Ibrahimovic unstoppable in goal-fest against NAC

Ajax vs NAC Breda was, without a doubt, the match of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Ajax's fickle Swedish superstar caused an 'affair' earlier this week with some moments of violent behaviour during the international friendly between Holland and Sweden. In particular, his aggression towards his Ajax team-mates Rafaël van der Vaart (who had to be replaced after seven minutes and was sidelined against NAC due to an ankle injury) and John Heitinga (whom Zlatan kicked in the back) raised eyebrows in Amsterdam. But all's well that ends well, as they say: Van der Vaart and Ibrahimovic talked the matter out - and the Swede was unstoppable in Ajax's goal-fest against NAC Breda: 6-2.

The absence of Rafaël van der Vaart allowed coach Ronald Koeman to finally start Wesley Sneijder, who feels he should be a starter, but wasn't so far, very much to his own frustration. The season has only just started, but Koeman has already had to hush up two little arguments in his squad: the "f#ck you incident" between Sneijder and himself, and the quarrel between Van der Vaart and Zlatan. The Ajax boss lectured his squad on Friday, underscoring that he wants to go for the trophies this season and that he refuses to go from one incident to the next. He repeated rule #1 from his (and Ajax's) code of conduct: no-one is bigger than the team or the club. "I think they understood the message," Koeman said in newspaper de Volkskrant this week.

A starting slot for a determined Wesley Sneijder. [Photo: Gerard van Hees/Ajax.nl]

It did not look like they had in the opening phase of the match. Ajax did not start well and was a goal down before they'd found their rhythm: Anouar Diba slipped past Maxwell and his cross was resolutely pushed against the netting by Yuri Cornelisse for the 7th goal Ajax conceded in just over 190 minutes of official action. That's way too much. It has been too easy at times for the forwards of Utrecht, Twente and NAC to walk straight through Ajax's troubled defense.

On a positive note: Ajax themselves seem to have less trouble scoring than last season. Ajax required only a minute and a half to level the score: on a Wesley Sneijder corner kick, Julien Escudé almost squeezed the ball past goalkeeper Schollen, after which Ibrahimovic finished the job: 1-1. Not a very beautiful goal but more than enough compensation for that was ahead.

Ajax certainly did not play well all the time, but - and this is a key difference with last season's relatively gray football - the number of real 'Ajax moments' is most definitely on the increase. Moments of 24-carat creativity, moments of sassiness and swagger, moments of outstanding individual skill. They were provided by Steven Pienaar, who's slowly returning to form, and by the two players who unexpectedly solved the 'winger problem', at least for the time being: Tom De Mul on the right and Nourdin Boukhari on the left. They once again played very well indeed.

Ajax could have taken the lead on a thundering Ibrahimovic free-kick (save by Collen, 17'), a Galásek shot that went inches wide (21') or a Johnny Heitinga header that was cleared off the goal-line (35'). Instead, they had to wait until the 41st minute, when defender Mike Zonneveld unluckily tapped a razorsharp Tom De Mul cross past his own goalkeeper.The stadium announcer thought the decisive touch came from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who came flying in on De Mul's cross, but the footage proved otherwise.

It appeared to be the knock-out blow for the visitors, who booked a few fine results at the ArenA in recent seasons but could not possibly keep up with Ajax after their shock opening. Only six minutes had been played in the second half as Johnny Heitinga built up throught the middle, received the ball back and nicely finished it off himself: 3-1 (51').

After that it was all about scoring some extra goals in the remaining 39 minutes or so. Holland's traditional 'Big Three' seem to be on-form and remarkably productive in their first couple of games: Feyenoord netted four goals at Willem II (after six in their opening game), while PSV struck five times against both RBC and AZ. It is Ajax's moral obligation to keep up with their rivals. And they did: Wesley Sneijder beautifully fired a free kick past Schollen, but the very best was yet to come. Zlatan Ibrahimovic's second and Ajax's fifth was a goal of tingling, outstanding beauty and possibly a legendary Ajax goal.

In the words of Volkskrant reporter Willem Vissers: "A goal like a symphony, composed by a beanpole who sometimes plays blatantly out of tune, but is also able to produce the most delicate sounds (...) dribbling, turning, squeezing past everything yellow and black, while the buzz inside the stadium builds up. What's happening here? He slips past Mendes da Silva, then beats Koning twice, then Stam, then Mendes who's giving it another try. He drives the ball forward with the outside of his foot, then the inside, he drags it along with the sole of his boot. The street artist from Malmö is in total control here, the tall footballer with unique skills. After one last touch with his right he pushes the ball under goalkeeper Schollen, lightning-quick: right-left, tschak-tschak. The crowd at the ArenA, that sometimes takes in a game of football so passively, springs to its feet after the outstanding goal, clapping, cheering. People fall into each other's arms and slam each other on the shoulders. This is Ajax. This is the football they want to see."

That was 5-1.

Not only the crowd was hypnotized by Zlatan's magic. So was the Ajax defense. Quite typically they allowed Arne Slot to nod home, free as a bird, only minutes later: 5-2. However, this was one of those games in which Ajax always has the last word. In this case the scorer was Maxwell: 6-2. Quite a goal-fest.

Maxwell scored the last of Ajax's six goals. [Photo: Gerard van Hees/Ajax.nl]

Of course there were reasons not to get carried away. NAC lost several key players and does not seem to be the team it used to be. The Breda side performed unusually poorly at the ArenA, especially in defense. Moreover, as coach Ton Lokhoff pointed out, some of their defenders were missing. Added Ronald Koeman: "We conceded four goals in two league games. That's too much. On a higher level those goals will be fatal. We had plenty of chances to score today, but that won't be the case on that level." 

Like anyone else, however, the Ajax boss was amazed by Zlatan's moment of brilliance. "Beforehand I was kind of worried about Zlatan. He's always very determined, but he's been heavily criticized during the week and he's a special chap. You never know how he will react to such a thing. After his first goal there was a sense of liberation - and from that moment he was simply fantastic."

The man himself? He shrugged shoulders and replied 'Zlatan-style': "Oh well, I made more goals like that in Sweden. But okay, I guess this one is in my personal top five." (MP)

Sources: Ajax.nl, de Volkskrant

GOALS

• 11'  0-1  Yuri Cornelisse
• 13'  1-1  Zlatan Ibrahimovic
• 41'  2-1  Mike Zonneveld (own goal)
• 51'  3-1  John Heitinga
• 70'  4-1  Wesley Sneijder
• 76'  5-1  Zlatan Ibrahimovic
• 82'  5-2  Arne Slot
• 86'  6-2  Maxwell

Referee: Wegereef
Yellow card: Zonneveld (NAC Breda) 
Attendance: 46,124

Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg; De Jong (72. Obodai), Heitinga, Escudé, Maxwell; Galásek, Pienaar, Sneijder; De Mul (70. De Ridder), Ibrahimovic, Boukhari.

NAC Breda line-up: Schollen; Collen, Schenning (46. Slot), Mendes da Silva, Gudelj; Stam, Koning, Zonneveld; Diba, Boussaboun, Cornelisse.

Related Links:

• Discussion: Eredivisie games 2004-2005
• Ajax.nl: Match report in  Dutch and English