Humble, defensive Ajax grab unexpected win in Zagreb
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UEFA Cup
Maksimir Stadium, Zagreb, Croatia
Thursday, 20 Sep 2007
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No Champions League, poor performances in the Eredivisie, fans grumbling about the new players purchased this summer, a public discussion about the position of head-coach Henk ten Cate, injuries (Davids, Kennedy and, until the day before the game Ogararu, Suárez and Stam) and, last but not least, an unexpectedly tough draw for the first round of the UEFA Cup... Dark clouds have gathered over the Amsterdam ArenA and that's why head-coach Henk ten Cate made no secret of it: Ajax were not going to travel to Dinamo Zagreb's Maksimir Stadium in order to entertain the crowd and play good football. They were gonna lean back, dig in and hold on to the 0-0 score for as long as possible.
"The result is all that counts right now," said Ten Cate, and he fielded a 4-4-2 formation with four real defenders and four midfielders with more defensive than offensive qualities. Ajax played catenaccio in the Croatian capital... and it worked. Pessimists, journalists and even the club's most loyal fans predicted a journey through hell at the sold-out Maksimir Stadium, in front of one the loudest and most intimidating crowds in Europe, but (much to the surprise of almost everybody) Ajax emerged victorious: 0-1. Ajax will surely remember their home disasters against FC København and Slavia Prague. There is still a long way to go. But the group stage of the UEFA Cup is in sight.
George Ogararu's availability had been doubtful until the day before the game. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
Watching Dinamo Zagreb vs Ajax was as exciting as reading the Amsterdam phonebook. You'd rather eat a newspaper for lunch than sit through this game of football once again. The ugliness of the game's only highlight says it all: a Dinamo defender clumsily lost the ball to Dennis Rommedahl, just outside of the penalty area. The Dane set up a fine one-two with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, but was very lucky that a sliding defender and goalkeeper Georg Koch got in each other's way. And suddenly, somehow, Rommedahl had slipped past both Dinamo men - and the ball was still at his feet. The only thing he now saw in front of him was an empty goal: 0-1 (62') - and Zagreb's notorious 'Bad Blue Boys' fell silent.
It was Ajax's first real chance in a good hour of football. The only other noteworthy moment from the Amsterdammers was a thundering long range shot from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar in the first half, not particularly well-aimed, but so hard that the ball almost exploded on Koch's fists. All the other chances were for the hosts: they didn't get loads, but Ajax would have surely have been a goal down at least if it wasn't for goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg, surely Ajax's best man of the day.
Ajax could actually have gone 1-0 down after only five minutes. On a corner kick from Luka Modric, Vukojevic suddenly got an unmarked header opportunity at the near post. It was Gregory van der Wiel's only moment of negligence, but luckily there was Maarten Stekelenburg, who dived to the low corner and rescued Ajax with a truly fantastic save. The Ajax 'keeper had a splendid first half in general, saving dangerous shots from Modric, Vukojevic and Balaban in the first half. Fine work, but even an on-form goalkeeper requires a bit of luck sometimes: five minutes into the second half, after a Dinamo attack over the left flank, Stekelenburg was out of position and nailed to the ground when the ball suddenly bounced perfectly for Brazilian midfielder Sammir, but his left-footed volley from the edge of the box went wide.
19 year-old Gregory van der Wiel filled out an ultra-defensive line-up. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
The best chances were for Dinamo, no doubt about it, but it would be a bit exaggerated to say that the Ajax goal was constantly bombarded. Ajax did actually have more than 50% possession and looked fairly solid, especially in the latter half hour of the first half and after Rommedahl's goal, which came totally out of nowhere.
In fact, in the remaining 28 minutes after Ajax's goal the only massive scoring opportunity fell to the Dutch visitors, when substitute Luis Suárez penetrated the Dinamo penalty box on the left. His hard cross whizzed past the deserted goal and grazed the forehead of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar at the far post. The striker could and perhaps should have nodded it home.
Dinamo brought on some extra forwards in the latter twenty minutes of the encounter, but the Ajax defenders weren't impressed. The Amsterdammers survived the last twenty minutes more easily than the first. Dinamo Zagreb lost the plot a bit after Ajax's goal. They lost the ball too easily. They never really managed a great final offensive. The only threatening moment after Ajax's goal was a sudden shooting opporunity for substitute Sokota, which was easily blocked.
Dennis Rommedahl on his way to scoring the game's only goal. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
Very, very ugly match and absolutely not the football that Ajax normally wish to play, but... a wonderful result in the intimidating home ground of an opponent of Champions League caliber.
"We never really played football in the first half, but we didn't allow them many chances, either," said Henk ten Cate. "We got the reward for our tactics in the end. We started to play football in the second half and actually had the chances to finish them off. Our tactical discipline was good (...) This is European football. It's about survival at this point, not about beauty. I am very pleased with this result. This gives us confidence."
It sure will. Let's not forget that Ajax's record in European away games has been disastrously poor in the past five seasons, even against opposition of considerably lower quality than Dinamo Zagreb. Since Ajax's wonderful Champions League campaign in 2002-2003, they've only managed four away wins in UEFA competition: at small-timers IK Start, FC Thun and Zulte Waregem (not exactly achievements that impress the world) and a slightly more meaningful one at FC København (1-2) in a Champions League qualifier, but every Ajacied will remember how that ended... It can still end in tears, on 04 October at the Amsterdam ArenA, but for now this is Ajax's best European away win since their stunning triumph at Olympique Lyon on 30 October 2002. The club needed it very, very badly. (Menno Pot)
Goals:
Referee: Lannoy (France)
Yellow Cards: Vukojevic (NK Dinamo Zagreb), Maduro (Ajax)
Attendance: 38,000
Lineups:
- Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg; Ogararu, Stam, Van der Wiel, Vermaelen; Gabri, Heitinga, Maduro, Emanuelson; Rommedahl (78. Suárez), Huntelaar (84. Luque).
- Dinamo Zagreb line-up: Koch; Schildenfeld, Drpic, Pokrivac, Etto; Cale, Modric, Vukojevic, Sammir; Vugrinec (46. Sokota), Balaban.
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