Shortly after the 6-0 thrashing by AZ, Youri Regeer stood in front of the ESPN camera with a red blush on his cheeks. Regeer immediately took the plunge: “What went wrong? What didn’t go wrong? This was not Ajax worthy. As a club and group of players, we have to reimburse the supporters’ tickets. That is the only thing we can do.”
“As a team we completely fell apart,” the midfielder continues. “I have seen too many islands. We get the 2-0 and the 3-0 very easily. Then you warn at half time that it is a shame how we start the match and you immediately concede the 4-0….”
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After the 4-0 in the 46th minute, Owen Wijndal also received a red card for a hard tackle on Wouter Goes. The former AZ captain immediately admitted that there was a lot of frustration there. “I was having some trouble and wanted to get to this match and then you play it like this.”
Wijndal was booed by the AZ crowd and could not control himself due to the score. “I don’t think I would have done this if I had a lead. It’s stupid. Especially because I let my team down in the last half hour. Just stupid.”
Due to the loss in Alkmaar, Ajax is out of the cup tournament. AZ will hear on Friday afternoon who their opponent will be in the quarter-finals.
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Trainer Fred Grim agreed with ESPN on Regeer’s words that Ajax was ashamed of the historic defeat. “We lose the duels in all kinds of areas. AZ is fiercer, plays more directly and takes advantage of the opportunities they get.”
Grim: “You are falling into old habits tonight. That includes the red card. Of course that is a concern, especially if you look at the last matches in which we played well organized. I have not seen that at all. We will play another match on Saturday and then we will have to come up with a very good answer.”
On Saturday Ajax will play at home against Go Ahead Eagles in the Premier League. Kick-off in the Arena is at 4:30 PM.
Wijndal knows nothing about transfer
Owen Wijndal also responded to ESPN on the report that he would be allowed to leave Ajax. The left back says he knows nothing about it. “I won’t let myself be sent away just like that. If they are big men, they will tell me that too. As long as I am here, I will do my utmost.”