boer decided to replace Ozbilitz with Lukoki, Ajax was clearly in need of some sort of stimulus and ideas to get closer to the opponent goal. There was only one player who could do this; Lodeiro. But he was not given a chance to play.


I know that most people were interested in United (and perhaps Eriksen and Vertonghen) only, but next time I hope more people pay attention to Ajax players and tactics as well. Next Sunday Ajax will play an Eredivisie match against NEC.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Europa League Preview - Ajax vs Manchester United

February 16, at 19:00 CET, Ajax will host last year's Champions League finalists Manchester United. Now it's around 11:00 am in Japan. I will do what I have to do today and after that I will take a short sleep before the game begins at Japanese time 3:00 am tomorrow.

Manchester United training in Amsterdam ArenA

As you can easily imagine, it will be very difficult for Ajax to will this game, despite the fact that this is their home game. First of all, too many players are injured now and they themselves are not in good form. Second, Manchester United are one of the best teams in the world, although they were eliminated from the Champions League. But I hope Ajax can show their own style of football in this match and can score at least one goal. If they happened to win, all soccer fans would be astonished.

Anyway, it will nonetheless be interesting to see how Ajax will play this match.

Ajax will have to do without Janssen and Enoh. So it remains to be seen who will play in midfield. Furthermore, coach De Boer suggested in his press interview that Bulykin would not feature this match. Bulykin is strong in the air and can show a good performance in Eredivisie games, but in front of the tall and strong defenders of United, he will be powerless. De Boer did not reveal the name of the start striker, so I am wondering what the starting line-up will be.

You can think of several possible patterns.

  1. Anita, Aissati and Eriksen in midfield and De Jong at central forward
  2. Aissati, Erikesen and De Jong in midfield and Lodeiro at central forward
  3. Eriksen, De Jong and Klaassen in midfield and Lodeiro at central forward

Of course there are many other possibilities, but for me personally, I want to see the second one. One Japanese football magazine explains the tactics of Ajax by pointing out that with De Jong or Lodeiro (originally a midfielder) at central forward, Ajax can make a "11 vs 9" situation. The opponents' central defenders tend to play side by side, so De Jong or Lodeiro can utilize the space in front of the center backs when he takes back to receive a pass. If De Boer decides to use Boilesen, who has just come back from a long-term injury, Anita is more likely to be playing as a midfielder.

Having said that, my prediction for Ajax's victory is... around 15%. Don't take this serious, this percentage includes my wish for their victory as well. But I hope the game will be an exciting one anyways.


Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Eredivisie - NAC Breda vs Ajax / First Victory in 2012!

Yes! They won! It's the first victory in 2012!

Ajax played without Boilesen, Janssen, Van der Wiel, Boerigter and others, and Enoh was substituted by Aissati in the first 45 minutes. Besides, the atmosphere around the club was not very good after the resignation of the supervisory board last week.

It seemed that the players on the starting line-up were not in their best form. Eriksen and Siem de Jong lost their scoring opportunities over and over again and Sulejmani couldn't participate effectively in their attacks. However, Bulykin and Ozblitz showed good performance, and substitute Aissati quickly became a key player at midfield after coming in the pitch as a substitute.

Of course I have to mention Lodeiro's goal as well. Lodeiro has been spending a little unfortunate season. He has been in food form and when he played on the pitch he always did something special. But his goals have been rejected, due mainly to mistakes by referees. (Remember the match against Real Madrid...) And even when he could play better than the players on the starting line-up, coach De Boer didn't use him as a start member. However, he scored his second goal in the last match and proved his excellent technique once again. I myself have been a big fan of him, so I'm satisfied and relieved now.

So there is a question: who should be playing in the starting line-up?

In the beginning of the season, Janssen played a more defensive role. Recently Enoh has played at the anchor position, but this is manly because Sigthorsson has been out of action for a long time and Siem de Jong, originally a midfielder, has to complement Sigthorsson's absence. Many commentators and fans has said that placing Enoh in front of the defense line is a good solution because he is far better than Janssen at defense. However, this is not what De Boer has intended, because as I said they are forced to play in this formation due to the injury of the reliable center forward. We don't know how long Enoh has to take a rest or whether he will be absent in the first place. But what's going to happen when all the players recover from their injury? Should the coach continue to use Enoh, or should Janssen play as anchor? Is there room to use Aissati or Lodeiro as a start member? Who is the best center forward, Sigthorsson, De Jong, or Lodeiro?

De Boer tends to use the same players no matter what kind of tactics the opponents adopt. So I guess he still wishes to place Janssen at anchor. But if he doesn't require the anchor to play a defensive role, Aissati will be a good option, and considering that Janssen has not been in good form this season, I prefer to see other players, such as Lodeiro and Aissati, in the starting line up.

