"Bye bye, Boggy": Lobont sold to Fiorentina
20 January: Another Ajax reserve has left the club. Ajax
and Fiorentina have agreed on the transfer of
goalkeeper Bogdan Lobont to the Serie A outfit. According
to Italian media Ajax will receive a transfer fee of
1.5 million euros for the Romanian. The deal is effective
immediately. Lobont was Ajax's 'number one' every now
and then, but he never really became a long-term goalie
for the Amsterdammers, due to injuries and the much-discussed
'goalkeepers' carroussel' of recent years.
Coming from Romanian top side Rapid Bucharest, where he
played 80 league games between 1997 and 2000, Bogdan Lobont
(born Hunedoara, Romania, 18 January 1978) joined Ajax on
03 March 2000 for a transfer fee of some 3 million U.S.
dollars. The goalkeeper signed a deal for six years an four
months, an unusual commitment in modern football. He did not
see action in the remainder of the 1999-2000 season and started
the 2000-2001 campaign on the bench, as the second man behind
Fred Grim. He made his official Ajax-1 début when Grim
was sent off in the Eredivisie away game at FC Utrecht on 26
November 2000. It was his only official first team
appearance of the season, as Grim was not suspended by the
KNVB.
The 2001-2002 season was Fred Grim's last, but the veteran
goalkeeper was the undisputed starters once again. It did not
do Lobont's confidence any good and on 14 September 2001 the
Romanian was loaned out to Dinamo Bucharest, local rivals of
Lobont's previous club, Rapid. He played 22 games on the
highest level for Dinamo, while Fred Grim and 'Aussie' Joey
Didulica were the two goalkeepers in the Ajax-1 squad. Lobont
played in his fatherland while Ajax won the 'double' of
2002.
Lobont returned to Ajax in the summer of 2002, knowing that
Fred Grim had called it quits and that coach Ronald Koeman was
going to give him and Joey Didulica the chance to battle
it out in pre-season. And the winner was... young Maarten
Stekelenburg! Joey Didulica got seriously injured in July, so
that Lobont seemed to have won the battle. However, Lobont
sustained an even worse injury 16 days later: a shoulder
injury that was going to keep him sidelined for about four
months. Ajax started the season with Stekelenburg in goal and
loanee Henk Timmer as the second
man.
Lobont returned to action in the winter of 2002-2003 and his
career at Ajax finally took off in the second half of
the season. He got the nod in the very first league game
after the winter break: the road game at Willem
II on 02 february 2003 was Lobont's second
officical match in Ajax-1, almost three years after having
signed his contract. Lobont remained 'injury free' until
season's end and was Ajax's goalie during the team's
memorable matches in the second group stage and quarter final
of the Champions League in that season.
Lobont started the 2003-2004 campaign slightly injured, but
returned to the team as Ronald Koeman's undisputed
starter. Ajax underscored their faith in Lobont's
qualities by offering him a new and improved deal until
the summer of 2008, which the Romanian happily penned on
30 October 2003. The likeable Romanian had become a fan
favourite because of his passion, fanaticism and excellent
relationship with the fans. He felt at home in Amsterdam. "I
hope I can extend my contract again when it expires in 2008,"
he said.
In January 2004, during Ajax's training camp in Portugal,
Lobont bruised his ankle and missed the start of the second
half of the season. He returned 'between the posts' in March
and stayed there until Ajax had clinched the Dutch championship
of 2004. Lobont finished the season with 24
Eredivisie and 6 Champions League appearances. It was his best
season in Amsterdam, as in 2004-2005 he became the victim of
Ronald Koeman's increasing fickleness in making up his mind as
to who was his first goalkeeper.
At the start of the season Koeman announced that Maarten
Stekelenburg was his first
choice. Stekelenburg picked up an injury, Lobont took over
in September but twisted his knee on 24 October and lost his
spot to Stekelenburg again. Ajax had a terrible season and
Stekelenburg was dropped in November. Unfortunately for Lobont
he was injured at that point, so that veteran Hans Vonk
got the chance. Lobont was determined to fight back, but -
just when he had returned to the squad - he
broke a finger in early January.
Bizarre? It got even sillier! Vonk got injured in Breda on
13 February, Stekelenburg took over, but he too picked up
another injury at NEC on 13 March... and back was Lobont, who
became the hero by saving a penalty and single-handedly
securing a shaky 0-1 win for his team. One week later, however,
Lobont conceded no less than four PSV goals at the Amsterdam
ArenA in Danny Blind's first game as Ajax's head-coach. Lobont
was the man in the goal when Ajax suffered their largest ever
defeat in an Eredivisie home game. It was the first and last
time Blind gave Bogdan Lobont the nod. Ajax vs PSV on
20 March 2004 was Lobont's very last Ajax-1
appearance.
Bogdan Lobont had his memorable moments in Amsterdam, but
his career of nearly six years at the Amsterdam ArenA was
overshadowed by bad luck more than anything else. He sustained
injuries at exactly the wrong moments and conceded four goals
in exactly the wrong game. His number of official
matches for Ajax's first team is too low for a goalkeeper
with 26 caps for Romania: 49 in the Eredivisie, 5 in the
Dutch cup and 15 in the Champions League. That's 69 in
total, in almost six years' time.
Yet, Bogdan Lobont is a guy to remember. The fans loved him,
because he always left the pitch hoarse, because he
always gave everything (even when he dropped
back to Young Ajax) and because he was always
loyal to his colleagues: Fred Grim, Joey Didulica, Henk Timmer,
Maarten Stekelenburg, Hans Vonk, Sander Boschker - they will
all confirm it. It must be a relief to Lobont that Fiorentina
have now liberated him from his hopeless situation at Ajax.
Thank you, Boggy. Congratulations on a wonderful transfer
and good luck in Italy! (MP)
Sources: Ajax.nl, VI.nl
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