The brand new interim coach Hedwiges Maduro responds for the first time to his appointment and all the commotion surrounding the dismissal of Maurice Steijn. He also looks ahead to the match against Brighton & Hove Albion.
The assistant of the dismissed Maurice Steijn will represent the group at Ajax until there is a new head coach. “That will probably be soon,” he says. There was no time for Maduro to get used to it. “We are all in a very bad phase. I can get out of it very easily because I only think about Ajax. I want the best for Ajax, very simple. And that’s actually it. I have experienced the group, I know what happens And I’m taking over temporarily, it’s not like I will be the new head coach for a longer period of time.”
Steijn resigned
The former midfielder looked back on the day of Steijn’s dismissal last Monday. “It was a sad day. Also a special day, we trained and had a debriefing. It all went very quickly. Maurice did the debriefing and after the training he told the news to the staff. Very soon afterwards I heard that I could take over if I wanted,” Maduro said.
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Story in De Telegraaf
Maduro also responds to the news that De Telegraaf released on Wednesday morning. The newspaper reported that Maurice Steijn would have wanted to continue at Ajax without Maduro and Steven Berghuis. “It is not true,” the interim coach clearly states. “He did inform me that he would not continue. Also about the story with the psychologist. I indicated that they were not my words and that I had distanced myself from them. But he did have difficulty with that. The story from De Telegraaf this morning is not correct, the truth always comes to light,” said the trainer.
Ajax’s new interim coach is not angry about the stories of the past few days. “I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I have never heard in my entire life that I cannot be trusted. People who know me know that I find trust very important. I also know how the media works. I worry about external parties not so busy. I know the truth. The truth comes out at some point, that is what gives me peace. What is written does not really matter to me,” said Maduro.
Next Thursday, the Amsterdam team will play their third match in the group stage of the Europa League. From 9:00 PM (Dutch time) the opponent will be Brighton & Hove Albion.
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