Ajax clinch championship with confident 2-0 win
2 (2) - 0
(0)
Holland Casino Eredivisie
Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam
Sunday, 09 May, 2004
It wasn't the best performance of the season, and it didn't
need to be. Ajax did just enough to notch a comfortable 2-0
victory, thereby capturing the 29th Dutch championship in
club history. Two first half goals, from Wesley Sneijder and
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, were more than enough to knock an
uninspired NAC Breda team out early.
The game began in a party atmosphere, with tons of red and
white streamers cascading from the upper ring of the sold-out
ArenA. Quite obviously, nobody expected any difficulty in
securing the necessary point. And indeed, today's opponent
hardly resembled the NAC side that had already beaten Ajax
twice this season. Bogdan Lobont had nothing to do for the
first twenty minutes. Meanwhile, Ajax began brightly enough,
with several early scoring opportunities for Zlatan
Ibrahimovic, who can hardly be blamed for not opening the
scoring. His early well-placed shot required a magnificent save
from NAC's Hungarian goalkeeper, Gabór Babos (who will
move to Feyenoord next season).
Wesley Sneijder celebrates with
Nigel de Jong and Tom Soetaers
after scoring the opening goal. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
The first goal came soon enough. In the 10th
minute, Anthony Obodai sent what could either have been a
hard pass or a soft shot into the penalty area. Ibrahimovic
touched the ball over to Wesley Sneijder, who then clinically
curled a shot past Babos into the corner of the goal. It was a
fine moment for Sneijder, who otherwise had an unremarkable
game.
After the goal, both teams settled into some mediocre play.
Ajax' two itinerant wingers, Steven Pienaar on the right and
Tom Soetaers on the left, were especially poor. All of the
Amsterdammers best attacks came straight up the middle, through
some inventiveness by Ibrahimovic or Rafael van der Vaart. The
guests, meanwhile, could only muster a single credible attack
in the first half hour. A lapse in the Ajax defense allowed
ex-Ajacied Stefano Seedorf a free shot on goal from 18 yards.
He hit it hard but right at Lobont, who was able to parry the
ball over his goal without much trouble. Another Ajax loanee,
Nourdin Boukhari, was jeered by the ArenA crowd each time he
touched the ball, and it seemed to bother him, as he committed
a series of blunders.
Meanwhile, Ajax were occasionally able to press the attack.
Van der Vaart forced another excellent save from Babos in the
26th minute with a hard shot from 15 yards. Toward the end of
the first half, both teams seemed to raise their game. NAC
enjoyed their best scoring chance of the match in the 42nd
minute, but the final touch in the Ajax penalty area was cut
off by Johnny Heitinga just when it seemed that Pieter
Collen's cross was going to be pushed into the
goal.
Moments later Ajax scored its second. A seemingly
harmless cross from Soetaers slid on the ground past two NAC
defenders all the way to the far edge of the six-yard box,
where a completely unmarked Ibrahimovic could tap home from
close range. At that moment, any apprehension of a struggle for
the necessary point evaporated. Maybe it was that peace of mind
that allowed the Ajax defense to watch as NAC's Boussaboun
carried the ball into the host's penalty area and unleashed a
dangerous-looking shot which, to everyone's relief, went a yard
wide.
The second half began with a high energy level,
and both teams enjoyed decent scoring chances in the first
five minutes. Soetaers was substituted for Daniël de
Ridder. The latter finally provided some effective play from
the right wing, creating several half-chances for Ajax in his
first few minutes in the game.
In the 54th minute, a perfectly flighted Sneijder free-kick
found Heitinga, whose header got past Babos but not the
cross-bar. The rebound was nearly put home by none other than
Boukhari, whose inept clearance attempt also hit the woodwork
before going out for a corner kick. A few minutes later,
another good flurry by Ajax led to yet another fine save by
Babos. The NAC keeper kept the scoreline respectable, but the
game was not really very close. Ajax seemed to have things well
in hand and were doing just enough to ensure a comfortable
victory.
A party atmosphere was slowly creeping into the game. In the
73rd minute, Maxwell delighted the home crowd with a
full-volley shot from a long cross, à la Marco van
Basten, from the edge of the penalty area. The screaming,
curling shot was not very close, but close enough to please an
ArenA crowd already beginning to celebrate. A moment later,
another fine move by De Ridder led to a howler of a miss by Van
der Vaart, who merely needed to tap the ball into an empty goal
from 10 yards. Afterwards, the young captain gestured
emphatically at the pitch as if to suggest that the ball took a
bad bounce. But replays suggested otherwise. No matter. Another
goal would have only been window dressing at this point.
Ajax players and club officials
celebrate with the
championship shield after the game. [Photo:
Ajax.nl]
As the game wound toward its conclusion, the reporters began
to gather around the Ajax coaches, and TV cameras began showing
the faces of Ajax dignitaries on hand for the impending
celebration. Rinus Michels was seated just a few feet away from
Ronald Koeman, and Ajax chairman John Jaakke could be seen
smiling and wearing a bright red Ajax scarf over his club
suit.
Even referee Roelof Luinge seemed to be in on the
celebration plans. In the 82nd minute, he could
have broken the mood by calling a penalty when Johnny
Heitinga seemed to foul Ali Boussaboun. But the latter's
protests were unheeded, and the party continued unabated. After
that moment of mild drama, both teams seemed content to play
out the final moments.
Luinge only made the assembled crowd wait for one minute of
added time before blowing his whistle to begin the
party. (JM)
Johnny Heitinga raises the trophy
for the crowd in Leidseplein. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
GOALS
- 10' 1-0 Wesley Sneijder
- 43' 2-0 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Referee: Luinge
Yellow cards: Boukhari (NAC Breda)
Attendance: 49,717
Ajax line-up: Lobont; Grygera (58.
Yakubu), De Jong, Heitinga, Maxwell; Obodai, Van der Vaart,
Sneijder; Pienaar, Ibrahimovic (71. Sonck), Soetaers (55.
De Ridder).
NAC Breda line-up: Babos; Stam, Penders (64.
Kerstens), Engelaar, Collen; Féher, Slot, Seedorf (46.
Barakat); Diba, Boussaboun, Boukhari (68. Elmander).
Related Links:
