Crisis looms at ArenA after home stumble against Heerenveen

It's only October, but if Ajax don't return to winning ways right now the 2004-2005 season may well turn into a disaster overnight. A crisis is looming at the Amsterdam ArenA, where Heerenveen were responsible for Ajax's first defeat of the season and the first home stumble in the Eredivisie since 15 December 2002. The result (1-3 to the Frisian visitors) wasn't even the most worrying thing. That was, once again, Ajax's utter tactical amorphism and flabbergasting lack of direction, determination and ideas. 

Ajax vs Heerenveen was supposed to mark Ajax's resurrection after a few rough weeks. Galásek, Van der Vaart and Rosales were unavailable due to (reportedly minor) injuries, but the other signs were good: Ajax's Oranje internationals played well for Holland on Wednesday (a 3-1 win over Finland), coach Ronald Koeman had a positive and clarifying talk with his struggling striker (Wesley Sonck) and - last but not least - prodigal sons Hatem Trabelsi and John O'Brien returned to the Ajax-1 squad. Both players had their last Ajax-1 appearance in February and were sidelined ever since due to, respectively, a dragging contract crisis and a frustrating string of injuries.

Hatem Trabelsi returned to Ajax 1 and was voted Man of the Match. [Photo: Ajax.nl]

Another interesting footnote: thanks to the KNVB's exchange project with the Belgian football association, Ajax vs Heerenveen was the first ever Ajax game in the Dutch league that had a non-Dutch referee. Mr Verbist from Belgium was slightly erratic to say the least, but could in no way be blamed for the dramatic result.

Ajax (with Trabelsi and Julien Escudé in the starting line-up, Maxwell in midfield, Johnny Heitinga as the team captain and - finally! - Daniël de Ridder on the right flank) were absolutely dreadful for 90 minutes and had their by far weakest performance in many, many months. The only exception was Hatem Trabelsi, who was booed at by some, but applauded by at least as many others. The Tunisian played like he's never been away and was eventually voted 'Man of the Match'.

The announcement of the 'MotM', however, elicited castigating whistling from the supporters, who felt that there should be no such thing as a 'Best Ajacied' in such a stultifying, pathetic parody of a football game, in which Heerenveen did not even have to play well to book their first ever win in Amsterdam. It was inevitable. All they had to do was play a tiny little tad better than Ajax. It was almost impossible not to.

The first half was one of the weakest in recent Ajax history. A tragicomic non-performance in which neither Ajax nor Heerenveen were able to string more than two proper passes together. There was no structure, no formation, no direction. The only noteworthy moment in the first half hour was (perhaps) a Wesley Sneijder shot that went just wide. And then, much to the surprise of almost everyone, Ajax scored. Sneijder's corner was flicked on with the head by Nigel de Jong and adequately pushed against the netting first-time by Yannis Anastasiou, the scorer of Ajax's only two goals in the last four games. A goal out of nowhere, that wasn't the result of any idea, attack or development whatsoever.

The visitors were - believe it or not - even more clueless than Ajax in the first half, but this changed in the second. After less than two minutes the Frisians issued their first warning (Bogdan Lobont tipped Klaas-Jan Hunterlaar's header over the cross-bar). Five minutes later they took finally advantage of Ajax's hapless defending: Ugur Yildirim, one of the Eredivisie's revelations of the season, cut to the middle from the right flank and nicely curled the ball into the far corner with his left: 1-1 (52').

Shortly thereafter one of the weakest Ajacieden on the pitch (Maxwell) had an enormous chance to put his team in the lead again, as he came face-to-face with goalkeeper Vandenbussche. He wildly fired wide with his 'bad' right foot. However, Ajax's painful and highly embarrassing collapse had already begun. The atmosphere was bleak and ultra-negative by the time Finnish midfielder Mika Väyrynen ripped the Ajax defense to shreds single-handedly - and fired past Lobont: 1-2 (61').

