Pre-season concluded with pale win over FC Haarlem
2 (1) - 1 (0)
Pre-Season Friendly
Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam
Wednesday, 06 August, 2003
Ajax concluded its pre-season campaign in tropically hot
Amsterdam ArenA today, with a weary 2-1 win over First Division
side FC Haarlem. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, back from a
groin injury, and Wamberto were the goalscorers for Ajax. In
between those strikes Paul Mulders equalized for the 'moral
winners' from Haarlem.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic weaved his way through the
Haarlem defense to score. [Photo: Ajax.nl/Gerard van Hees]
Most Ajax fans could not really be bothered about the
fixture, which kicked off at four o'clock in the afternoon. The
match was presented by the Official Ajax Fanclub and part of
Ajax's Open Day on the ArenA premises. Admission was free. The
Open Day attracted some 47,000 Ajax fans (of whom an estimated
25,000 attended the Haarlem game), but is traditionally deemed
uninteresting and too commercial by most season-ticket holders
and fanatical Ajax supporters - and therefore ignored by most
of them. For them the climax of pre-season was last weekend's
Amsterdam Tournament victory over Internazionale.
Ajax coach Ronald Koeman took no risks either, resting
Rafaël van der Vaart and slightly injured Wesley Sonck
with the Champions League qualifiers against Grazer AK in
sight. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, on the other hand, returned from the
groin injury that kept him sidelined during both of the U.K.
friendlies as well as the Amsterdam Tournament.
The tall Swede stole the show with his opening goal for
Ajax. He superbly 'dragged' the ball under his foot like only
he can do it, slipped past no less than four Haarlem defenders
and hammered the ball into the 'roof' of goal from an
'impossible' angle: 1-0.
It soon became clear that the game had a lot in common with
last year's game between in Haarlem Stadium. Then, too,
Ibrahimovic opened the scoring fairly early in a game that then
developed into a dull affair, in which the First Division
small-timers slowly became the moral winners. The first warning
shot came from Niels Kokmeijer. Zdenek Grygera cleared his
attempt off the line.
Most of the entertainment came from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who
should have doubled the score for Ajax on several occasions. He
failed to, but there was more worrying news in the first half:
Hatem Trabelsi had to leave the pitch injured. Was it his last
action for Ajax? According to persistent rumors his agent has
already reached an agreement with Manchester United...
Large crowds for Open Day 2003. [Photo: ANP]
The team was almost entirely replaced for the second half,
in which Wamberto - in default of both Litmanen and Van der
Vaart - played as Ajax's captain for the first time. He'd worn
the band with the three crosses of the Amsterdam crest for only
four minutes when Paul Mulders calmly levelled the score for
the guests, leaving Maarten Stekelenburg no chance.
Luckily for Wampy he graced his first game as
Ajax's captain with a fine goal, concluding a long run with a
clinical finish. Other than that the second half hardly had no
other highlights than the returns to Ajax-1 action of Victor
Sikora and Johnny Heitinga, who have been out for a while.
The game was attended by delegations from Ajax Orlando as
well as a 'spy' of Grazer AK, Ajax's opponent in the third
preliminary round of the Champions League. After having watched
the game against Inter, Grazer AK coach Hans Schachner stated
that he had "not seen any weaknesses" in this Ajax team. Today,
against Haarlem, he must have discovered a few.
This game had no particular function and may be forgotten as
soon as possible. Time for the real job. (MP)
GOALS
- 13' 1-0 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
- 49' 1-1 Paul Mulders
- 57' 2-1 Wamberto
Referee: Van Dongen
Cards: Mulders, Willems, Baas (FC Haarlem),
Escudé, Yakubu (Ajax)
Attendance: 25,000 (estimated, due to free
admission)
Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg, Trabelsi (24.
Heitinga), Grygera, Escudé (46. Pasanen), Maxwell (46.
Van Damme); Galásek (46. Yakubu), Litmanen (46. Obodai),
Sneijder (46. Wamberto); Pienaar (46. Sikora), Ibrahimovic (46.
Van der Gun), Boukhari.
FC Haarlem line-up: Heijblok;
Witteman, Hooijboer, Willems (61. Baas), Katipana; Van Metelen
(83. De Lang), Mulders (67. Gootjes) Ten Heuvel (88.
Kenselaar); Ketting (76. Mihci), Van Toor (90. Vermolen),
Kokmeijer.
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