Ajax allow Twente to make season opener exciting: 2-3
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- 3 (2)
Holland Casino Eredivisie
Arke Stadium, Enschede
Sunday, 15 August,
2004
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"I can't believe how Twente could ever get back into this
game," said coach Ronald Koeman after Ajax's first Eredivisie
game of the new season, at Enschede's Arke Stadium.
His comment summed it all up: Ajax played well in the
first half and were 0-3 ahead after 46 minutes of
football. FC Twente seemed in for a good spanking,
but fought back with a little help from some
sleepwalking Ajax defenders. In the end, however, the fixture
got the winner it deserved: 2-3.
FC Twente vs Ajax was, as they say, 'a game with two faces'.
Moreover, thanks to Ajax's defensive 'black out' in the second
half, it was a game as exciting and enjoyable as a
football game can be. The very first major chance was
for FC Twente as early as in the second minute: Blaise
N'Kufo pulled the ball back to his friend Afonso (another
African with a Swiss passport, landed by Twente after
N'Kufo's recommendations), who tapped it inches wide at the
near post. In the 45 minutes thereafter, however, the far
superior side was Ajax, playing with Anthony
Obodai instead of a slightly injured Tomás
Galásek and with Nigel de Jong at right fullback,
creating a spot for Julien Escudé in the heart of
defense. Zlatan Ibrahimovic had two enormous chances,
but wasted them. The first one (15') was set up by Van der
Vaart, who evaded two tackles as he rushed across field
and passed superbly, but the Swede attempted to finish
with a frivolous little chip - so that
Sander Boschker could save. Minutes later Ibrahimovic
created a second chance himself. This time his fierce shot was
more like it, but Boschker pushed it wide with his
fingertips.
Ajax showed some pristine 'one touch football' in
the first 45 minutes, knocking the ball around confidently,
effectively playing the 'Reds' from Enschede off the park
during long stretches of the first half. The biggest (and most
pleasant) surprises were the outstanding
performances of both Ajax wingers: 18
year-old Tom De Mul on the right (it was his first Ajax-1
appearance as a starter) and - even more unlikely - Nourdin
Boukhari. The latter was told to look for a new club
this summer and was added to the first squad
only days ago, due to the injury of Nicolae Mitea and
the suspension of Tom Soetaers. De Mul and Boukhari
were 'temporary solutions', but - ironically - it's been a
long time since Ajax had such outstanding, 'classic' Ajax
wingers. Both were dominant and dangerous throughout the
game, constantly (and often successfully) taking on their
opponents and delivering one deft cross after the
other.
Nourdin Boukhari made his return
to Ajax 1
after his
one-year loan to NAC Breda.
[Photo: Ajax.nl]
The reward for De Mul came on the half hour mark,
as he cut to the center with the ball at his foot and released
a fine shot with his left, from just outside the penalty
box. Sander Boschker (the former Ajax reserve goalie was
respectfully applauded by the travelling Ajax fans before and
after the fixture) had no chance as the ball sailed
into the upper ninety: 0-1 (30'). "I practiced that this
week!" said a jubilant De Mul after the game.
Another Ajacied who deserves a mention was Rafaël
van der Vaart. The Ajax captain had a poor 2003-2004
season, followed by a highly frustrating Euro 2004.
He was criticized in the press by Holland boss Dick
Advocaat for being overweight. But Van der
Vaart dropped a few pounds in pre-season. In
Enschede he distributed fine passes and worked hard,
like a team captain should. The artistic tour de
force with which Van der Vaart doubled the
score subtly reminded everyone of the fact that is
actually an outstanding player. Tom De Mul's attempt was
deflected and hit the cross-bar, after which Van der
Vaart gracefully chipped the rebouncing ball up in the air,
only to diagonally volley it home as it came down:
0-2. Another goal of great beauty.
Tom de Mul celebrates with
Boukhari and Rafael van der Vaart
after opening the scoring for Ajax. [Photo:
Ajax.nl]
The game seemed out of reach for FC Twente and their last
hopes seemed to go up in smoke as Zlatan
Ibrahimovic netted clinically with his left on a
superb Boukhari thru-pass, only seconds into the
second half. Three-nil... Even with the spectacular
collapse in last week's Johan Cruyff Shield game in
mind, one would have thought that the points
were now safely in the pocket for Ajax.
