Tag: soccer

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Sports

[2885] It has been awhile Ajax, it’s been awhile

I first began supporting Ajax in the late 1990s after watching Edwin van der Sar playing for the team. I do not remember when exactly, but possibly after finding out Ajax won the 1995 European Cup.

That team was a magical one. Marc Overmars. The de Boer brothers. Nwankwo Kanu. Jari Litmanen. Clarence Seedorf. Danny Blind.

As a teenager, I kept drawing Ajax’s Dutchman logo on my belongings. Pencil case, exercise books, tabletop. I remembered every line that needed to be drawn. And when I played Championship Manager, I only played Ajax and nothing else.

It has been ups and downs with Ajax. But since the late 1990s in general, until Frank de Boer arrived to manage the team, it is not an exaggeration to say it had been a downhill journey. I have stayed true to the team for all those years, but being dismissed as a has-been second-rated team was an insult I am sure many Ajax fans had to endure.

That is not to say there were no great players during the interim. Rafael van der Vaart. Wesley Sneijder. Luis Suarez. Christian Chivu. John Heitinga. Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The names go on and go. Yet, they could not quite make it super big at Ajax, and Ajax could not hold on to them. There was not enough money to go around. So they went away, doing great things at bigger clubs outside, getting paid multiple times more than what they got in Amsterdam.

But this current team, well…

I watched some ESPN clips commenting about the Ajax-Juventus fixture. All of them were dismissing Ajax with a halfhearted hand wave. “Ajax is good,” they said. “But they lack the experience,” they claimed.

And there was Cristiano Ronaldo.

This team that forced Bayern Munich to work for their one point and embarrassed Real Madrid in Santiago Bernabeu so badly, could not beat Juventus so supreme in the Serie A and so certain to win the Italian League, they believed.

And Ajax, oh well, Ajax is only at the top of the second-rated division, ahead of PSV Eindhoven by only goal difference.

Who is Ajax?

But Ajax has been in a serious rebuilding mode since the early 2010s when several of the 1990s veterans joined the management. There were infighting, but Frank de Boer rebuilt the team. He left in 2016 but he left a great foundation for Ajax to run on that they reached the final of the 2017 Europa Cup, losing to Manchester United after a great run. But well, that is second-rated competition. Who cares?

And now, in 2019 Ajax is in the semifinal after beating Juventus. Do not let anybody say it was luck. It was actually Ajax working brilliantly with confidence and experience.

And those ESPN commentators?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP8yzG5bIEU

Eating Ronaldo’s smelly socks, no doubt.

Categories
Sports

[2618] Ajax went above expectation

Frankly, when I found out that Ajax would be grouped with Real Madrid (again!), Manchester City and Borrusia Dortmund in the group stage of the Champions Leauge, my heart sank. Does Ajax have any chance against these giants? Borrusia Dortmund maybe but Real and City?

The first two results were grim. In the first match, Ajax was unlucky to lose to Dortmund 0-1. Given the tough matches ahead, this was a must win and Ajax wasted it. It appeared, Ajax might even miss the Europa Cup. In the next match,  Real pummeled Ajax 4 to 1. In the third match, which was held earlier today, I had expected City to roll over Ajax.

And no, instead, Ajax streamrolled over City.

I woke up for sleep for a moment after going to bed early. Weary eyes, I picked up my phone and checked the score: Nasri made it one up for City. I went back to bed, expected the worst.

At dawn, weary eyes still, forced to get up by the noisy alarm, I picked the phone again and what I read delighted me.

Not a bad way to start the day.

The unfortunate thing is that things are getting tight because Dortmund beat Real unexpectedly. While that means the qualification spots are wide open, I prefer if Real had won. While that would probably realistic sealed the first spot for Real, leaving only the second spot open, it would be easier to have the second spot wide opened than all spots opened. Reason is simple: the points difference between the second and the third ranked teams in Group D would be smaller in the only-second-spot-is-opened scenario than the scenario of all-spots-are-opened.

