24 Aug 2005: Ajax - Brøndby IF

[Kowalczyk]

what about unnumbered cards ? where are you supposed to go when hold one of these ?

To be honest with you, I didn't even know that there are unnumbered cards... My season ticket is for section 129, not even sure which row and seat. I only sat there during the first two ArenA seasons. From the moment the fanatical group got back together in 127 I never sat there again and have stood in 127 since.

K.

[bluedaddy19]

Do not buy tickets for sections 125 to 129 (the stand of the 'hard core', known as the F-Side)
K.

unfortunately, there are no Fside tickets left for this match - actually, many of the available seats are in the expensive sections

[petelars]

Both teams came away with wins from today's games. Brøndby got a somewhat lucky 2-1 win at home vs. FC Nordsjælland. Elmander and Lorentzen (late, to win it) were the goalscrorers. Injuries are a problem right now for Brøndby though, as both Daugaard and Rytter were added to the injury list today. We badly need Skoubo back and center forward, at least.

Daugaard has been the best midfielder all fall season. His best games are rarely very good, but he NEVER has a bad game. Very high bottom level.

[Vendelbo]

Liverpool FC have just made a bid for 7 million Euro for defender Daniel Agger. However, Brøndby IF demands 8.5 million. Not the best time for such things. It will possibly take away some of the focus of our players.

[Philippe]

"There will be no sale at the stadium for Danish supporters for the game AFC Ajax - Brøndby"
from www.ajax.nl homepage.

[Kowalczyk]

"There will be no sale at the stadium for Danish supporters for the game AFC Ajax - Brøndby"
from www.ajax.nl homepage.

That is correct. Thanks for pointing it out in this thread, Philippe. This is a good place for it. In addition: here's what I posted in the Tickets to Ajax games thread...

It is actually possible to buy tickets the 'normal' way for this fixture. A Club Card (= Dutch football fan ID system) is not required to buy a ticket for this match. There is free presale at every newspaper/tobacco store that has the Ticketbox logo on its window. You can also go the Ajax Fanshop inside the Amsterdam ArenA (left of the main entrance). Over there they have a Supporters Desk where tickets can also be bought.

However! Presale via the Ticketbox network will stop the night before the game, on Tuesday at 18:00. So if you arrive in Amsterdam on the day of the game itself, you will be too late. In that case, ticket agencies such as Budget Ticket and Ticket Unlimited will have tickets available, but the prices will be marked up. I have never done business with Budget Ticket, but I have had many experiences with Ticket Unlimited and I can recommend them. They are easy going and 100% reliable. Read this:
http://www.ajax-usa.com/tickets/impossible.html

K.

[petelars]

Liverpool FC have just made a bid for 7 million Euro for defender Daniel Agger. However, Brøndby IF demands 8.5 million. Not the best time for such things. It will possibly take away some of the focus of our players.

Well, team President commented immediately that they had heard nothing from Liverpool, and went on the vent about the tendency of the press (Daily Mirror article, btw), to create these stories on their own.

[petelars]

Media clips from today:

Laudrup:"Ajax will score, we need to score at least twice."

Elmander: "I don't think I have anything to prove to Dutch footie - though I still have Feynoord at heart, so scoring at the ArenA..."

Team is preparing in Noordwijk.

Berlingske Tidende (major newspaper): "Mission possible in Amsterdam"

The Brøndby central d was also the Danish central d for a game, vs. England. A 4-1 win ensued.

We finally got Rasmussen, too late for Ajax, though:
http://www.uefa.com/competitions/UCL/ne ... 28548.html

[Kowalczyk]

Confession time...

I am very nervous about tomorrow's game. Not becuase I think we will lose, but rather because I find this game very, very important in more than just one way. I'll try to explain.

There's a certain symbolic meaning to this fixture, if you ask me. A Champions League berth is at stake, but there is much more: our reputation will be at stake. Our status as a European football giant. That's as big as it is.

It's ten years ago that we won the Champions League. In the past five seasons we've performed like a European small-timer (with the 2002-2003 season being the only exception to the rule). In the other four we suffered fatal defeats against Celtic, Lausanne Sports, FC Copenhagen, Club Brugge and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Brøndby are a perfect opponent right now, because I feel they are not great, but they're not weak either. Which means that the result will tell the truth. If we beat them we're 'CL worthy' (Brøndby are good enough to draw that conclusion), but if we don't beat them we're not CL material, plain simple.

We all like to believe that Ajax are in the European B-category, with serious ambition to compete with the A-category. If that's what we really are, then it's about time we show it. And I mean right NOW. Tomorrow. If we fail, we drop from the B-category to the C-category. If we don't deliver tomorrow night, we're officially a small club in European football.