Of course, there are many other options. For example, placing two central midfielders side by side and one offensive midfielder in front of the two is one option (4-2-1-3 formation). With this formation, I think the burden of defense can be shared by the midfielders, so if De Boer prefer to use players with offensive rather than defensive skills, this will be a possible solution. But I don't think this is going to happen because De Boer is a little bit too stubborn, I would say...

Anyway, in the last match we saw a different combination of midfielders and attackers, even if this was just accidental. I just wanted to say this was interesting. Let's hope they will play a good game against Manchester United this Thursday!




Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Ajax in Japanese Media

I think the number of football fans in Japan who don't know Ajax is relatively small, but they know the team because of its glorious past, and less and less people are paying attention to this Dutch club.

For me personally, I would not have been enthusiastic about Ajax if I had not been to Holland. I would not have been a big fan of the team if I hadn't been to the Amsterdam ArenA. Though I wasn't at the ArenA when they won Twente in the final match of the last season and became the Eredivisie champions for the first time in several years, I was fascinated by the passionate and a bit crazy atmosphere that surrounded Amsterdam on that day.

So after I returned to Japan I started to search Ajax on the internet and on Japanese football magazines. For example, some days ago I read a Japanese football magazine "World Soccer Digest". On its February issue (http://www.nsks.com/wsd/7835/) they set the "ranking" of European football clubs that football journalists around the world voted on. The ranking is not just based on the current situations of the clubs, but it's also based on their past performances. So, naturally, Ajax can occupy a relatively high position in the ranking (around 15th among 30).

What I would like to say is that attention on Ajax by Japanese people is largely based on the times that have already passed, when Johan Cruijff and others totally changed the trend of football with their "total football" strategy, or when the current head coach Frank De Boer was playing on the pitch with other wonderful players. And I assume that this phenomenon is not particular to Japanese football fans.

So I got interested in the way that Japanese media deal with Ajax at present. Basically, there is relatively low attention on the players, except for those who are targeted by bigger European clubs, such as Vertonghen, Eriksen and Van der Wiel. Attention is given to the following two points.
  • Their 4-3-3 formation, which most Dutch teams currently use by influence of Ajax.
  • Their youth academy, called "De Toekomst" (The Future), which is considered to be one of the best youth academies in the world.
On these points, I found information in Japanese on the internet and found some interesting articles. I'm going to summarize the information and write editorials about this (hopefully by the end of February), so check them out.


Sunday, February 5, 2012

Ajax vs Utrecht - Painful Loss

On Sunday February 5, Ajax fought against FC Utrecht in the Amsterdam ArenA.

The result was 0-2. Ajax had to play without many of the players that were usually on the starting line-up.



Utrecht did good defense. Their intention was clear; to put many players in front of their goal, and to give speedy counter attacks using long ball. This was effective against Ajax because Utrecht players were basically higher and stronger than those of Ajax.

However, in terms of body strength, Ajax have always been at best an ordinary team, even when there are no injured players. The lack of the two strong central defenders, Vertonghen and Alderweireld, was an unlucky thing, but what is unique about Ajax is that they always utilize something else to win a game, such as agility, speed and passing and dribbling technique. In this match, Ajax completely failed to show these advantages.

In the first half things went well for Ajax. They succeeded to maintain ball possession in the midfield, and there were many opportunities near the goal. However, after the first goal by Utrecht (which was mainly due to an unbelievable mistake by goalkeeper Vermeer), they lost concentration and started giving away possession.

I'm just so frustrated now, so excuse me for writing in a little aggressive way... I think that head coach De Boer is largely responsible for the recent miserable performance of the team, because considering the quality of players that Ajax currently have, even though they are still inexperienced, a loss against a team like Utrecht is simply unthinkable. Of course there are many, many problems around the team, but I still believe even though there are disadvantages, they have more powerful advantages (and I have tried to mention them on this blog time and time again). Furthermore, the fact that too many players are injured can be attributed to the mismanagement by the coaching staff. And if they were keen to remain as the Eredivisie champions, they should have worked harder on transfer negotiations in the January market. Yeah, I know that scapegoating a head coach only is a stupid thing to do in the world of  football, but...

Next time most of the injured players will make their comeback, but according to the official twitter account of Ajax, Janssen got injured during the match (that's why he only played the first half). It's just hurdle after hurdle, but I hope things will get better soon...

Thursday, February 2, 2012

De Klassieker and the January Transfer Market

Last Sunday Ajax fought against Feyenoord at De Kuip, home stadium of the opponent.

(retrieved from the official website of Ajax)


As you have already heard from the news, Ajax lost 2-4 and they still sits forth in the league table.

