On what would ultimately be a disappointing afternoon, even the optimistic club icon Sjaak Swart (85) had no confidence in advance, he says more than an hour before the match on the escalator to the stands high in the Johan Cruijff Arena. The fact that Ajax plays in a full house still offers some perspective, he thinks. “I hope so, that they are driven crazy.” By ‘they’ he means the Feyenoord players.
It will be an embarrassing day for Ajax. Sporting, administrative and in terms of supporter problems. The match was finally stopped in the 55th minute with a 0-3 score for Feyenoord, after fireworks were thrown on the field for the second time from the fanatical F-side. The game was stopped twice in the first half, first due to a plastic cup and then due to (the first) fireworks on the field.
Afterwards, supporters storm into the main building. They kick the entrance door and throw fireworks. Players and coaches remain in the locker room for a while, for their own safety. If a match comes to symbolize the existential crisis in which Ajax finds itself, it is this Classic of September 24, 2023.
“I hope we can enjoy Ajax again soon,” says defender Jurriën Timber, who has left for Arsenal, coolly, as he says goodbye to the supporters shortly before the match. Implying that he can’t do that now.
Fireworks flares
Immediately after kick-off, fireworks torches are set off en masse on the F-side. But this does not lead to a shutdown, because the fireworks do not end on the field. It sets the tone for a turbulent day that already started turbulently.
Also read: about the transfer of Borna Sosa to Ajaxa deal that football affairs director Sven Mislintat concluded with a business relationship and into which the Ajax board has initiated an investigation.
“Who knows, something might happen,” said Ajax coach Maurice Steijn on Thursday evening just before he left the press room, after the press conference following the 3-3 against Olympique Marseille in the Europa League. He was right. On Friday morning, football affairs director Sven Mislintat was in his trainer’s room, sources confirm NRC after reporting The Telegraph. This is a sensitive matter, now that Mislintat is being investigated due to a possible conflict of interest in a transfer. On Wednesday he was told that he must stay out of the picture, which is why he will no longer be in the stands at matches for the time being.
Mislintat spoke in the trainer’s room about a possible dismissal of Steijn if Ajax lost to Feyenoord, writes The Telegraph. Steijn himself was not present at that time. Previously wrote VI that after the defeat at FC Twente last Sunday, Mislintat sought internal support for Steijn’s dismissal.
Just before two o’clock, Steven Berghuis is the first Ajax player to enter the field for the warm-up. He is the captain today, in the absence of Steven Bergwijn who is suffering from his molar. Two years ago, Berghuis left Feyenoord for Ajax full of ambitions.
He did not join Arne Slot’s project, who had just started as a coach at Feyenoord. Berghuis opted for Champions League football, national titles, playing with Dusan Tadic and Sébastien Haller. Now, in preparation for this season, he wondered in interviews whether the “high expectations” are “realistic”.
Berghuis is the last remaining starting player of the team that defeated Borussia Dortmund 4-0 in the Champions League less than two years ago. While Berghuis was previously one of the supporting players behind Tadic and Daley Blind, he is now being looked at closely. It says something about the new hierarchy in the locker room, and the lack of leaders.
Right winger Berghuis tries to lead the way with his actions and passing. But it doesn’t matter much in a team that is out of balance. They had gained “spirit” from the match against Olympique Marseille, Steijn said on Friday. At the same time I would like to add that there are still many problems in mutual communication, in the field staffing, in the defense.
Porous defense
How porous the defensive organization is becomes apparent after ten minutes. Feyenoord midfielder Quinten Timber is sent away by striker Santiago Gimenez and puts Ajax right back Anton Gaaei aside with a firm shoulder push. And then gives a through ball to the well-passed Gimenez, who convincingly makes 0-1. Precisely giving away those spaces was one of the sore points against Marseille.
Then Ajax’s best phase begins, which shows fighting spirit and gets great opportunities. A shot by Berghuis is first saved by Timon Wellenreuther. And striker Brian Brobbey is a toe length short of tapping in a pass from Carlos Forbs.
But just then, when Ajax seems to be getting into a certain rhythm, Gaaei makes another mistake. It is unclear what he intended to do, but he shoots the ball with his instep from the right back position to the heart of the defense. Gimenez picks up and makes 0-2. A deep sigh from Steijn. The disappointment with Gaaei, who is substituted a little later.
‘We want to see Ajax’
‘Rvc draw your conclusion’, says a banner on the F-side. There are also calls for the departure of the supervisory board. Just as spectators call for the exit of the director of football affairs. ‘Kankerrat Mislintat’ echoes through the Johan Cruijff Arena. ‘We want to see Ajax’, is also said.
The game is then stopped for seven minutes because a plastic cup has been thrown onto the field, in response to the cheering of the Feyenoord players. The spectator who threw the cup is picked out by the security guards, after which the game can be resumed.
On Friday, Steijn hammered home a better ‘residual defence’ – what the defense is like when Ajax is on the attack. Shortly before halftime it becomes clear how fragile it still is. It is completely open at Ajax when Feyenoord counters after a shot from left back Borna Sosa is blocked. It is three Feyenoord attackers against one Ajax defender. Igor Paixao simply scores the 0-3. Steijn remains seated in his chair. The silence after the goal is almost dark.
Permanently discontinued
It is the run-up to throwing fireworks on the field, not much later. You can already hear the torches lighting before they land on the field. The match is stopped for about twenty minutes before play resumes. When things go wrong again ten minutes into the second half, referee Serdar Gözübüyük blows the final whistle. Friction can be heard and seen between the F-side and the rest of the audience, which has finished the actions.
It is still unclear when the match will be played. After the match it remains grim in and around the stadium. At first, visitors cannot go down the stairwell because the F-side has broken into the main building, a steward says NRC. TV interviews cannot yet be conducted because players remain in the locker room as long as the situation is unsafe, says a presenter at ESPN. Outside the siren of police vans sounds, inside some shout for the arrival of Louis van Gaal, the 72-year-old former coach of Ajax.
Jan van Halst, the temporary general manager of Ajax, appears on television after a while: “The supporters want to express their frustration. We understand that enormously, but to then show this behavior…”