Yeehaa!
According to a source close to the Dutch team, van Basten is likely to rest up to five of the starting line-up which beat 2006 World Cup finalists France 4-1 on Friday.
Ajax striker Klas-Jan Huntelaar is set to replace Ruud van Nistelrooy up front. [No easy ride for Romania, insists van Basten. AFP. June 16 2008]
I watched the Eredivisie play-off match for the second spot in the UEFA Champions League over the internet just now and it ended terribly for Ajax. Behind 1-2 on aggregate, Ajax just needed a goal to win on away goal rule but Boskher was impregnable. It ended scoreless and as a result, Ajax will play in the UEFA Cup competition instead next season.
Twente must be a curse for Ajax. Ajax, we, did not get the points we needed to win the Eredivisie because of a loss to Twente in the league. And now, Ajax did not get the win that we needed to enter the Champions League because of Twente.
Being an Ajax fan is a painful experience for several years now. The last time Ajax won the Eredivisie was in 2004 while the performance of Ajax in the European arena so far has been embarrassing for the longest time. I always feel like crying each time Ajax play outside of the Dutch setup. Sometimes, I have the urge to take up a knife and stick it to my heart.
Many a time, playing inside the setup is heart-breaking too and today is one of those moments. On the live stream right now, I can see Ajax fans crying while Twente fans are celebrating their victory. A father, possibly, is consoling his son whom is wearing Ajax colors with Huntelaar’s name on the back. I totally feel for the kid.
Amid the crowd, a banner, Heitinga de dankt — thanks Heitinga — is visible. The match with Twente is his last and he will be moving to Spain to play with Atletico Madrid next season. He presence at the back will be missed as much as Chivu’s so long ago. I wish him the best of luck in Spain. What a great send off it would have been if Ajax had won.
The departure of Sneijder earlier was bad enough. I think he belongs to an era of Rafael van der Vaart, Andy van de Meyde, Johnny Heitinga, Christian Chivu, Nigel De Jong, Ronald Koeman as the manager, et al — the great team that almost made it. With him and Heitinga gone, a chapter of Ajax has come to a close.
Edgar Davids is out again, possibly heading to Newcastle. Farewell to him too.
The good news is that Huntelaar has been stellar. Again, he is the top scorer for the whole league. Thank the heaven above that he will stay for the next season. And Suarez whom joined earlier this season is probably one of the best purchases Ajax have recently done. If I may say so, he may turn out as good as Ibrahimovic. On top of that, Perez returning to Ajax is a welcoming news. Perez is just one of those loyal players. He is just part of the family.
One player to watch out next season is DarÃo Cvitanich. He has just joined Ajax from Banfield of Argentina and scouts’ reports have been glittering.
A video on Cvitanich, spotted at Ajacied in America.
And like all Ajax players, he is young and Ajax has the gut to invest in young players, unlike some big clubs out there.
Macro van Basten will take over the helm next season and I hope, he will turn the fortune of the club around. Being second best and playing in the UEFA Cup instead of the Champions League is just not good enough. Nevertheless, Adrie Koster the temporary manager has done a good job, honestly. He did a much better job than what Heck ten Cate had managed. With Koster at the helm and a little bit of luck, this season has been close; only three points separate the two teams and Ajax has better goal difference margin than PSV.
Close but not good enough.
Heh, now I know why whenever I play Ajax over the Championship Manager, my relationships with the Board and the fans are always strained. The game is simulating impossible individuals like me. Like what System Of A Down wrote, “…always want to play, but you never want to lose.”
Oh, did I hear you guy asking where is Feyenoord? I do not know. Probably down there somewhere. Yes, Feyenoord has it worse than Ajax. Much worse. But they get to play the UEFA Cup anyway. Barely.
The Eredivisie is not over yet. As Twente forced a draw upon PSV, Ajax continue to make up what it has lost along the way. Ajax scored a victory against Groningen.
AMSTERDAM, April 16 (Reuters) – PSV Eindhoven were kept waiting for the Dutch league title after second-placed Ajax Amsterdam won 2-1 at Groningen on Wednesday.
PSV are top with 69 points and visit Vitesse Arnhem in the final game of the season on Sunday. Ajax, who are three points adrift, host Heracles Almelo on the last day. [PSV made to wait after Ajax claim victory. ESPNsoccernet. April 16 2008]
While this is good news, admittedly, the crown of the league is PSV to lose and I do not believe PSV would lose on that day, unless a miraculous disaster hit PSV. With only a game left and 3 points separating the two teams, the only way Ajax could win the Eredivisie is for PSV to lose to Vitesse Arnhem and Ajax to win against Heracles. That would cause both to have 69 points but due to superior goal difference, Ajax would come up on top.
Ajax on top… Now, that would be a real wet dream.
Hup Ajax Hup!
And finally, unfortunately, my favorite Ajax fan page, AjaxUSA has called it a quit.
We almost can’t believe we’re announcing this, but we are.
We’re calling it quits. Ajax USA is saying farewel. [Obituary for a fansite: AJAX USA (1995-2008). Accessed April 17 2008]
I would like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the updates. Updates from AjaxUSA was one of those little things that helped me wade dthrough many of those lonely nights in Ann Arbor. It made my life a little bit easier to swallow. Life would have been different without Menno.
Because of that, AjaxUSA, you have my deepest gratitude.
And yes, always Ajax.
Ajax has probably handed PSV the crown for the Eredivisie.
I had written earlier that I was a bit worried about the Twente match. My fear is now proven true.
Final result: Twente 2 – 1 Ajax.
p/s — at least we have a good news: Feyenoord lost to Sparta. If it sucked to be Ajax, it is far suckier to be Feyenoord, that is for sure.
Presented with an opportunity, Ajax squandered it.
This is very disappointing since Ajax had built a strong momentum for the first spot in the recent week but all that accumulated to a dismal draw.
AMSTERDAM, March 19 (Reuters) – PSV Eindhoven maintained their four-point lead at the top of the Dutch league after drawing 0-0 at home to second-placed Ajax Amsterdam on Wednesday.
With five matches remaining PSV have 61 points. Ajax follow on 57 with Cup finalists Feyenoord third with 54. [Eredivisie: PSV close in on the title again. Reuters via Soccernet. March 19 2008]
There are 5 more Eredivisie matches though. Even there is even to be any hope for Ajax to win the Eredivisie after a very long time, Ajax at most must win all of its remaining matches and PSV much draw at least twice.
How possible is that?
I do not know. I am bit worried about Twente and Groningen but the rest of Ajax’s opponents should be a walk in the park. PSV will have a more packed schedule compared to Ajax since it is still playing in the UEFA Cup. I hope PSV do well in the UEFA Cup because that might distract its attention away from the Eredivisie and Ajax sorely need PSV to drop at least two points in the league.