The bullet is through the church: Maurice Steijn will be the new head coach of Ajax. And a new coach creates new opinions and expectations. “A Hageneese to Amsterdam? Good luck.”
At the Buikslotermeerplein in Noord, opinions about the new head coach are divided. “I wish him a warm welcome in Amsterdam,” says a man. “You have to give him a chance. We can say that he does not have enough experience or that he is not big enough, but that is a shame. Everyone at Erik ten Hag said that too, and he has become our hero.”
The fact that Steijn comes from The Hague is still a tricky point for some fans. “An Ajax coach just has to come from Amsterdam, it’s that simple,” says a woman. Another: “It is better than a Rotterdammer, but a Hageneese at Ajax is not good either.”
Ajax DNA
According to Lars van Eijden of the Pantelic Podcast, the choice for Steijn is surprising. “He has not always played the Ajax game. He does not have the Ajax DNA that we constantly talk about. But he is a clear trainer and a man of principles. But yes, it is a Hagenees who suddenly ends up in Amsterdam he says.
Van Eijden also sees a difference in terms of playing style. “It is a disadvantage that he does not play so much with young players. In Amsterdam we like the Hatos who get minutes very early. Last season he gave teenagers a total of two minutes of playing time at Sparta. That is not much and that has to be done in Amsterdam really thinks,” he says.