For that reason it must have been flabbergasting for coach
Ronald Koeman to see how his team conceded a brace
of goals in an extremely clumsy way. The first one
went in immediately after Ibrahimovic's goal and was the
result of, quite simply, not paying attention. An Afonso free
kick was completely missed by the entire Ajax defense
and tapped home by Karim Touzani at the far post:
1-2. Twente straightened up collectively, while Ajax
seemed completely and utterly disorganized for ten to fifteen
minutes. This was best illustrated by Nigel de
Jong, who 'smashed' a high free kick out of the
goalmouth with his hand. Everyone at Arke Stadium saw
it (behind goal you could even hear the
sound of De Jong's hand palm smacking against the
ball) but referee Ruud Bossen did not. "I did not see
who it was, but I did see it was one of our
players. To be honest, I could see it from a 60
yard distance," admitted Ronald Koeman.
The 1-3 tally would remain on the score-board for 13
more minutes. Twente battled and pressed, but failed to
create real danger. The Ajax defenders, however, were kind
enough to create a fatally dangerous
moment themselves. Maarten Stekelenburg wanted to
pick up a seemingly harmless ball, but did not communicate
with Julien Escudé, who came flying in in an attempt to
clear. However, the Frenchman half-missed and
only pushed the ball past Stekelenburg with the tip
of his toes. Blaise N'Kufo gratefully took advantage of
the slapstick act in front of the Ajax goal: 2-3 - and
Ajax were in major trouble.
Another collapse coming up, just like last week against
Utrecht? It seemed possible, but Ronald Koeman
decided to intervene radically,
making three substitutions at once (72'), thereby
replacing more than 25% of his team. The 'time-out' had
the desired effect: it broke Twente's rhythm
and gave Ajax a fresh and 'cool' new
backbone. Even though the three players to get replaced
included two of Ajax's best (Obodai and Van der Vaart), the
arrival of Galásek, Sneijder and Sonck made Ajax come to
its senses. Just in time.
And suddenly... it all seemed to return: the
confidence, the fast crisp combinations, the cutting-edge
passes. Just when 'red alert' had been declared, Ajax took
over the reins from the hosts, who never came close to
equalizing in the latter twenty minutes. Ajax
nipped their big, final offensive in the bud. In
fact, Wesley Sonck should have scored at least twice
on well executed Ajax counter-attacks, but
the striker (once again) failed to show why
he's Belgium's most notorious goalgetter in
recent football history. His miss on Boukhari's perfect
assist was particularly frustrating: all he had to do was push
the ball into an empty net from less than ten yards, as
Sander Boschker was played completely out of position by
Boukhari. Sonck only grazed the ball and stamped his
feet in rage as it trickled wide.
The viewers of Dutch pay-TV network Canal+, meanwhile,
voted Nourdin Boukhari as their 'Man Of The Match'. His
story is a remarkable one. The former Sparta man started the
season training with Young Ajax. Only a few days ago he was
about to be loaned out again to the club that had him on
loan last season: NAC Breda. But things can change fast in
football. Boukhari will almost certainly play
against NAC next weekend, wearing the red and white of
Ajax. Ronald Koeman: "He's still an Ajax player and he did very
well. He worked hard. It's never too late. There is always a
way back." (MP)
GOALS
- 30' 0-1 Tom De Mul
- 40' 0-2 Rafaël van der Vaart
- 46' 0-3 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
- 48' 1-3 Karim Touzani
- 67' 2-3 Blaise N'Kufo
Referee: Bossen
Cards: Ibrahimovic, Van der Vaart
(Ajax)
Attendance: 13,250
Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg; De Jong,
Heitinga, Escudé, Maxwell; Pienaar, Obodai (72. Obodai),
Van der Vaart (72. Sneijder); De Mul, Ibrahimovic (72. Sonck),
Boukhari.
FC Twente line-up: Boschker;
Schuurman, Touzani, Zomer, Farfiani; Sibum (46.
Wellenberg), Ouedraogo (84. Bruns), Cziommer; Afonso (61. El
Ahmadi), N'Kufo, Culina.
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