Right now, there is a 3-point difference between second-placed Real and third-place Ajax. If Real had won, there would have been only a 1-point difference between Dortmund and Ajax.

Anyway, while I do want to see Ajax qualify into the next round of the Champions League (it has been too long), I think the realistic expectation is to go through the Europa Cup. To do this, Ajax will have to beat City (the next match will be in Manchester, which will be tough. Fighting away from home is also tough; I probably do not mind a draw) and beat Dortmund. Do all that to maintain the third spot.

I am convinced that Ajax can beat Dortmund in Amsterdam later in November.

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Sports

[2540] Here is to the 31st Eredivisie title

This season has been an amazing one for Ajax. Ajax had to fight really hard to get where it is right now and that is number one.

Too many times, the prospect of a spot in the highly lucrative Champions League that is important to the financial health of the team was increasingly distant. AZ Alkmaar, FC Twente and PSV Eindhoven dominated the top spots while Ajax lingered below. It was frustrating.

The sign showed that the Dutch Eredivisie was no longer a division dominated by the Big Three: Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV. It has been so far several years now but this season has been the most competitive as far as I remember. AZ and Twente had sealed their reputation. Their previous years performance was not just a temporary luck. It was a permanent boost that made the two deserving of respect.

By mid-season, Ajax was fourth in the Eredivisie, 5 points behind leader AZ Alkmaar and just 2 points above Feyenoord. By the end of February, Ajax was fifth with even Heerenveen was placed above Ajax. The only saving grace was that Feyenoord squatted the sixth rung. Yet, Feyenoord beat Ajax 4-2 in January. The more painful defeat was back in November when FC Utrecht beat Ajax 6 to 4.

Things only started to turn around late in the season as the latter stages of the Champions League and the Europa Cup were underway. Ajax performance in the Champions League and later in the Europa Cup was disappointing. I personally thought Frank de Boer, despite being an Ajax legend and despite his stewardship that brought the title back to Amsterdam in the last season.

But the exit had a silver lining. It allowed the team to focus on the domestic league while others were still busy with European competitions.

It was during this time that PSV did terribly and suddenly found themselves quickly discounted from winning the crown. Ajax meanwhile scored 12 straight wins since February. That included 2 wins against PSV and Twente.

And yesterday, Ajax effectively won the Eredivisie from the 31st time. It is still not official because with two games remaining, only 6 points separate Ajax from Feyenoord. But with over 53 goals difference and Feyenoord having only 29, Ajax definitely can lose the final two games and still win the Eredivisie.

I think the biggest surprise is Feyenoord. The Rotterdammers did very poorly in the last few seasons that it was impossible to hate them. In the last season, Feyenoord finished 10th. This season they may finish second. At worst, sixth. Judging by their fixture, first against Heracles and later Heerenveen, they are unlikely to lose their grip on the second place.

Whatever happening to the Rotterdammers, I am happy. This is the first time in a very long time Ajax won the title in two consecutive years. The last time that happened was in, well, 1995. How appropriate!

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Poetry Sports

[2535] Well done Everton!

While we turn,
for Everton,
we drink tea,
for City!

Categories
Sports

[2404] So far, shitty offense, shitty defense but great goalkeeping

Any Malaysian who identifies with Malaysia will be watching the Malaysia-Singapore soccer match right now. It is not really about Malaysia trying to qualify for the next round of the 2014 World Cup. It is just Singapore.

The first leg was electric although the Malaysia defense was disappointing. The second leg so far is just disappointing, with the exception of the spectacular Khairul Fahmi Che Mat. I am at a loss at why he was not fielded down for the first leg.

The first half of the ongoing game can be summed up in 6 words: shitty offense, shitty defense but great goalkeeping. Like I said, Khairul Fahmi Che Mat is spectacularly marvelous. If this were Championship Manager, he could get a rating of 8 out of 10, with others between 4, 5 and 6.

I hope the second half is different. Malaysia needs at least 2 goals, given in the first leg, Singapore won 5-3. The only good news are that Malaysia has 45 more minutes, obviously, and is enjoying away-goal advantage. The team better make good use of that.