23 Sep 2007: AZ - Ajax

[ajaxusa]

Un-****ing believable. I go away for a nice family vacation in Mendocino, and I come home to utter disaster and ruin.. This is the weekend I get punished for my years of service to the cause of Ajax. Sorry if that's selfish, but I just can't ****in' believe what happened.

First, my website is down, and not likely to come back soon. I don't have the energy to tell the full story now... but sufficed to say, this is the first time Ajax USA is "off the air" for more than a day or so... this could be weeks...

Second, I have had Setanta for years, but they're ****ing incompetent when it comes to showing Eredivisie games. They showed one game (not Ajax) in the first week of the season, and NOTHING since. Their schedule showed nothing in future, either. So I let the ****er cancel. And what happens, while I'm on my little vacation? They show AZ-Ajax LIVE, the ****ers. Maybe you don't understand my bitterness. This would've been the FIRST live Eredivisie game I've seen in TWO ****ing years. Would it kill them to give a couple day's notice if they're gonna show it? You think it might get a few more viewers, you **** wits?

OMG I could kill something right now...

[ajax-erie]

ajaxusa

Second, I have had Setanta for years, but they're ****ing incompetent when it comes to showing Eredivisie games. They showed one game (not Ajax) in the first week of the season, and NOTHING since. Their schedule showed nothing in future, either. So I let the ****er cancel. And what happens, while I'm on my little vacation? They show AZ-Ajax LIVE, the ****ers. Maybe you don't understand my bitterness. This would've been the FIRST live Eredivisie game I've seen in TWO ****ing years. Would it kill them to give a couple day's notice if they're gonna show it? You think it might get a few more viewers, you **** wits?

If it would help I would send you my copy of the Ajax v AZ match, I posted
the Setanta(USA) match schedule for Ajax, Fri/1:30am, minutes after I found out the match was to be aired in the USA.

MANY THANKS FOR YOUR WORK OVER THE YEARS

[Van basten]

Any news about how serious are injuries for Stam and Vermaelen?

[Kowalczyk]

According to the TV shows on Sunday evening, Stam's injury is not too bad (two weeks max). Vermaelen's is almost certainly worse, although a diagnosis can never be made accurately on the day the injury was sustained (more news today). We may well be without him for 4-6 weeks.

For the upcoming weeks, the only match I'm seriously worried about is Dinamo Zagreb at home. We still have 90 looooong minutes to go and I am not at all convinced that we've wrapped it up over there. They're not beaten yet and we all know how Ajax can fall apart if they let one goal in at the ArenA. We really need a good defense for that game, but we will surely be without Vermaelen and possibly without Stam...

The domestic schedule, on the other hand, doesn't look too worrying: Kozakken Boys (cup), VVV (home), Sparta (away), then two weeks without a league game (probably internationals?) and then NEC (home). Not that we can afford to underestimate anyone, but beating those opponents should be possible without Stam and Vermaelen nonetheless, if we are focused.

Our next seriously tough domestic match is Utrecht away on 28 October.

K.

[Van basten]

Vermaelen will be sidelined for approximately two months. Stam, who sprained the medial ligament of his right knee, will miss up to two weeks. Ajax hope their captain will be fit when the side play the return leg of the UEFA Cup confrontation with Dinamo Zagreb on 4 October. (Ajax.nl)

[Kowalczyk]

Vermaelen will be sidelined for approximately two months. Stam, who sprained the medial ligament of his right knee, will miss up to two weeks. Ajax hope their captain will be fit when the side play the return leg of the UEFA Cup confrontation with Dinamo Zagreb on 4 October. (Ajax.nl)

Right. That means: John Heitinga to be put on fatigue duty in defense, 'cos we're not going to play against Dinamo Zagreb with Van der Wiel and Colin in the centre, are we?

Are we?

K.

[Van basten]

Vermaelen will be sidelined for approximately two months. Stam, who sprained the medial ligament of his right knee, will miss up to two weeks. Ajax hope their captain will be fit when the side play the return leg of the UEFA Cup confrontation with Dinamo Zagreb on 4 October. (Ajax.nl)

Right. That means: John Heitinga to be put on fatigue duty in defense, 'cos we're not going to play against Dinamo Zagreb with Van der Wiel and Colin in the centre, are we?

Are we?

K.

Hope not, but you newer know what's on Ten Cate's mind. Urby, Wan der Wiel, Heitinga, Ogararu in defence and Vertonghen, Maduro, Gabri in midfield with KJH, Suarez and Rommedahl in front would be optimal squad placing for me

[aveslacker]

FWIW I thought Heitinga and Gabri both played very well yesterday.

[Kowalczyk]

Ladies and gentlemen, Ajax USA will be down for a while. Here is the first official Ajax USA match report on Ajax Talk... (we'll publish it on Ajax USA, if only for the archives, as soon as the site is back up).

