Glad I wasn’t a Feyenoord supporter on Sunday: so close to a well-deserved victory over Ajax and ultimately losing so sadly. You could almost end up with an inferiority complex.
Maybe it would have been better for Ajax itself if it hadn’t won, because such a flattering victory obscures the crisis in which not only the first team, but the entire club seems to have become entangled. The scandal surrounding director Overmars can no longer be pushed into the background with impressive performances on the field. Five days after the elimination by Benfica in the Champions League, Ajax also threatened to incur significant damage in the competition.
What’s going wrong? Many. Players who could usually be trusted, such as the veterans Blind and Tadic, and even the strong central defense duo Timber-Martinez on Sunday, are failing. With Blind and Tadic the question arises whether they have passed their peak. Young talents such as Gravenberch and Antony, like the older Berghuis, are still too changeable.
Moreover, Ajax plays with a certain misplaced hubris: constantly wanting to attack while neglecting the organization in the defence. Defender Jurriën Timber, by the way a great talent, made a mistake against both Benfica and Feyenoord.
You could call the high-risk attack style a Dutch disease. Former players like Van Basten and Gullit often complain about it; they find it naive and unprofessional. National coach Louis van Gaal is also of that opinion and wants to put an end to it with the Dutch national team. He preaches the 5-3-2 system: five defenders, three midfielders and two strikers; no more specific wingers. Would Van Gaal draft Antony if he had him at his disposal? I can already hear him sighing about too much ball loss and too little return for an entire match.
If ‘we’ ever want to win something in an international context, we will have to play more businesslike than Ajax does. Van Gaal has had success with that before and will also want to continue that more conservative style at the World Cup in Qatar.
What strikes me at Ajax lately is the carelessness and sometimes the lack of determination in the duels. Especially before the break, Ajax was completely surprised by a faster and more grim Feyenoord. Have the stars of Ajax become blasé about the successes in the national competition?
Ajax is going through a difficult period. At the top of the club, great unrest can arise with the appointment of a new director and possibly also a new trainer; Erik ten Hag would consider a move abroad, perhaps in the realization that he is at the ceiling with this Ajax. Ajax has been plagued so many times in the past by administrative turmoil.
Moreover, a risky integration of new players seems desirable, because after Onana, Mazraoui and Gravenberch also threaten to leave on a free transfer. That is a development that makes the future of Ajax not only sporty, but also financially uncertain. Players, on the advice of their agents, wait for their contract to expire and then walk out the door for free. That can cost Ajax tens of millions.
No, PSV need not despair yet.
A version of this article also appeared in NRC on the morning of March 21, 2022