Tomorrow's game will be like a mirror: the image won't lie.

For the record: I'm not talking about nice football, for a change. I'm talking about result. About goals. About killer instinct. About doing the business when it has to be done.

Good play without goals = bad
Bad play with goals = good
Good play and goals = great

The Big Question: do Ajax still have the top of European football within shooting range? The answer will be given tomorrow evening and it will be either YES or NO. There's nothing in between.

K.

[Philippe]

I am afraid you are right, Ko.
And there is another question : does the Ajax board have the ambition to be a European top club again ? Or is just about honorable results only, enough to show brilliant young players and sell them to weathier clubs ?
Shareholders can be satisfied when fans aren't.

[ZoefdeHaas]

If Ajax fuck this up, everyone go for Heracles.

[SE6Ajacied]

If Ajax fuck this up, everyone go for Heracles.

I admire the sentiment and certainly supported AZ67 and Heerenveen last year in Europe but something just tells me Heracles won't make it.

Sadly I have to agree with Ko and Phillipe though...still, at least when we've totally and utterly cocked up the season we'll get our old Ajax badge back (or re-sign Litmanen or something else to appease the fans).

I've got this real bad superstition about predicting dud results though so hup Ajax, 2-1 (Anastasiou - substitute - 89 and 90 :headbang: )

[petelars]

http://www.bif-support-frsund.dk/fotolive/fotolive.asp

First few pictures of Brøndby Support's away trip.

[Kowalczyk]

Welcome, Brøndby. I'll see you at 4 o'clock! :alc:

:bier: :bier: :bier:

K.

[Philippe]

so hup Ajax, 2-1 (Anastasiou - substitute - 89 and 90 :headbang: )

Sorry, I can not agree with you : Anastasiou will score earlier than 89' minute, probably around 80' minute.

[AjaxThailand]

Confession time...

I am very nervous about tomorrow's game. Not becuase I think we will lose, but rather because I find this game very, very important in more than just one way. I'll try to explain.

There's a certain symbolic meaning to this fixture, if you ask me. A Champions League berth is at stake, but there is much more: our reputation will be at stake. Our status as a European football giant. That's as big as it is.

It's ten years ago that we won the Champions League. In the past five seasons we've performed like a European small-timer (with the 2002-2003 season being the only exception to the rule). In the other four we suffered fatal defeats against Celtic, Lausanne Sports, FC Copenhagen, Club Brugge and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Brøndby are a perfect opponent right now, because I feel they are not great, but they're not weak either. Which means that the result will tell the truth. If we beat them we're 'CL worthy' (Brøndby are good enough to draw that conclusion), but if we don't beat them we're not CL material, plain simple.

We all like to believe that Ajax are in the European B-category, with serious ambition to compete with the A-category. If that's what we really are, then it's about time we show it. And I mean right NOW. Tomorrow. If we fail, we drop from the B-category to the C-category. If we don't deliver tomorrow night, we're officially a small club in European football.

Tomorrow's game will be like a mirror: the image won't lie.

For the record: I'm not talking about nice football, for a change. I'm talking about result. About goals. About killer instinct. About doing the business when it has to be done.

Good play without goals = bad
Bad play with goals = good
Good play and goals = great

The Big Question: do Ajax still have the top of European football within shooting range? The answer will be given tomorrow evening and it will be either YES or NO. There's nothing in between.

K.

Absolutely agree with the above.

Another point to consider. Look at the players we had in 93-96 period. Many of those players were wanted by the big european football teams. Look at the players we have now. Sure, there are still a few players that the big teams might be interested in but the vast majority of players not.

[ZoefdeHaas]

Well having players wanted by top guns doesnt necessarily mean the club is really good. Ajax just need someone they could depend on, but thats very difficult since the expectations are so high.

But I'm confident tonight, 2-0 for Ajax, for my daddy's birthday :eusa_dance:

[Kowalczyk]

Expected line-up according to Ajax Netwerk...

------------------------ Vonk -----------------------------

Trabelsi ------ Grygera ----- Escudé ---- Emanuelson

De Jong ------------ Maduro ---------------- Sneijder

Pienaar ---------- Rosenberg ----------------- Babel

K.

[petelars]

Seems the boys are enjoying the view!

Ankergreen

Rytter Nielsen Agger Sennels
Retov Lantz
Jørgensen Elmander Lorentzen
Skoubo

[Kowalczyk]

Seems the boys are enjoying the view!

Ah, they went to Teasers at Damrak...

Football fans... we're such a predictable bunch. We're all the same, wherever we come from! :D :headbang:

(F*cking expensive beer, by the way... Oh well, not as expensive as a shot of tequila between the waitress' tits: that's 20 euros if I remember it correctly).