MATCH REPORT: AZ - AJAX 2-3 (1-2)

Eredivisie
DSB Stadium, Alkmaar
Sunday, 23 September, 2007

Feyenoord have returned to the top of the Eredivisie, while AZ's remarkable period of boom continues, so the Dutch football league appears to have four title contenders these days. It was enough reason for the KNVB to enrich the fixture list with six 'Super Sundays'. Today was the first one, and the great victors were the country's traditional 'Top Two': PSV (who put Feyenoord in their place) and Ajax, who battled to a hard-fought 2-3 win at AZ's DSB Stadium.

Only five days ago crisis was looming at the Amsterdam ArenA: the team was injury-battered and in poor form, the fans were grumbling and the press openly discussing the position of Henk ten Cate. Ahead were two crucial games, for which Ajax were hardly the favourites: Dinamo Zagreb and AZ, both away from home. Two defeats? It didn't seem unlikely. And in that case 'something would happen' at the ArenA, according to the press.

And there we are: a totally unexpected 0-1 triumph in Zagreb and a spectacular, hard-fought 2-3 victory in Alkmaar. Crisis averted, at least for now. All that remains is discussion about the temporary tactical adjustments that were the key to this week's much-needed success: an ultra-defensive form of catenaccio in Croatia, and a very, very cautious, counter-attacking 4-3-3 formation in Alkmaar.

AZ and Ajax seemed to have quite a lot in common before the game. Both teams have been without a key midfielder (Stijn Schaars/Edgar Davids) for quite some time. Both teams knew that one of their major offensive purchases (Ari/Kennedy) was also going to be unavailable due to injury. Both teams have played below-par football in recent weeks. And both teams grabbed a hard-fought and slightly fortunate 0-1 road win in the UEFA Cup last Thursday, far away from home (AZ faced Paços de Ferreira in Portugal).

Just before kick-off, however, it became clear that the hosts would start in pole position: Jaap Stam overstretched his knee during warming-up, forcing Henk ten Cate to improvise. Jurgen Colin was also injured, so the Ajax boss decided to move John Heitinga to the back and add Jan Vertonghen to his three-man midfield. Upfront, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar had the company of the match-winner of Zagreb (Dennis Rommedahl) and (back in the starting eleven) Luis Suárez.

The two teams started cautiously, with a rather dull first half hour as a result. Ajax were more of a solid unit than expected, and their passing was more accurate than in Zagreb, but the first serious chance was created by the home side: after precisely 30 minutes Demy de Zeeuw's near-perfect shot from 18 yards out was marvellously punched out of the top corner by Maarten Stekelenburg.

Three minutes later Ajax broke the deadlock at the other end. Maarten Martens fouled Jan Vertonghen just outside the penalty box. Did Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's free-kick take a deflection off the AZ wall? Whatever the answer may be: goalkeeper Boy Waterman seemed totally surprised and let it in (33').

AZ created two major chances in the next eight minutes (Martens' shot went just wide, whereas Emanuelson cleared Pellè's header off the goal-line), but once again Ajax found the net. In the 43rd minute Thomas Vermaelen won an aerial duel. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar picked up the loose ball and his razorsharp thru-pass sent Luis Suárez on his way to Waterman and Ajax's second goal (43').

It summed up the first half: the differences between AZ and Ajax were rather small and the game was in perfect balance, except that Huntelaar and Suárez converted their only chances for their 7th and 5th goals of the season, respectively, whereas AZ's strikers (Moussa Dembélé and Graziano Pellè) struggled and couldn't find the net, reason enough for the travelling Ajax support to chant the names of the two strikers AZ let go this summer, Danny Koevermans and Shota Arveladze.

43 minutes and two-nil Ajax, but the first half wasn't over yet. Thomas Vermaelen appeared to have twisted his ankle after the aerial duel that led to Ajax's second goal, and had to be replaced with young Gregory van der Wiel. Even more improvisation in defense... Perhaps it was one of the reasons why AZ managed to pull a goal back just before half-time. Urby Emanuelson demonstrated that he is not a defender when Kemy Agustien stormed forward. The latter's beautiful little backheel in the goalmouth allowed Demy de Zeeuw to rocket home from close range and bring Louis van Gaal's team back into the game: 1-2 (45+1').

Ajax now had reasons to worry: no Stam, no Vermaelen and no Colin on the bench. The Amsterdammers' duo in central defense consisted of a midfielder (Heitinga) and a teenager (Van der Wiel). To make matters worse, Louis van Gaal brought on Julian Jenner, a real right winger, and real right wingers always make painfully clear that Urby Emanuelson is not a real left fullback. So, Emanuelson and Vertonghen swapped positions. The Ajax defense: Ogararu, one teenager and two midfielders. Oh dear.

A long, long second half seemed ahead for Ajax, especially when Jenner came face-to-face with Maarten Stekelenburg almost straight from kick-off (great save again) and, in the 54th minute, referee Pieter Vink awarded AZ a penalty after some freestyle wrestling of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Kew Jaliens. Huntelaar pulled the AZ man's shirt when a corner kick landed in the goalmouth, which was a bit daft as the ball was already safely in Stekelenburg's hands.

The AZ spotkick would turn out to be a turning point in the game. Heaven knows what would have happened if Mounir El Hamdaoui had converted it, but he failed to: for the second time in nine days Maarten Stekelenburg's spectacular reflex on the goal-line saved Ajax.

