Not good enough: Ajax knocked out in Brugge (2-1)
2 (1) - 1
(1)
Champions League, Group Stage
Jan Breydel Stadium, Brugge, Belgium
Tuesday, 09 December, 2003
There were reasons for Ajax to enter Brugge's atmospheric
Jan Breydel Stadium with optimism and self-confidence: the
Amsterdammers were the #2 in Group H after five matches and had
their fate entirely in their own hands. A win over Club Brugge
-- reigning Belgian champions, but currently 5th in the
First Class and sixteen points behind rivals Anderlecht --
would see Ajax through. However, the Ajax 'Class of
2003-2004' failed miserably for its final and ultimate
test: 2-1. Meanwhile, as expected, group winners AC Milan
allowed Celta de Vigo to notch the full three points from San
Siro, so that the great loser of Matchday 6 was Ajax. Not
only a Champions League slot went up in smoke, even
an admission ticket to the UEFA Cup slipped
through the Amsterdammers' fingers.
Maxwell knows it's over. [Photo:
Louis van de Vuurst/Ajax.nl]
There were a few excuses. At a very unfortunate moment, just
before the apotheosis of the Champions League group stage,
Ajax had to do without Hatem Trabelsi and Steven
Pienaar and with a battered Zlatan Ibrahimovic on painkillers.
The night before the decisive game Tomás Galásek
had to be added to the injury list, so that Ronald Koeman ended
up fielding the youngest ever line-up to play a Champions
League fixture: Ajax was 21 years and 350 days old on
average.
The team had an extremely nervous and disorganized start and
the fact that Ajax had to defend on the frozen,
slippery half of the pitch in the first half did not
make things better. Ajax could have conceded an early goal
on several occasions in the first fifteen, especially as
unmarked Norwegian striker Rune Lange had an open header
opportunity. Bogdan Lobont was nailed to the icy soil as Lange
nodded to the ground and saw the ball bounce inches wide.
Ajax was, quite simply, outplayed in the first half. It was
no surprise (and nothing to be ashamed about) that the tall,
physically stronger Belgians won almost every physical duel on
the ground and in the air, but that wasn't the
only reason why Ajax was outplayed. Brugge also played better
football than Ajax: they were more dynamic, tactically smarter,
their position play was better executed, their combination play
more accurate. Ajax was supposed to be the more skillful side,
but totally failed to show it. In the first half the
team was unable to keep the ball low and pass it
around. All Ajax could do was rocket it forward, where Wesley
Sonck was the only Ajax striker who played a fairly good game,
in spite of the castigating whistling and booing by the Brugge
crowd.
Rafael van der Vaart battles with
Sandy Martens of Club Brugge. [Photo: ANP]
Ajax's only major scoring chance in the first half (for
Nicolae Mitea, who saw his attempt trickle inches wide) came
out of nowhere. A Brugge goal seemed a matter of
time. It was scored after a major error by the weakest
Ajacied on the night: Bogdan Lobont. The Romanian
has become a reliable goalkeeper in the past year,
but heaven knows why he walked out from his
goal as De Cock sent a long pass toward Rune Lange, who
noticed that Lobont had left the goal-line and knew
that a simple nod was sufficient: 1-0 (27').
For a while Ajax was about to collapse completely, but the
Amsterdammers eventually entered the half-time break with a
satisfying score, after defender Van der Heyden totally
unnecessarily intercepted a Mitea cross with his hand,
allowing Wesley Sonck to calmly convert from the penalty spot:
1-1 (42'). At almost exactly the same moment Celta de Vigo also
made it 1-1 in Milan. A good score. Ajax seemed on its way to
the second round of the Champions League at half-time. Club
Brugge was going to have to attack in the second half, leaving
Ajax more space to create danger. Also, it seemed inevitable
that the hosts' defenders would also have a few 'Holiday
On Ice' moments on the frozen half of the pitch.
The situation seemed hopeful, but Ajax's shockingly weak
play hardly improved in the second half. As expected
the Amsterdammers did get more space to attack, but the balance
of power on the pitch did not essentially change: Club Brugge
had the initiative, Ajax counter-attacked, totally and utterly
unable to dominate the game, take place in the drivers'
seat and impose its will on Belgium's current number
five.
