At the first press conference of Alfred Schreuder as Ajax head coach, he was full of praise for Mo Ihattaren. “Everyone knows how well that boy can play football. What everyone else thinks of his whole story is not important,” said Schreuder during the training camp in De Lutte.
“Happy boy, who loves the game. An enthusiast and beautiful left leg”, the brand new trainer speaks about the 20-year-old creative. “This boy knows what has happened, better than we do. We have to judge him as a footballer.”
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Schreuder was already an assistant under Erik ten Hag in the 2018/19 season. He then went his own way at Hoffenheim, FC Barcelona and Club Brugge. Despite his own vision, he will continue Erik ten Hag’s line as much as possible. “We want to continue along the path that Ajax took four and a half years ago. At the end of the preparation, we know which players we have and we have to let them play together as well as possible. That’s what it’s about.”
Grab prices
It is therefore difficult for Schreuder to indicate points for improvement. In his view, the Amsterdammers have performed well in recent years. “But if you look at prizes, you naturally want to win the Johan Cruijff Scale and KNVB Cup. The players have shown good things playing football, so we will not change much.”
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Goalkeepers
This morning the news came out that Maarten Stekelenburg is the had to leave training camp in De Lutte with a foot injury† “Whether it is serious with Stekelenburg? I assume not, but we will wait a few days and see what comes out. But he has now gone home.”
Schreuder was then asked whether it is risky to start the season with veterans Stekelenburg and Remko Pasveer, who is still recovering. In addition, Ajax still has third keeper Jay Gorter at its disposal. “You never know, I think your question is quite negative. I understand what you mean, but last season Stekelenburg and Pasveer’s injuries were just a matter of bad luck. We assume the good. If things happen along the way, we know We think we have to switch. But the base with these three guys is fine.”
Tomorrow afternoon Ajax will practice against the German SC Paderborn, which plays in the Second Bundesliga. The match starts at 13.00 in Oldenzaal.
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