07 Dec 2011: Ajax - Real Madrid CF

[paladinby]

Nice to hear some sense now that people have cooled down a bit. Why would UEFA want to keep Ajax out of the quarter finals? I think we were the victims of some extremely bad luck. Maybe Zagreb and Lyon had a gentlemen's agreement à la PSV and whoever they were playing for that last matchday 0–0 a few seasons ago, but I can't see anyone bothering to fix Ajax–Real. A draw would've been a less likely outcome than Real winning, anyway.

It would be naïve to think match fixing doesn't exist in football, and maybe the fix WAS in for the Lyon match. But even though I'm disappointed that we're out, we have no place in the modern Champions' League, which is all about money. UEFA rakes in the cash, whilst 'rich' clubs with outrageous levels of debt spend hundreds of millions on players so that they can make it into the last few rounds every year. Not for us!

They didn't care about Ajax. Lyon had to go through and it did. Last year Milan received some help from refs to go through. That mile offside by Inzaghi is just a joke compared to our disallowed goas. I saw what I saw and my eyes don't fail me - the game in Zagreb was fixed. I'm not sure how a 1-7 defeat at home can be a gentlemen agreement? It's just a rape. This investigation should be held by police and not UEFA with all that french mafia.

A game in Amsterdam is different. We just can't change refs before the game like Barcelona who didn't want some portuguese referee and changed him to some Messi fan during last year semifinals. It is quite possible that linesman just made 2 mistakes. As far as I know that was a debut in CL for the refs working there and they just lacked skill to do it there. It is just a good question to UEFA - why do they appoint oficials who lack the skill to do the job on decisive CL games. The other thing is anti-Ajax bias from refs in european games (eredivisie also) but we've been facing it for years and our board just swallows it time after time so everyone is kinda used to it.

[Monkey Tonk]

Just watched the first half again, until the 2nd Ajax goal. Other than the positional play in the back, a problem all season, Ajax looked better than I've seen them play for quite some time. The progress since last year's revolution is obvious, and as long as the learning curve keeps going up I don't really care about the immediate results. Hopefully the youth system will produce some wing players who can get by their defender and whip in a cross from the byline. That's still missing from this team and it's always dangerous, because defenders and goalies turn their bodies towards the ball being crossed, and therefore can't see what's happening behind them. Anyway, from what I saw last night in the first half I think Ajax is on the way back. The passing was pretty crisp and the ball moved around pretty good. Not lightning in a bottle yet, but it's coming.

[Philippe]

Although a fellow country of mine, Platini is a pathetic yes-man. He will close his eyes since the show must go on. But Aulas will end like Tapie. Mark my words.

[Orange14]

Just watched the first half again, until the 2nd Ajax goal. Other than the positional play in the back, a problem all season, Ajax looked better than I've seen them play for quite some time. The progress since last year's revolution is obvious, and as long as the learning curve keeps going up I don't really care about the immediate results. Hopefully the youth system will produce some wing players who can get by their defender and whip in a cross from the byline. That's still missing from this team and it's always dangerous, because defenders and goalies turn their bodies towards the ball being crossed, and therefore can't see what's happening behind them. Anyway, from what I saw last night in the first half I think Ajax is on the way back. The passing was pretty crisp and the ball moved around pretty good. Not lightning in a bottle yet, but it's coming.

+1 in spades on this comment. I ended up watching the whole match again yesterday and this is what I was impressed with as well. I discount the third goal since things were pretty much over by then but it was two faults on the off side trap that gifted Madrid in the first half (but as you say this has been the problem all season long). With a proper striker (and the jury is still out on Sigthorsson and maybe he won't be up to the task) and Boerrigter things would have been better on the attack. Ebecilio's play on the left wing was just appalling. Remember that in the first Madrid match Boerrigter was beating Ramos pretty consistently.

We'll see if Vertonghen and van der Wiel leave in January and if they do what the management does about trying to bring some other players in. I've heard good things about the young Heerenveen defender Gouweleeuw but given our track record with transfers they may want Sulejmani €s!

[Philippe]

http://www.parool.nl/parool/nl/11/SPORT ... eerd.dhtml

[ajaxusa]

http://www.parool.nl/parool/nl/11/SPORT ... eerd.dhtml

Google Translate says:

The two police officials of the Croatian Football Federation (HNS) arrested on suspicion of bribery. This national news agency Hina reported it today.

Vice Chairman and former referee Zeljko Siric and the head of the referee commission, Stjepan Djedovic, are both arrested. Siric was in the past as one of the best arbitrators in Croatia. Siric Djedovic and would certainly result in a match in the highest division influenced Croatian, Croatian Internet portal Index said. Basis for the study was an earlier confession by the player Patrice Kwedi the club Sibenik. He admitted that a match of his club against Dinamo Zagreb was ready. Besides this affair is against it Siric and Djedovic also under investigation for corruption and accepting bribes. Dinamo Zagreb fell this week called into question after the large defeat in the Champions League against Olympique Lyon (1-7). According to the European union UEFA have no evidence of bribery in this game.

[Philippe]

http://www.dutchnews.nl/features/2011/1 ... robbed.php

[cdnajaxfan]

At first I had resigned myself to being out of the CL. I thought it was defintely probabale that might happen even before the game. Then I saw the "Highlights".

First, I have to think that UEFA may have been in on the Match Fixing. Maybe due to better TV rights money for Lyon over Ajax. I don't know but they seem pretty complicit in this. Those 2 goals that were disallowed were toally on-side. How can a so-called professional linesman screw those up?! Maybe Soccer needs goal review like in US Football, hockey, etc. I can only think that there is none so that FIFA and UEFA can let the Match Fixing go on. Slowing down the game is just an excuse they use. There are MILLIONS of dollars at stake in these games. Conventional wisdom would be to allow video replay.

Secondly, for Lyon and Zagreb to be tied at 1-1 at half and then all of a sudden there are 6 goals in the second half, you have to question that kind of collapse. Tht Zagreb defence just seemed to run backwards and allow them to come at them. Gomis, who I don't think is very good goes on to a record a hat trick of the shortest amount of time. You have to be $@%#ing kidding me! How much more obvious can it get? De Boer played on one of the best CL sides of all time. You would think that the 95-96 Ajax side or Milan or the current Barca side would have recorded that record legitimately. But Gomis, not a #$@!ing chance did he get that record legitimately. A suitcase full of cash arrived in someone's hands at that stadium probably during haltime to throw the game. Whether Lyon did it or had the Croatian Mafia use their influence for them, I don't know but they had to have a hand in it somehow.

Now Lyon and Zagreb are threatening to sue us for speaking out. We can't defend ourselves because we don't have the money and/or the evidence. Ajax has been screwed more than any team in the Champions League. First by Juve for a 4-door Masarati, now by this. Maybe we should take legal action of our own and sue UEFA?!

I may sound like a bad loser but I have to say that I am disgusted by this. I may end up losing my love of footie. Something must be done. Maybe Ajax should be the Martyr and go down for the rest of the teams?

[ajaxusa]

Those 2 goals that were disallowed were toally on-side. How can a so-called professional linesman screw those up?!

Allow me to further alienate you all when I say... It happens.

The players in question were on-side, for sure. But we have the benefit of still photography and slow motion replay to confirm that belief. The poor incompetent assistant referee did not, and these were not the easiest plays to call. The players in question were only level at the moment of truth, not five feet onside or something, and the ball played in both instances were shots, hit with velocity, not soft passes, making it slightly more difficult for the AR to take in both the strike and the second Ajax players. As an experienced referee, I can see how those mistakes happened.

I'm not excusing him; he demonstrated incompetence and should not get assigned to future major games. I'm just saying there is no meaningful reason to choose cheating over mere human failure.

As for Zagreb, that seems a completely different animal.

[paladinby]

I'm not excusing him; he demonstrated incompetence and should not get assigned to future major games. I'm just saying there is no meaningful reason to choose cheating over mere human failure.

UEFA adn FIFA both do nothing to prevent such kind of failures. Moreover they don't want to change it at all. This leads to a thought that they simply benefit by allowing certain teams in and certain teams out with such kind of 'failures'.

[cdnajaxfan]

Hmmm...Destroying the evidence?

GNK Dinamo Zagreb have parted company with coach Krunoslav Jurčić after bowing out of the UEFA Champions League with the club's heaviest-ever defeat. Dinamo hold a six-point lead in their bid for a seventh straight Croatian title.

Dinamo vice-president Zdravko Mamić said: "This match was a very difficult moment for our club".

A difficult moment for YOUR club?! Try AFCA! What a joke!

I think that we should sue UEFA instead of Board members suing each other. Ultimately, they are responsible for us losing millions of dollars for poor referees (2 offside goals against Real), crooked referees (Juve friendly 4-door Masarati loving Refs), and/or are complicit in the match fixing. Platini probably hates us anyways from his Juve days and/or maybe his wife went from banging French national team players to Ajax players in the mid 90s!

[Philippe]

Platini would certainly have decided an investigation if the victim of the cheat had been one of the Serie A top clubs. He's their man.