With a little luck, however, Ajax could have
stolen an undeserved win: Rafaël van der Vaart was
one step off-side when he pushed a Sneijder chip past 40
year-old Brugge goalkeeper Dany Verlinden, after which
Ajax's best moment came in the 69th minute. The otherwise
disappointing Zlatan Ibrahimovic controlled a Sneijder pass
inside the box, turned away from Rozehnal and suddenly found
himself alone in front of Verlinden. A low shot would
have beaten the ageing, slow goalkeeper, but the Swede
aimed high and volleyed inches over the cross-bar. He was
replaced a few minutes later, making way for Jari Litmanen who
-- once again -- could not make a difference. It's sad but
true, but there is no reason in the world for Ajax to extend
the contract of the once-great Ajax hero.
The tragedy that the night was to become, started
with the news that Celta had taken the lead in Milan. In order
to advance in the Champions League Ajax now needed another
goal. The knock-out punch came in the 84th minute, as a
Litmanen shooting attempt got blocked and ushered in
the fatal Club Brugge counter-attack. Smolders attempted
to reach Martens with a thru-pass, but saw the ball
trickle to Norwegian substitute Bengt Saeternes off
the leg of an Ajax defender. Saeternes turned away from
Grygera and pushed home between the feet of Bogdan Lobont
who, once again, did not look convincing: 2-1 (84').
After a few more minutes of desperate, but harmless
attacking, it was time for the painful conclusions: Ajax had
a fine start in Group H, with a promising but
ineffective performance in Milan, followed by two home
wins without conceding a goal. Halfway the group stage Ajax was
tops in the group, with six points. The three return matches,
however, were all lost. Each time by a single goal difference,
but on each occasion Ajax would not have deserved a better
fate.
The ironic facts are that Ajax beats both Celta and Club
Brugge on head-to-head result, but finishes bottom because
those sides won in San Siro. How cynical: Ajax felt pretty good
about itself after its 1-0 defeat in the stadium of the
reigning European champions, but ended up as the only Group H
team not to win in Milan... Another cynical fact: last
season Ajax was in almost exactly the same situation. The
decisive game was lost by the score of 2-1, but suddenly
there was help from the Norwegians of Rosenborg BK. This time
the other game was not helpful as two Norwegians (Lange
and Saeternes) knocked Ajax out.
A team that wins two home games, but loses four times, and
performs so miserably in the decisive
all-or-nothing match, does not belong in the second round
of the Champions League and -- for that matter -- not with the
last sixteen in the UEFA Cup either. The hard reality is that
it's over. Ajax's European campaign of 2003-2004 has been
brutally brought to an end well before Christmas.
Ronald Koeman: "This was the toughest night I've had as an
Ajax coach. This is an enormous disappointment. There is only
one remedy: winning the championship." The quest for the shield
continues on Sunday, in the Amsterdam ArenA, against FC
Utrecht. (MP)
GOALS
- 27' 1-0 Rune Lange
- 42' 1-1 Wesley Sonck (penalty)
- 84' 2-1 Bengt Saeternes
Referee: Messina (Italy)
Yellow cards: Verheyen (Club Brugge),
Heitinga, De Jong (Ajax)
Attendance: 28,041
Ajax line-up: Lobont; Grygera (85. Van
Damme), Heitinga, Escudé, Maxwell; De Jong, Sneijder,
Van der Vaart; Sonck, Ibrahimovic (72. Litmanen), Mitea (79.
Soetaers).
Club Brugge line-up: Verlinden; De Cock, Simons,
Rozehnal (80. Smolders), Van der Heyden; Clement, Verheyen,
Englebert, Ceh; Martens (89. Cornelis), Lange (66.
Saeternes).
Other Group H result:
AC Milan - Celta de Vigo 1-2 (UEFA.com:
match report)
Group H Final Standings
1. AC Milan: 6-10 (4-3)
2. Celta de Vigo: 6-9 (7-6)
3. Club Brugge: 6-8 (5-6)
4. Ajax: 6-6 (6-7)
Ajax eliminated for all European
competitions
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