Mysterious defeat for Ajax at FC Fairy Tale Forest
15 April: The 2003-2004 season has taken a dramatic turn for
Ajax, after a friendly game in Holland's fairy-tale theme park
of De Efteling
brought Ajax the largest defeat in club history, against the
family amusement park's football team FC Sprookjesbos
('FC Fairy-Tale Forest'). At the end of the historically
disorganized 20-minute six-a-side game, which Ajax seemed to
have won, it appeared that no-one had kept the score, after
which controversial referee Henry the Herald announced a 15-0
win for the hosts, so that the Fairy-Tale Forest players, all
characters from Hans Christian Andersen's tales, got to lift
the prestigious Pardoes Cup.
The friendly fixture was an initiative of ABN Amro, the bank
that sponsors both Ajax and De Efteling. According to an
Efteling press release Ajax coach Ronald Koeman regarded the
fixture as a "crucial test case" for next season's Champions
League. The game kicked off at 15:00 on the central Children's
Playing Field of Holland's oldest family amusement park and was
preceded by a press-conference at the Carrousel Theatre. It
must be said that FC Fairy-Tale Forest looked better than the
Amsterdammers from the outset, if only because the home side's
coach, The Emperor, was wearing his New Clothes for the
occasion, making his colleague look painfully ordinary.
Koeman's squad consisted of no less than four Dutch
internationals (Van der Vaart, Sneijder, De Jong and Heitinga),
plus internationals from Belgium (Van Damme) and Ghana
(Yakubu), but they were not nearly as famous as the superstars
fielded by The Emperor, including goalkeeper Little Red
Riding Hood, the Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Gretel, Grandma,
the Prince and the Big Bad Wolf. The home side had a shock
start, as Gretel surprisingly gave Fairy-Tale Forest the lead
after an impressive rush across field.
Abubakari Yakubu had a particularly dreadful game. Firstly
the Dwarf humbled him by playing the ball between his legs. He
was also tricked by Gretel on a few occasions. And, finally,
the Ghanese international was sent off twice, but somehow
managed to play the full twenty minutes anyway. It is an
understatment to say that referee Henry the Herald had quite an
impact on the game. He did not notice that Fairy-Tale Forest
almost constantly had more players on the pitch than Ajax. He
also scored a goal for the home side.
Henry the Herald had trouble keeping the game under control
in the second half, due to several unusual incidents. The
Sleeping Beauty, for example, suddenly went down. The bench
feared for an injury, but she turned out to be deeply asleep.
The referee gave orders to all of the Ajacieden to try and wake
her up with a kiss, and it must be said that Abubakari
Yakubu and Sander Boschker kissed with passion. However,
she would probably have still been asleep if it wasn't for the
Prince, whose kiss waked her up and allowed her to play on.
In a desparate attempt to sabotage the game Ajax's mental
coaches, Yannis Anastasiou and John O'Brien, moved the goal
behind Little Red Riding Hood's back, allowing Ajax to score.
Referee Henry the Herald did not notice at first, as he was
dealing with a few impatient children from the crowd who
had invaded the pitch to start their hunt for autographs
during the game. However, he soon restored the order.
Meanwhile, Victor Sikora was kind enough to escort Grandma to
the Fairy-Tale Forest dug-out, walking arm in arm, after her
substitution had been announced.
After the final whistle the Ajacieden were convinced that
they had actually won the game, not at all counting on Henry
the Herald's 15-0 shock call. Even several Dutch media were
confused: newspaper De Telegraaf for example reported
that Ajax won the game, unaware of referee's unusual decision.
Only a few of the devastated Ajacieden were available for
comment after the game. Johnny Heitinga: "Little Red Riding
Hood had several fine saves and Gretel was really good
today. We had a hard time and I would really have wanted to
score more than just one goal. But I couldn't."
It was suggested after the game that Ajax's vulnerability
was down to the fact that both Rafaël van der Vaart and
Wesley Sneijder played in midfield. Coach Ronald Koeman refused
to comment on these suggestions. To the Ajax's coach's credit:
he did not use the absence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Maxwell and
Steven Pienaar as an excuse for the result. Koeman denied that
the Amsterdam club considers the signing of
Gretel for next season. Koeman: "These rumors are untrue.
She had a good game today, but I don't think she would fit into
our team."
Rafaël van der Vaart rolled over the floor laughing as
the Dwarf played the ball between Yakubu's legs. After the
game, however, the Ajax captain shook his head in misery: "This
was not easy. We will really need a lot of practice in order to
look good in the Champions League next season." (MP)
GOALS
- 1-0 The Hunter
- 2-0 Henry the Herald (referee)
- 2-1 Wesley Sneijder
- 3-1 One Of The Seven Dwarves
- 3-2 Sikora
(final result, as declared by the referee: FC Fairy Tale
Forest - Ajax 15-0)
Referee: Henry the Herald
Red cards: Yakubu (Ajax, twice)
Attendance: 1,500
Ajax line-up: Boschker; Heitinga, De Jong;
Sneijder, Van der Vaart; Sikora. Reserves: Van Damme, Yakubu.
(Coach: Ronald Koeman)
FC Fairy-Tale Forest line-up: Little Red
Riding Hood; The Big Bad Wolf, Grandma; The Prince, Sleeping
Beauty; Hansel, Gretel. Reserves included One Of The Seven
Dwarves and The Hunter. (Coach: The Emperor with New
Clothes).
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