Ajax shows promise, but Arsenal claims the cup
0 (0) - 1
(0)
Amsterdam Tournament
Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam
Sunday, 05 August, 2007
Pre-season friendlies, whether they're wrapped up in a
glossy tournament package or not, are a bit like 'kissing your
sister': these games are mostly for internal adjustments and
testing rather than because the result is important. That is,
unless you happen to be Johnny Heitinga, but more on that
later.
Ajax were missing three important players (Stam,
Davids, Gabri) for their second and decisive match of this
year's Amsterdam Tournament, against tournament regulars
Arsenal. Given that fact, and also that they were playing a
full strength side of Arsenal, who must one of the
favorites to win the Champions League, the result of 0-1 didn't
seem that terrible - and definitely not too important.
What would Ajax learn about their players' ability to handle a
team of this stature and how are the new players settling in?
That, more than anything else, must be considered the
point of the exercise.
For the first 20 minutes, the Arsenal steam-roller forced
Ajax back in the final third of the pitch. Ajax couldn't
get over the halfway line and Arsenal's domination was
complete as they besieged the Ajax penalty area. But it must be
said that the visitors couldn't carve a way in to create a
chance.
Emanuelson and Van Persie battled all game. [Photo:
Ajax.nl]
The Londoners finally got a shot on goal through a Van
Persie free kick that was headed hard by Touré, but
Stekelenburg made an impressive reaction save. This proved
to be the first of a series of such saves he would perform
throughout the game.
Henk ten Carte had seen enough at the 20 minute mark and
substituted defender Gregory van der Wiel with the more
offensive Dennis Rommedahl. This change subdued the
Arsenal domination and created a more balanced game. Ajax
enjoyed more possession, but weren't really able to break down
the defense, resorting to long distance toe pokes, while
Arsenal played a fast counter-attacking game, again testing
Stekelenburg with chances from Van Persie and Eduardo.
Van Persie was constantly at the center of things, both in
the good and the bad sense, for Arsenal: the club
are evidently pinning much hope on him as the successor to
Thierry Henry. The former Feyenoord player had an ongoing
dispute with Thomas Vermaelen, which at one point required an
intervention by the referee, and another point resulted in an
accidental kick to the Belgian defender's head. The
referee, meanwhile, must have gotten a new whistle over the
summer because he couldn't stop himself from using it whenever
a player fell over, thereby destroying the limited rythm that
the game had.
It looked as if Ajax would hold on until the end, with a 0-0
result being enough to win the tournament for the hosts. But
then Van Persie nipped in during the last three minutes to
score at the end of a flowing Arsenal move, much to the
annoyance of the Ajax supporters after all his histrionics
earlier in the game.
Rommedahl as a substitute brought the Ajax attack to life.
[Photo: Ajax.nl]
In a moment of sublime irony as the game drew to a close,
the announcer informed the crowd that Johnny Heitinga had been
declared the 'Player of the Tournament'. Before the mild
applause had completely died down, Heitinga made a challenge on
Van Persie that was so belligerent it would have made Atilla
the Hun blush. It should logically have led to a red card, as
seasons and even careers have been ended by such tackles,
but the 'Man of the Tourney' stayed on the
pitch.
Afterwards he talked about trying hard to win every game,
friendly or otherwise, but one suspects he was just showing Van
Persie who was 'lord of the manor' (to use a London term). The
ex-Feyenoorder was fine after having been stretchered off (the
third Arsenal player to go through this routine, although they
were all fine at the end). In the metro back into town the
Arsenal fans were singing "There's only one Arsène
Wenger", to which one Dutch wit sang back
"There's only one Thierry Henry". If Van Persie
is to replace him he will have stop getting into pointless
dramas like this.
Heitinga, player of the
tournament. But should he have been sent off? [Photo:
Ajax.nl]
But what of Ajax' new players? First, let's look at
Jurgen Colin, a player who raised many eyebrows when arrived
from bench warming duties at Norwich City in the second tier of
English football. Against the caliber of players he was facing
on the day it must be said that he performed very
solidly. He was competent, efficient and calm, and seemed
very capable as a stand-in if necessary during the long hard
season.
Kennedy saw a fair bit of the ball on the right side, but it
didn't lead to chances. It's important to remember that
this is a very solid defense he was trying to break down and
it's only one match, but it must be said that Kennedy displayed
lots of tricks but few treats: touches, feints, and jinks
aplenty, but no end-product.
Rommedahl did very well when he came on. The
Dane showed pace and directness, and brought incision
to the left flank (not his most natural position). Any real
danger Ajax created came from his side of the pitch. Frankly,
if Ajax don't sign a true left winger before the end of the
transfer window, the Dane may become a credible option based on
this performance.
And the rest? The rest of the players continue pretty much
where they left off last season. Stekelenburg again showed
great reaction saves, but one's heart often misses a beat when
there's a cross. Vermaelen continues to improve and played well
given he was marking Van Persie. Ogararu and Maduro were as
solid as they were basic. Emanuelson had his moments,
but hasn't yet built an understanding with Rommeldahl, which
limited effective interactions between them. Sneijder
looks hungry and motivated: it's 'show time' if he wants a big
club to come in for him next summer. Huntelaar looked
somewhat lost and isolated up front. Ajax need to fix
their wingers problem this season - and time is running out...
(Rudy Hulsman)
GOALS
Referee: Blom
Yellow cards: Colin, Vermaelen (Ajax),
Gallas, Van Persie (Arsenal FC)
Attendance: unknown
Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg; Ogararu,
Van der Wiel (23. Rommedahl), Vermaelen, Colin; Maduro (75.
Donald), Heitinga, Sneijder, Emanuelson; Kennedy,
Huntelaar.
Arsenal line-up: Lehmann; Clichy,
Eboué, Sagna (85. Hoyte), Touré; Denilson,
Gallas, Hleb; Rosicky (61. Eduardo), Flamini, Van Persie (90.
Traore).
Other result on Day 2: SS Lazio Roma -
Atlético Madrid 1-3
Final table
(teams get one point for a draw, three for a win
and one extra point for each goal scored)
- Arsenal FC: 9 points
- Atlético Madrid: 6 points
- Ajax: 5 points
- SS Lazio Roma: 2 points
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