Yannis does the business against Thun: 2-0

2 (1) - 0 (0)
UEFA Champions League
Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam
Tuesday, 18 October, 2005

The last time Yannis Anastasiou - Ajax's veteran striker, referred to as papa ('daddy') by some of the youngest players in the squad - was in the Ajax starting line-up was on 03 December 2004. In the ten months that followed he had only eight appearances as a substitute. This season he was not even in the squad of 18 for most games. For the 'must-win' Champions League home game against FC Thun, however, coach Danny Blind gave the Greek the nod, due to the absence of Angelos Charisteas (concussion) and the form-crisis of Markus Rosenberg.

And Yannis did the business, scoring the typical 'striker goals' that Ajax needed so badly. 2-0. The Amsterdammers are suddenly second in group B... Which, in all honesty, shows that Ajax's group is not exactly the best of this year's competition.

FC Thun, the tiny provincial club from Switzerland's Berner Oberland, remains a mystery. They finished second in Switzerland last season, eliminated Dinamo Kiev and Malmö FF (4-0 on aggregate!) in their Champions League qualifiers, almost surprised Arsenal at Highbury (the Gunners required a last minute winner) and beat Sparta Prague. At the Amsterdam ArenA, however, they were downright weak. Possibly the weakest side that ever visited Amsterdam for a Champions League match.

Man of the Match: Yannis Anastasiou. [Photo: Ajax.nl]

As for Ajax: this 2-0 win is no reason for euphoria. Ajax were stronger than Thun, but never impressive. Given the poor quality of the opposition Ajax actually allowed them way too many chances. This win does not guarantee anything. Even in the two most recent (and universally dreadful) Champions League campaigns the home matches against the respective opponents from 'pot 4' (Club Brugge and Maccabi Tel Aviv) were won. Both times that win was followed by an unexpected, deeply embarrassing and eventually fatal stumble in the return leg. A home win over Thun was no more than a precondition for success; the essential difference with previous campaigns will have to be made in Switzerland on 02 November.

Ajax started in a slightly different formation than expected. Olaf Lindenbergh and Ryan Babel were on the bench, while Steven Pienaar returned to the position of right winger and Mauro Rosales started on the left. Once again Ajax started with two wingers played out of position and so you could tell: the home side was energetic in the opening phase, but also undecided and restless in attack. Yannis Anastasiou received little or no service from the flanks. Ajax's first major chance came out of nowhere, but should most definitely have been converted: Hatem Trabelsi's perfect cross from the right was nodded wide of the far post by Anastasiou. Headers are supposed to be his specialty, but after having missed an almost identical chance against Heracles on Saturday, he failed once again.

In spite of the fact that Ajax were hardly convincing, the Amsterdammers were far superior to the visitors and almost constantly in possession. Nigel de Jong, one of Ajax's best on the night, came in shooting position a couple of times and, just like Anastasiou, headed wide of Jakupovic's goal on a Trabelsi cross.

Just when the Ajax crowd started to worry that Ajax were once again refusing to score, Yannis Anastasiou stepped forward to give his team the lead on a smart pass by Steven Pienaar. The Greek came in front of his defender with a smart sliding and tapped home at the near post: 1-0 (37'). A few minutes earlier, Lustrinelli had missed the visitors' first (but big) chance on counter-attack. A few minutes after Anastasiou's goal Lustrinelli had another one: Maarten Stekelenburg turned his well-aimed attempt around the post.

Tomás Galásek duels with Swiss opponents. [Photo: Ajax.nl]

Thun's third (and last) moment of danger (once again for Lustrinelli) followed in the 49th minute. By that time Ajax should already have scored their second goal. Steven Pienaar suddenly had a massive chance from close range, right in front of goal. Jakupovic was already beaten, but the South-African wildly drilled the ball over the cross-bar.

Danny Blind shifted his team around for the second half, so that Ajax came out of the dressing room in a formation that made much more sense than in the first half: Steven Pienaar and Mauro Rosales moved to their natural positions ('number 10' and right winger, respectively), while Wesley Sneijder moved to the left flank as a sort of left winger. Pienaar and Rosales improved tremendously because of these tactical changes, which led to Thun's inevitable knock-out in the 55th minute. They only had themselves to blame. Wesley Sneijder received the ball and wanted to cut away from defender Orman, who intercepted but rather clumsily tapped the ball into the goalmouth, where Anastasiou showed up to push it into the net: 2-0 (55'). Goalkeeper Jakupovic did not look great, to put it diplomatically. Ajax's second goal was a gift from Thun, but how sweet it was to finally have a striker that resolutely unwrapped it...

Ajax sometimes looked good in the remaining 35 minutes. There were dangerous moments (shots by Rosales and subsitutes Boukhari and Babel) and one absolute sitter in the 80th minute: Yannis Anastasiou lifted Mauro Rosales' perfect cross over the bar, almost standing on the goal-line at the far post. Good old Yannis... he had four chances and, ironically, missed the two easiest ones. Yet, he fully deserved his 82nd minute ovation and the 'Man of the Match' title. Of course he did. If the Ajax fans learned one thing in recent weeks, it was that scoring goals is not as easy as it seems. Yannis did the business today. Simple as that.

Danny Blind, after the game: "Let me make one thing clear: Yannis is a very good footballer. We did not just renew his deal because he has a good influence in the dressing room, as a person. We asked him to stay because of what he's capable of on the pitch. (...) This win was very important for us, not only for our position in the group, but also because of the state of the team in recent weeks."

Crucial weeks lie ahead for Ajax. On Sunday the Amsterdammers require a win in Eindhoven's Philips Stadium in order to keep the top of the Eredivisie table in sight. On 02 November, in Berne's Stade de Suisse, the team will get the chance to finally book their first European road win since 30 October 2002. Danny Blind: "Thun can be considerably better than they were today. We've seen that ourselves in some of the games we analyzed. It will be an open game, in which we will definitely get our chances." (MP)

GOALS

37' 1-0 Yannis Anastasiou
55' 2-0 Yannis Anastasiou

Referee: Rosetti (Italy)
Cards: none
Attendance: 44,772

Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg; Trabelsi, Maduro, Grygera, Emanuelson; De Jong, Galásek, Sneijder; Pienaar (84. Boukhari), Anastasiou (82. Babel), Rosales (90. Heitinga).

FC Thun line-up: Jakupovic; Orman, Milicevic, Deumi, Goncalves; Ferreira, Aegerter, Gelson (85. Omar), Adriano (74. Sen), Leandro; Lustrinelli (85. Duruz).