Eriksen's first goal was excellent, and he showed his wonderful passing and dribbling skills throughout the match. But most of the players played poorly and I must admit that they deserved the loss.

By watching this historic national derby, I figured out two problems of the team, both in terms of the tactics of the team and the quality of players.

1. Side backs' attack-building ability
Anita and Blind were on the starting line-up. At the beginning of the season, Van der Weel and Boilessen played at side backs, but they were not available due to injury in the last match. Anita and Blind are both talented side backs who have featured the Dutch youth national teams. Anita can run around the pitch throughout 90 minutes, and Blind has good technique and can provide good short passes to the midfielders and attackers. The problem is their long-range passes. Anita and Blind are good at positioning when receiving the ball among the defense line. However, they are not very good at building attacks by providing middle- to long-range passes to the attackers, failing to make smooth transitions from defense to attack. Other side backs, Boilesen, Van der Weel and Ligeon all have the same problem. They have certain advantages, such as dribbling and crossing skills (Ven der Weel), speedy and powerful over lap run (Boilesen), etc, but the lack of good vision and long-range passing skills is the single disadvantage they all share. In the last Sunday's match, center back Vertonghen was the only one in the defense line who could provide long passes to the attackers. So Ajax heavily depend on the center backs in building attacks.

In my view, offensive midfielder Janssen was aware of this problem, and he tried to build attacks backwards by often playing in the defense line. However, Janssen himself was not in good form and the effort basically ended in vain. Normally, such a role should be played by a player at the anchor in midfield. So I understand why coach De Boer placed Janssen at the defensive midfielder at the beginning of the season, though I know that there was much criticism about this formation. Current anchor Enoh is a good disciplined defensive midfielder, but his vision is not top quality.

2. Space between midfielders and defenders. 
This has been a problem since the beginning of the season. Ajax use a 4-3-3 formation, with one defensive and two offensive midfielders. In this tactics, the offensive midfielders are not required to contribute to defense, and the defensive midfielder (Enoh) has to cover wide space in front of the defense line. Ajax use zonal defense, so when an opponent offensive midfielder is in front of the defense line, it is always the anchor's role to mark him. The two central defenders always make a line and never put themselves back and forth. So what happens in this situation is that when an opponent winger holds the ball and make a cut-in, Enoh cannot deal with him because he has to mark another midfielder instead of one of the two center backs. It might be Janssen, Blind or Enoh who has to play the ball, but it's just unclear who is in charge of this.



This is due to the traditional style of Dutch football. They don't like to change their positions. In the above chart, if Enoh plays the ball, somebody else (probably one of the center backs who doesn't have any opponent to mark) has to mark the opponent who has been in front of Enoh, and instead, the right side back has to play as a center back, making a temporally three-back formation with two defensive midfielders (Enoh and one more). Otherwise, Janssen or Erikssen has to get back and play as a defensive midfielder. But they simply do not do this because they want to attack in a 4-3-3 formation. Changing positions when in defense also means changing positions when they regain possession.

Alright, this is my analysis of the current problems of the team. I would like to turn to transfer news. Ajax did not sign any new player in the January transfer market. This is considered to be a big failure considering the current position of the team in the league table. Transfer news around Ajax can be summarized as follows.


  • Bouy, who never made his Eredivisie debut but was considered to be one of the most promising young players from the Ajax youth academy, moved to Juventus on a 3.5 year contract.
  • El Hamdaoui was about to leave Ajax for Fiorentina, but the negotiation collapsed. He has not played Eredivisie matches since April because of his bad attitude. 
  • Ajax failed to sign Heerenveen's winger Narsingh.
  • Heerenveen's side back Janmaat, who was targeted by Ajax, will move to Feyenoord this summer.
OK, so there will be no new faces in the squad, and Ajax failed to make financial resources to sign new players in the next transfer market... I wanted to see new side backs or wingers because many players are injured now, but they were too slow to make an action. Indeed, Narsingh later expressed his willingness to join Ajax, but it was not before the deadline of the market when Ajax officially tried to sign him. Well, everything could happen in this transfer market, even on the final day, but if they wanted to be a stronger team, I think they should have made earlier actions. Bouy's departure was a sad thing for Ajax fans, but I wish him all the best in one of the most famous teams in the world.

*On a fun aspect of Ajax...
  • Lodeiro is wearing short pants at this time of year in Holland
  • Ajax players went to a bowling game for a change
  • Due to the shortage of field players, assistant coach Dennis Bergkamp, former legendary striker of the Dutch national team, joined the training.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Jan Vertonghen's Future - Where Will He Be Playing in 2012?