It was a safe bet that Heerenveen's second goal was the death-blow for Ajax. Ajax's only physically strong striker (Anastasiou) was replaced at half-time due to a minor injury and his replacement (Wesley Sonck) was unable to change the tide, as usual. Understandably, the same went for Young Ajax midfielder Stanley Aborah, who made his official Ajax-1 début as a striker. He could impossibly be expected to get the drifting ship that was Ajax under control. It seemed like Ajax's third substitute to be brought on was going to be John O'Brien. The American was warming up throughout the second half, but the unfolding disaster on the pitch made Ronald Koeman change his plan: he brought Anthony Obodai instead.

Daniel de Ridder made a rare start for Ajax 1. [Photo: Ajax.nl]

In spite of their total lack of ideas and chances Ajax could have equalized in the 79th minute, as Daniël de Ridder (who otherwise failed to convince Ronald Koeman of his qualities) released a pristine volley from outside of the penalty box. It slammed against the inside of the far post. It was the only moment of beauty Ajax had to offer all night. It would have been another goal 'out of nowhere' and one that Ajax would not have deserved. The team's final 'offensive' (?) was so clueless and uninspired that Heerenveen had all the space in the world to make it 1-3 in the dying minutes: Johnny Heitinga did not bother to mark Stefan Selakovic, who deftly nodded home from an 89th minute corner kick. Tens of thousands of Ajax supporters immediately stood up from their seats, not interested in the final two or three minutes and sick of this appalling spectacle, this flabbergasting display of Ajax impotence.

On 16 October 2004 the frustration and the public anger of the dramatic 1999-2000 season returned to the Amsterdam ArenA for the first time during Ronald Koeman's appointment as Ajax's head-coach. "There hasn't been a moment like this in the three years I'm working here," Koeman said after the game. "But we have to stay calm now. There is no point in reacting to this in any other way, with Tuesday's game coming up. Who knows it will all work out then."

The pressure is increasing. The upcoming week will be a 'Week of the Truth' for Ajax and Ronald Koeman. Tuesday's Champions League home fixture against Maccabi Tel-Aviv must be won if Ajax want to keep their (tiny) chances of advancing in the Champions League intact. In fact: a defeat against the Isreali champions will even bring the third slot in group C (good for a UEFA Cup slot after the winter break) in serious peril. After that, on Sunday, Ajax are due in Eindhoven for the first confrontation with PSV, another game that must be won in order to even stay close to the top of the league table. The current difference is seven points, a defeat would make it an unlikely ten. 

At the start of the 'Week of the Truth' Koeman replied to a journalist's question about his position that he "would never throw in the towel right now". The Ajax board, in its turn, doesn't even want to talk about a Koeman dismissal. However, if the two upcoming games do not bring the desired results, the race for silverware will be effectively over for Ajax and the crisis at the ArenA will no longer be looming, but violently raging on the surface - just like in the dark centennial season of 1999-2000. Who could have predicted that two months ago...? (MP)

GOALS

• 33'  1-0  Yannis Anastasiou
• 53'  1-1  Ugur Yildirim
• 61'  1-2  Mika Väyrynen
• 89'  1-3  Stefan Selakovic

Referee: Verbist (Belgium)
Yellow cards: Boukhari (Ajax), Huntelaar (SC Heerenveen)
Attendance: 48,549

Ajax line-up: Lobont; Trabelsi (77. Obodai), Heitinga, Escudé (64. Aborah), De Jong; Pienaar, Sneijder, Maxwell; De Ridder, Anastasiou (46. Sonck), Boukhari.

SC Heerenveen line-up: Vandenbussche; Haarala, Hansson, Seip, Rzasa; Radomski, Bruggink, Väyrynen (74. Breuer); Yildirim (66.Selakovic), Huntelaar, Sikora (46. Hersi).

Related Links:

• Discussion: Eredivisie Games
• Ajax.nl: Match report in Dutch and English