Davids, Leonardo return in interesting Inter friendly
| 2 (1) |
2 (1) |
| Penalties: 3-2 |
Friendly
Al Wasl Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Saturday, 05 Jan 2008
|
A trip to the luxury of sunny Dubai as a 'reward' for a string of dramatically poor results in the last weeks of 2007... After Ajax's much discussed 2-2 draw at VVV-Venlo the independent AFCA Supportersclub found it a bit inappropriate: "They should be sent to Siberia instead!" Alas: the plane tickets were already booked. Ajax are in Dubai for two friendly games in the lucrative Mohammed bin Rashid International Football Competition, or simply the Dubai Cup. The first one, against reigning Italian champions Internazionale, underscored Ajax's most important weakness (the defense), but also made clear that there is reason to hope for better times. Ajax lost the penalty shoot-out (3-2), but the score that was on the boards after 90 minutes (2-2) was one Ajax could live with.
Admittedly, Inter rested some of their biggest names (Ibrahimovic, Materazzi, Crespo), but a weak Inter team...? No way! A team with players such as Burdisso, Cambiasso, Julio Cruz and of course former Ajax stars Chivu and Maxwell, is a more than serious sparring partner for Ajax. And it must be said: the Amsterdammers looked quite good against them. Ajax had 70% possession in the first half, and 59% in the second. They created chances. Throughout the match, they knocked the ball around more convincingly fashion than they ever did against Excelsior or VVV-Venlo. Offensively, Ajax looked a quality side and the football was much better than in recent weeks.
Leonardo. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
Ajax's problem, though (sorry, we're starting to repeat ourselves), is the defense, as Inter made clear once again. The final score of 2-2 sums up the first half of the season. No less than five out of Ajax's first seventeen league matches had the same final score. The story of the first season half is that two goals are, in too many cases, not enough for a win. Luckily, technical director Martin van Geel stated this week that improving the defense will be Ajax's top priority until the transfer windows closes on January 31.
At least one quality defender. That's what Ajax require, more than anything else. The forward line normally does the business, and with the return of Kenneth Perez it should be possible to field a proper midfield as well. In Dubai, Adrie Koster wanted to start with Gabri, Perez and... Edgar Davids, who made the trip to the United Arab Emirates for his first minutes of football since he broke his shinbone against Go Ahead Eagles, in pre-season.
Gabri, Perez, Davids... That's not a bad midfield, but Ajax were unaware of one little thing: Gabri was sent off during the Amsterdam Tournament in August, and was suspended for three friendly matches. The Spaniard is not eligible in Dubai, so that Koster had to give the nod to young Mitchell Donald instead.
Ajax were the better team in the first half, nonetheless, but they went a goal down in typical fashion: no Ajax defender reacted adequately when former Feyenoord man Julio Ricardo Cruz chested down a Suazo cross in the 17th minute and fired home. Ajax struck back almost directly from kick-off. A long ball forward was picked up by 'prodigal son' Kenneth Perez, who shrugged off a defender and superbly rocketed the ball into the far top corner. A true stunner: 1-1 (18'). The best chance in the remainder of the first half was wasted by Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. Edgar Davids was taken off after a half hour, as planned. "It went well," the midfielder said. "My leg didn't hurt at all. We had agreed before the game that I would play for 30 minutes. I've been sidelined for a pretty long time, but on Monday I will play again."
Chivu and Perez. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
Adrie Koster brought on four news players for the second half, including Leonardo, for his first minutes of competitive action of the season. It took Ajax a while to get used to their new formation, and it was in this phase that Inter demonstrated how vulnerable the Amsterdammers are at the back. In the opening phase of the second half a simple ball forward seemed enough for a major Inter scoring opportunity.
Once again, however, the goal was scored at the other end. In the 62nd minute goalkeeper Enrico Alfonso's poor kick was picked up by Luis Suárez, who suddenly had a completely free passage. The Uruguayan stormed past the Inter 'keeper, who had no other option than to grab Suárez by the legs. Even a Dutch referee could not have accused Suárez of diving this time... John Heitinga converted from the spot: 1-2 (63').
Just like in the first half, the lead didn't last long. Chivu's 67th minute cross into the goalmouth would have been easy to clear for pretty much every defense in the world, but not for the Ajax defense. The only forehead to make contact with the ball was that of Julio Ricardo Cruz – and the score was level again.
Both teams could have scored a third goal in the 23 minutes that remained. Leonardo had a man-to-man encounter with Alfonso, but was slightly out of balance and failed in front of an empty goal. At the other end, Mario Balotelli's artistic shot from an extremely tight angle hit the cross-bar. Final score: 2-2.
Davids and Perez embrace. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
A penalty shoot-out had to bring the decision. It was as if Cristian Chivu still regards Maarten Stekelenburg as a team-mate: his penalty was hardly more than a backpass to the Ajax 'keeper. Chivu's miss, however, was not decisive, as Jan-Arie van der Heijden, Kennedy Bakirçioglü and John Heitinga also failed to convert. 3-2 Inter. They advance to the final (against Brazil's Internacional Porto Alegre), whereas Ajax will play Germany's VfB Stuttgart for the 3rd place.
A win would have been nicer, but the defeat did not ruin Adrie Koster's day: "What remains is a positive feeling," the Ajax boss said. "The football was of a high quality level sometimes. Inter are one of the greatest sides in the world, and we did very well against them." (Menno Pot)
Goals:
- 17' 1-0 Julio Ricardo Cruz
- 18' 1-1 Kenneth Perez
- 63' 1-2 John Heitinga (penalty)
- 67' 2-2 Julio Ricardo Cruz
Penalties Detail:
- Jan-Arie van der Heijden (MISSED)
- Julio Ricardo Cruz
- 1-1 Luis Suárez
- 2-1 Mario Balotelli
- 2-2 Siem de Jong
- 2-2 Cristian Chivu (MISSED)
- 2-2 Kennedy Bakirçioglü (MISSED)
- 3-2 Nicolas Burdisso
- 3-2 John Heitinga (MISSED)
Referee: Ali Hamad (United Arab Emirates)
Yellow Cards: Heitinga, Leonardo (Ajax), Alfonso (FC Internazionale)
Attendance:
Lineups:
- Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg; Ogararu, Heitinga, Maduro, Vertonghen (46. Schilder [51. Van der Heijden]); Donald (46. Rommedahl), Perez (46. De Jong), Davids (33. Emanuelson); Kennedy, Huntelaar (46. Leonardo), Suárez.
- FC Internazionale line-up: Alfonso; Rivas, Burdisso, Chivu, Maxwell; Pelé, Cambiasso, Siligardi (65. Balotelli), Solari; Suazo (75. Pedrelli), Cruz.
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