Today I would like to focus on one Ajax player; Jan Vertonghen, 24-year Belgian captain, competent central back and currently most sought-after player in the squad.



Vertonghen has been linked with big European clubs, including Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, and many others. It seems that he is catching attention by English clubs. I don't know why. Maybe because he is considered to be fitting to the Premier League football style, maybe because those British clubs are just rich. But I believe he is one of the best defenders in Europe. And especially in the Eredivisie, it is no doubt that he is the best central defender in the league.

Why are so many clubs interested in him? What is his strength?

The answer is simple. He is an ideal central back in modern football. By modern football, I mean football where ball possession is the key to victory and where even defenders have to participate actively in attacking.

He is reasonably tall and strong in the air. He is good at covering and clearing the ball. He is of course good at one-on-one defense. In this sense, he has everything that's required for a central defender in a classical sense. But this does not explain all of his strengths. He has scored goals consistently in important matches. Ajax's ball possession often starts with his short passes to midfielders or attackers. He has a good vision and and he always looks at those who are the nearest to the opponent's goal. When midfielders are not ready to receive a pass from him, he often makes an effective long pass to attackers. Furthermore, he has consistently scored goals. He is good at middle shots and volley shots as well as headers. When there is an opportunity, he often advances to the opponent's half by speedy and powerful dribbling. Japanese centaral back at VVV Venlo Maya Yoshida once told in his interview that Vertonghen was an ideal type of central defender that the Dutch are likely to be fond of.

In short, he is both offensive and defensive. He is an all-rounder.

Recently Ajax coach Frank de Boer has told expressly that Ajax will sell Vertonghen when his contract expires in the summer of 2013. Vertonghen himself once told that it was also likely that he would continue playing in Amsterdam without being transferred to another bigger club, but it is highly likely that he will be bought by a big European club this summer, most likely a Premier League club, at a high price. Tottenham Hotspur reportedly held talks with Ajax over a 10 million euro deal for Vertonghen.

As a fan of Ajax, it will be sad to see Vertonghen leave the club. But it will be a good step-up for him. It would be very exciting to see him in a first-rated club like Manchester United and Arsenal, and when he moves to another club, Ajax, with the greatest youth academy in the world, will produce a new young player who will someday be compared with Vertonghen.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Eredivisie - AZ vs Ajax / Meaningful Draw for Ajax

In the first Eredivisie match after the winter break on January 22, Ajax met AZ Alkmaar, the same opponent as they met in the KNVB match on January 19.

While AZ did not change the starting players from the last match, Ajax coach De Boer made a few revisions to the stating line-up. Right back Ligeon was replaced by left back Blind (Anita played the right back), and left wing Aissati was replaced by Ebecilio. Vermeer came back to the starting line-up as the goalkeeper.

Here's the starting line-ups.


Ajax took the initiative in the beginning of the match. Blind, Ebecilio and Sulejmani especially did good work, and in the 8th minute, Sulejmani put the goal behind the AZ goalkeeper after a nice flick from Eriksen. However, he was offside and the goal was disallowed. AZ gradually began to dominate the midfield and after Vertonghen's faul just outside the penalty area, Rasmus Elm's superb free kick brought the home side a meaningful goal in the 36th minute.

AZ dominated the second half, with tight pressing in the midfield. AZ attackers and midfielders were, as always, very hardworking and contributed to the defense very much. Ajax had no way to resolve this situation, not able to take ball possession. The well-trained, speedy and effective counter attacks of AZ confused Ajax, and just like their last match against the same team, Ajax midfielders were not able to build attacks effectively.

However, situations changed after Lodeiro appeared on the pitch as a substitute. His excellent technique and creative passes saved the team; his good combination with Sulejmani led to an own goal by Simon Paulsen.

The game ended in a 1-1 draw. Generally speaking, the game was dominated by AZ. But Ajax prevented from AZ from taking three points, and this was a meaningful draw for Ajax considering that many players who should have been on the starting line-up are currently injured. AZ remains on the top of the Eredivisie standings with 39 points. PSV sits second with one point behind, followed by Twente with 36 points. Ajax, with 34 points, sits after Twente.



Lodeiro played excellently. He did great work at the central forward when Siem de Jong was injured. It has been proved that he is the one who can make a big difference to the team. Blind and Ebecilio, who were not on the starting line-up in the lost KNVB match against AZ, did good work, too. But Enoh and Janssen were not able to play effectively, and Eriksen and Siem de Jong sometimes almost disappeared from the game. Ajax have good young players with high potential, but I must admit that, at the present stage, they will not be able to play easily in higher-ranked leagues like the Premier League and Serie A, where pressure is tighter than in the Eredivisie.

They will fight the national classic match against Feyenoord on January 29.