:hypocrite:

K.

[GangstaRiB]

It will be the moment of thruth, but I don't think that Ajax will be ranked as a C-category club. Remember AC Milan who had a few years of Uefa-Cup years and lost to unknown clubs in south Siberia. It all can change very quickely.

[__earth]

Hail Ajax! Good luck.

A few more hours to drill Brondby to kingdom come. And I like the lineup! The defense looks solid.

:xyxthumbs:

[Kowalczyk]

It will be the moment of thruth, but I don't think that Ajax will be ranked as a C-category club. Remember AC Milan who had a few years of Uefa-Cup years and lost to unknown clubs in south Siberia. It all can change very quickely.

Yes, of course it can change very quickly. But if Ajax f*ck it up tonight we will be a C-category club until we prove otherwise. If you get 'relegated' to the C-category you can get 'promoted' to the B and A categories again. But when you're in the C-category, you're in the C-category - and we've almost reached the point of getting 'relegated' from the B-category, if you ask me.

A club's European status for the moment (= the official UEFA ranking) is based on the past five or six seasons:

1999-2000: UEFA, 3rd round elimination (by Real Mallorca)
2000-2001: UEFA, 2nd round elimination (by Lausanne Sports... X'C )
2001-2002: UEFA, 2nd round elimination (by FC Copenhagen... X'C )
2002-2003: CL, quarter final (survived two groups stages; excellent!)
2003-2004: CL, first round elimination (4 defeats in 6 games)
2004-2005: CL, first round elimination (4 defeats in 6 games), followed by immediate UEFA Cup elimination

Conclusion: if it wasn't for that fairly recent peak in 2002-2003, we would already have been a C-category club.

Which is a f*cking disgrace and an example of scandalous, deeply embarrassing underachievement.

Ajax are a financially healthy club with an ultra-modern stadium, 45,000 season ticket holders, a fan club of more than 70,000 members, a youth academy that is generally regarded as one of the best in the world and an annual budget of 65 million euros. If you look at the organisation of the club we are a big club that should easily brush clubs such as Lausanne, Copenhagen, Maccabi and (with all due respect) Brøndby aside, any time of the day. That should be as 'logical' as Ajax's defeats to Juventus or AC Milan. We are not as rich as the top three or four clubs from Italy, Spain, England and Germany, but our natural position in European football should be just behind them: in the top of the B-category. We should be the 'biggest of the small ones' - easily.

Of course you can have a sh*t year every once in a while, but that's not how I would describe the European list of 'honors' above. In recent history an occasional good season has been the exception that proves the rule - not the other way round. Which means that there is something seriously wrong. Ajax have everything to be in the top of the B-category, but for six years straight (with one exception) we have completely, utterly and totally failed to deliver.

Based on the 2002-2003 season we can claim that we're still holding on to the tow bar of the truck that carries the 'elite' of European football. We've already fallen off the tailboard and our legs are now dragging over the asphalt, but we're holding on, grinding our teeth. Tonight is the night of the decision: can we pull ourselves up and climb back onto the tailboard, or will we have to let go and stay behind?

We've been C-category for five out of the last six seasons and top drawer for one season. On average: relegation zone of the B-category. Are those five crap seasons 'incidents'...? Hmm, that's a pretty long string of 'incidents' then, innit? But okay: if we can still win a head-to-head confrontation with Brøndby we stay in the B-category. If we can't? That would make six seasons of European failure out of the last seven! In that case it will start to sound a tiny little bit ridiculous if we continue to refer to ourselves as a 'big club'. In that case we'll have to seriously re-consider our self-image as AFC Ajax.

I, for one, definitely will. If we f*ck up tonight we've officially become a small, modest, 'nothing special' type of football club in Europe.

Period!

K.

[GangstaRiB]

Zo he, niks te doen bij de Volkskrant ;)

Just a thought: maybe it woult be better if we lost to Bronby. If we f*ck up in the groupstage it will be shown all over the world. This game will only be shown on Dutch and Danish tv, so the damage to our reputation maybe smaller. We will lose money of course, but that is not main issue. I can't honestly say how "far" this Ajax is when you compare it to European topclubs.

P.S. The game is not sold out yet! Which surprises me. There are about 11000 seats available! Looks like an empty stadium this evening...

[Kowalczyk]

P.S. The game is not sold out yet! Which surprises me. There are about 11000 seats available! Looks like an empty stadium this evening...

The last CL qualifier we played didn't sell out, either. 11,000 empty seats means 40,000 taken seats. That's not bad. It was more or less what I expected.

Don't forget that Ajax sold less season tickets than they did last year, for the simple reason that our football was almost never attractive or in any other way up to far in the past two years.

K.