It is a lightning-fast action as the Ajax audience was used to from Kasper Dolberg in his good years. The pressure on the Danish striker is great when he gets the ball around the halfway line halfway through the first half. PSV defenders Ryan Flamingo and Mauro Júnior are chasing him. Half stumbling, Dolberg manages to pass the ball deep to right winger Steven Berghuis. In this way he breaks open the defense – the pass almost creates an opportunity.
He has more moments like this in the first half. Due to his agility, ball retention and smart positioning, Dolberg is able to set up various attacks. “He played fantastic, was one of the best players on the field,” said Ajax coach Óscar García after the 2-2 against national champions PSV on Saturday evening.
Dolberg still has the magic of the super talent who broke through at Ajax in 2016 at the age of nineteen, at the time under Peter Bosz (now coach of PSV). Still with that boyish, difficult to fathom look. Almost automatically he reminds us of Ajax’s most recent top years; the only player in the current squad to play in both the 2017 Europa League final against Manchester United and the Champions League semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur.
The reality now is a lot less bright. While he never fully managed to fulfill his promise as a top talent after his departure in 2019, Ajax went from crisis to crisis after the tough European years. Somewhere they found each other again. In September last year, after spells at Nice, Seville, Hoffenheim and Anderlecht, Dolberg signed a four-year contract. “Kasper is back on familiar ground,” said then technical director Alex Kroes. “He knows Ajax, the club knows him and his qualities.”
Erratic transfer policy
His return can hardly be called successful. The transfer was not without controversy either. Ajax reportedly paid ten million euros for the dynamic attacker, as a replacement for Brian Brobbey. “The main prize for a 28-year-old striker with no residual value,” said then football technical commissioner Danny Blind looking back A.D – partly out of dissatisfaction with the transfer policy, he resigned.
Characteristic of Ajax’s erratic transfer policy is that the new technical management sees no future in Dolberg. Less than eight months after the club signed him, technical director Jordi Cruijff made it clear to him that he could leave for another club. wrote the AD at the end of April. While Dolberg was usually first choice with previous trainers Fred Grim and John Heitinga, he ended up sidetracked under García. In the last two matches, against NAC and Heracles, he remained on the bench.
Wout Weghorst is preferred as the first striker. The main reason, according to the AD, is that Weghorst puts more aggressive pressure on the opponent and makes more ‘dirty’ meters than Dolberg. Dolberg’s sometimes somewhat phlegmatic attitude does not seem to help him with García, who, like Cruijff, insists on creating a winning culture.
Because Weghorst is ill on Saturday, Dolberg starts: his first starting position since February 21. When his compatriot Anton Gaaei makes it 1-1 after eleven minutes with a beautiful long shot, Dolberg’s emotionless look is unmistakable (PSV had already made it 0-1 after 34 seconds through Ricardo Pepi). After the goal, he immediately grabs the ball. And then Dolberg’s best period begins.
His flair is visible
He is much sought after with direct passes from the back, as a central point of contact. One moment he goes deep, then he drops back for a moment to start the combination. In this way he connects the different lines and fellow attackers Berghuis and Mika Godts also come into their own.
Although his self-confidence cannot be high after a poor season with five goals and three assists at Ajax, Dolberg apparently plays with a lot of conviction.
This can be seen after half an hour with a fine ball behind the supporting leg, which surprises his guard Ryan Flamingo and serves Berghuis. Shortly before, he skillfully avoids a strong tackle from Joey Veerman and thus sets up a new attack. That flair is also visible when he passes a ball to the deep Jorthy Mokio – by first outpacing Flamingo and then just ahead of Paul Wanner.
In the second half Dolberg appears less in the game, Ajax hardly creates anything because PSV starts playing more compactly. PSV made it 1-2 through substitute Myron Boadu, and in injury time Mika Godts equalized with a beautiful volley. Because competitor NEC also drew (1-1 against Telstar), Ajax keeps an eye on third place, which entitles it to the preliminary rounds of the Champions League.
Sometimes Dolberg looks a bit apathetic in promising situations, when choosing a position for the goal. Maybe it’s part of his game type. “I don’t just live for goals, I also want to play football and create opportunities for others,” he said in a 2016 interview with NRC. He was always a winger in his youth, the striker position seemed “a bit boring” to him, he said at the time. “Getting into the box, going to the first post for that cross. That’s it, I thought.”
For a half against PSV, Dolberg again looked like the blossoming promise of ten years ago. “This is a bit like the Kasper I experienced back then,” says Bosz, who always gave him unconditional trust. García states that he “didn’t show his level before.” Sometimes, according to him, Dolberg must first be stimulated to show the best of himself. “If he plays like he did today, he can help us a lot.”
