The second one!

K.

0-8 at the moment, with a few minutes left to play...

Check Ajax Netwerk for the goalscorers. Sneijder on fire, it seems. One of the Capetown boys scored a goal...

K.

I guess Sneijder needed to show everyone who the no 10 position belongs to =). That is if he indeed played in that position (could't read that out from netwerk)

Anyways, nice to see the goal production in a positive trend from the first game.

Exit Nicolas Mitea for a while after injuring his ankle in the 1st half.

Again...?

Why does that guy never survive pre-season in one piece?

Two friendlies played; exit Vertonghen and Mitea...

K.

Verthongen got injured because someone from VVSB became a little excited.

Mitea got injured just after he scored a goal with nobody in his direct surrounding.

Mitea is becoming a Manucharyan-story...

Yeah, indeed, and the worst thing is: every day he's injured is also a day he's not developing...

We have to face the truth about Mitea: he was a major talent and my expectations were high (he scored like 9 goals in his first six months, which is bloody great for a left winger), but now he's getting too old to be a 'talent' (he's 23) and his weak points (crossing, choosing position, looking around rather than to the ground) have not improved, simply because he never plays.

I still have hope for Manucharyan, though. He's younger, he hasn't been at Ajax as long and he seems the more complete footballer of the two. He's tactically smarter than Mitea, too (I find Mitea a bit daft sometimes; sometimes he just stands there like he doesn't get it).

But, as Purple Cow said in some other thread (and I agree 100%): this will have to be his year. Another season full of muscular injuries and a few appearances in Young Ajax, and he's finished.

K.

Becoming? He already is, his only full played season was in 2003/2004. His first season at Ajax. And that wasn't even a full season, 23 matches..

Yeah, Mitea's was a 'Manucharyan story' well before Manucharyan even arrived... Manucharyan's is becoming a 'Mitea story', more like...

Anyways: match report is up on Ajax USA! (always a nice detail when it happens: we're faster than the English version of Ajax.nl...)

http://www.ajax-usa.com/matches/m07-08/ ... t-gfc.html

K.