Ajax's 1-2 lead was still intact and, moreover, AZ's second half offensive almost immediately died down. Ajax controlled the game in this phase, a third goal was in the air and it fell down from the air when Maarten Stekelenburg's perfect long kick split AZ's defense wide open and Luis Suárez showed up like a bat out of hell, to nicely lift the ball over Waterman's hands and into the deserted goal: 1-3 (65') - and game over. Two on-form strikers and a fantastic goalkeeper had made the difference at DSB Stadium. Ajax could not have been more effective.

AZ did everything they could in the latter 25 minutes of the encounter, but Dembélé and Pellè simply didn't have their day, as Ajax dug in and reverted to the 'chaos catenaccio' they invented in Zagreb. The best chance in regulation was for substitute Albert Luque (free passage from the left; shot in side-netting); Dembélé's goal in stoppage time (rebound, after Stekelenburg had failed to hold on to Medunjanin's free-kick) came far too late. The ball was never on Ajax's half of the pitch in the remaining seconds.

Did Ajax deserve their victory? Let it be clear: yes, they did. AZ had the better chances, but just like Ajax didn't deserve a win against Slavia Prague, AZ didn't deserve it against Ajax. The Amsterdammers were more determined in duels, seemed mentally stronger on the day and, more than anything else, were as effective as an Italian top side. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (quite probably Ajax's best outfield player) and Luis Suárez are, for now, best couple of strikers in the Eredivisie. On the list of top goalscorers, Huntelaar is currently #1 (7 goals) and Suárez #2 (6 goals).

As for AZ: they are currently 9th on the table and are having a disappointing start of the season. They will surely grow and return to the top five soon enough, but at their own DSB Stadium they seemed a bit more static, a bit slower and slightly more predictable than last season's AZ team. The Alkmaar side couldn't crack it against an Ajax team searching for form. An Ajax team that, at the moment, doesn't have the power to impose their will on an opponent with offensive and entertaining one-touch football, but (for the second time in four days) absolutely refused to lose.

There is enough for Ajax to worry about. Jaap Stam might be out for a week or two, whereas Vermaelen's injury seems serious. Things still don't go easy for Ajax and Dinamo Zagreb (due in Amsterdam on 04 October) are definitely not beaten yet. On the other hand: the upcoming weeks don't seem to be the hardest of the season, domestically. After Wednesday's KNVB Cup game at amateurs Kozakken Boys, Ajax face VVV-Venlo (home), Sparta Rotterdam (away) and NEC (home).

Finally, what was the result of the other top fixture on 'Super Sunday'? Well, champions PSV put Feyenoord's feet back on the ground in Eindhoven (4-0) and Kenneth Perez scored two abolute stunners. Painful for Ajax fans? Well, okay, a little bit, but Ajax's forwards are not doing that terrible, either. The good thing about the result at Philips Stadium was that Ajax leapfrogged Feyenoord while just staying ahead of PSV (same number of points, same goal-differential, but a higher number of goals scored than the Eindhoven side).

For what it's worth: it's 23 September and Ajax are the new league leaders in the Eredivisie. (Menno Pot)

GOALS

33' 0-1 Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
43' 0-2 Luis Suárez
45+1' 1-2 Demy de Zeeuw
65' 1-3 Luis Suárez
90+2' 2-3 Moussa Dembélé

Referee: Vink
Yellow cards: Martens, El Hamdaoui (AZ), Vermaelen, Maduro, Emanuelson, Huntelaar, Gabri (Ajax)
Attendance: 16,556
Miscellaneous: Stekelenburg saves El Hamdaouir penalty (54')

Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg; Ogararu, Heitinga, Vermaelen (45. Van der Wiel), Emanuelson; Gabri, Maduro, Vertonghen; Rommedahl, Huntelaar (90+1. Donald), Suárez (82. Luque).

AZ line-up: Waterman; Steinsson, Jaliens, Donk (46. Jenner), Opdam; Agustien (80. Pocognoli), De Zeeuw, El Hamdaoui (62. Medunjanin), Martens; Dembélé, Pellè.

Related links

Ajax.nl: match report in Dutch and English (+ match photos)
AZ.nl (English version): match report, Louis van Gaal comments and photo report
Ajax Foto Side: photo report

K.

[Kowalczyk]

FWIW I thought Heitinga and Gabri both played very well yesterday.

Yeah, my personal top five of 'Ajacieden of the Match' was:

1. Stekelenburg
2. Huntelaar
3. Gabri
4. Heitinga
5. Suárez

Vertonghen: good game, in midfield, but especially as a left back against Jenner. Very well done.
Maduro: poor first half, very good second.
Ogararu: not in great form; alright, but nothing special.
Emanuelson: pretty shit.
Rommedahl: useless.

K.

[peter]

Don't forget to mention vdWiel. Solid as a rock.

[Kowalczyk]

Yeah, the subs...

Van der Wiel: flawless, another great performance.
Luque: eight minutes of crap.
Donald: excellent time-wasting when he was brought on and some four seconds of pure brilliance without touching the ball.

K.