Ajax-Feyenoord was definitively stopped in the second half at a 0-3 score after several fireworks on the field.
Feyenoord has put Ajax further in the pool of misery by beating the Amsterdam team 3-0 in the middle of the sporting and administrative crisis. In the capital, one of the most horrible and embarrassing Classics took place for Ajax, as the match was stopped three times.
Feyenoord got off to a flying start in the Johan Cruijff ArenA, partly with the help of two defenders recruited by the now heavily controversial technical director Sven Mislintat – left back Borna Sosa and right back Anton Gaaei. The reigning champions led 3-0 well before halftime.
Fall through the ice
Ajax coach Maurice Steijn had already deleted quite a few purchases from Mislintat in his starting line-up. Chuba Akpom (12.3 million), Georges Mikautadze (16 million), Gaston Avila (12.5 million), Benjamin Tahirovic (7.5 million), Sivert Mannsverk (6 million), Jakov Medic (3 million) were largely through previous failures all on the bench. So almost 60 million euros worth of purchases are not on the field.
But the last players he thought he could field on behalf of Mislintat also fell through the ice. At Santiago Gimenez’s 0-1, Gaaei was childishly pushed aside by Quinten Timber. In goal number two, the same Gaaei made a major blunder by playing the ball without looking into the heart of his defense where the Mexican was ready to strike again: 0-2. Steijn immediately had his Danish flop withdrawn and replaced it with a young talent of his own (Devyne Rensch).
Mopping with the tap open
But it was mopping with the tap open. Because the gap on the right had not yet been closed when Sosa made a mistake on the left flank with a wild shot that was blocked with only one defender behind him. Feyenoord’s counter was fatal for the Amsterdam team. The assist was from Gimenez, Paixao rounded off: 0-3.
It was the start of further unrest in the stands. A cup thrown onto the field caused referee Serdar Gözübüyük to stop the match for minutes. Then the F-Side took a deliberate action to stop the game. Flares flew one after the other onto the turf of the Johan Cruijff ArenA. Within 60 seconds all the players and the refereeing quartet were in the changing rooms.
Choirs and curses
Meanwhile, chants and curses rained from the stands. Those at the supervisory board and Mislintat were unmissable, also because banners were rolled out clearly showing who should ‘fuck off’. Mislintat was called ‘k…..rat’ and that sounded so loud that it seems impossible that the German can ever be seen safely near the Ajax stadium again.
It is clear to the 50,000 spectators in the stadium and to the entire support base that the club has lost its entire identity in record time. The scouts are at war with Mislintat because they have been completely ignored and never get in touch with him. Or they are sick at home because of those tensions and not being heard (Michel Doesburg).
Unusual atmosphere
The F-side shouted long before half time: ‘We want to see Ajax’. That was about more than Ajax on the field. The supporters feel that everything the club stands for has disappeared. In the boardroom, at the famous training center De Toekomst, in scouting and in the overall football technical face of the club.
Even for the Feyenoorders it was unusual to play the Classic in this atmosphere. They did exactly what they had to do: play professionally and professionally. None of the Feyenoord players were influenced by all the emotions or chaos at their arch-rival. The Rotterdam team also had to stay alert because between the games, Ajax appeared dangerous in attack a few times, just like against Olympique Marseille. Goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther had the greatest difficulty with a shot from Steven Berghuis, the lightning-fast teenager Carlos Forbs (ex-Man City) pushed the ball just wide and Brian Brobbey fought dogged duels with Feyenoord captain Gernot Trauner.
Overmars serenaded
During half time, Steijn threw out another purchase from Mislintat. Sosa, the man who was the subject of much controversy because he was allegedly forced to choose a business partner of the German ‘td’, was also allowed to take a shower.
The audience immediately made it clear who should provide ‘Ajax quality’ in Amsterdam. Despite his shameful exit at the time, Marc Overmars was loudly sung to: ‘Overmars, who doesn’t know him, he is a real Ajax player’.
Van Gaal
But the only one who can save things in the short term and, according to insiders, is willing to do so, is Louis van Gaal. He was already present in the Johan Cruijff ArenA, watched live what was wrong with Ajax and tasted the equally toxic and negative atmosphere that prevails among the current policy makers.
Within the hour (55th minute), Van Gaal also saw how his own supporters ended the match by throwing fireworks onto the field again. The crowd whistled for a while towards the hard core, but it seemed to have had enough. That turned out to be the case, because the match was finally stopped.