Ajax Amsterdam (tag) has confirmed a place in the playoff for the second Dutch slot for next season’s Champions’ League. In last league game against RKC Waalwijk Ajax won 4 to 2, hence guaranteeing fourth place.
I’m still unclear whether Ajax will face Feyenoord or AZ but either way, Ajax will be facing a rival. Yes. You heard that right. For ages, there were the Big Three – Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV. With AZ, it’s becoming a Big Four instead and AZ has a real grudge against Ajax. Well, just it’s Chairman Dirk Schering. But he does really hates Ajax. And that rivalry has gone off the pitch.
Ajax’s Technical Director Martin van Geel has been handed a 5-year stadium ban. That means van Geel can’t be at AZ’s homeground. It’s ridiculous – even the Dutch soccer association, the KNVB commented on it:
KNVB director Henk Kesler has made crystal clear how he feels about the incident in today’s issue of De Telegraaf: “I was in my car when I heard about the stadium ban for Van Geel and I laughed so loud I almost crashed into a lamppost. For a second I thought it was an April Fool’s Day joke, but it’s a bit late for that. It is pretty absurd for a football club to hand a stadium ban to the technical director of another club. Was Martin van Geel involved in criminal activities for which a ban would normally be appropriate? This makes no sense whatsoever and Mr Scheringa is making a complete fool out of himself. Perhaps we should hand him a stadium ban for the remaining 37 stadiums in Dutch professional football.”
Regardless, it shows that this little rivalry is brewing up.
For the record, van Geel was AZ’s TD before he joins Ajax. To spice it up further, AZ’s current coach, Louis van Gaal was Ajax’s former TD. Sweet, eh?
Whatever it is, I feel it’s better for Ajax to kick Feyenoord’s ass instead. I don’t hate AZ as much as I hate Feyenoord or PSV, yet. Hence, the sweetness of kicking Feyenoord’s ass is greater than the sweetness of kicking AZ’s.
