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Beenhakker: Mido apologizes for AT5 remarks

16 September: According to Ajax' technical director Leo Beenhakker, striker Ahmed 'Mido' Hossam (19) has apologized for stating, in front of an AT5 camera, that he will "leave Ajax for sure, 100%".

Mido reportedly said that his remarks were "rash" and "irresponsible". Nevertheless, Beenhakker announced, the Egyptian was handed a "small financial correction". He was also banned from the Ajax-1 squad until Wednesday, after the Champions League game against Olympique Lyonnais.

In front of the Studio Sport cameras, on national Dutch television, Beenhakker seemed remarkably mild. "We have been talking to a boy who regretted his remarks very much. He said it because he was so disappointed. Well, let's call it a case of juvenile rashness. Let's not forget the kid is only 19 years old. We shouldn't exaggerate it."

These words seemed to mark the end of an affair which started when coach Ronald Koeman replaced Mido in the Eredivisie away game at FC Groningen (1-3), as early as in the 32nd minute. After the game, the Ajax coach said that Mido "did not give everything". The player disagreed with this, but after a man-to-man talk at the ArenA, the case seemded settled.

However, as Koeman announced that Zlatan was his striker of choice against FC Zwolle and that Mido would be benched, the young Egyptian lashed out at the technical staff on AT5 Television: "There is no open-ness. They should not throw me out of the line-up this easily, because I am only nineteen years old. I took a decision: I will leave Ajax, for sure, for 100%, in December."

Koeman then decided to not even place the Egyptian on the bench. The coach: "I am not having such a person interfering with my preparations."

Mido watched the FC Zwolle game (2-0) from the stands and found out that his remarks had also outraged the hard core of Ajax fans. As the F-Side spotted him, yells such as "Mido f##k off" and "Mido's not worthy of the Ajax shirt" flew into his direction. The player did not come out to watch the second half of the game.

After a second conversation with Koeman and Beenhakker, the case seemed closed. However, today's edition of national newspaper de Volkskrant suggests otherwise: 'below the surface of official club statements, it is still boiling', football reporter Paul Onkenhout wrote.

Onkenhout saw Mido leave the Amsterdam ArenA after his meeting with Koeman and Beenhakker: 'With smoking tires and thundering eyes, he left the ArenA parking deck on Sunday.'

According to the report, the case is all but settled. Leo Beenhakker's soothing words are just an attempt to calm things down. Ronald Koeman, who is extensively quoted in the Volkskrant article, tells a different version of the story.

The Ajax coach is quoted saying: "Apologies are not enough. It's simply not enough to simply carry on (...) Mido follows the program of Young Ajax, for days - or weeks (...) I want to think positively, buth in his case, that's getting harder and harder for me (...) If Mido really wants to go in December, he might as well go right away. If this is the way players express their disappointment, we might as well close the joint down."

It should be noted that Koeman reportedly made the latter remark after his conversation with Mido, who is tied to Ajax until the summer of 2006. (MP)

(Source: Ajax.nl, VI Planet.nl, de Volkskrant)