"Thanks, boys" - Goodbye to six Ajacieden
26 April: Immediately after the Eredivisie play-offs match
against FC Groningen, Ajax and their supporters said goodbye to
six departing players: loanee Juanfran, reserve goalkeeper Hans
Vonk, 'supersub' Yannis Anastasiou and three key players with a
long history at the Amsterdam club, namely Steven Pienaar,
Hatem Trabelsi and captain Tomás Galásek. The
ArenA crowd gave them the salute they deserve, after
their very last home game for Ajax.
It was clear from the outset that the 2005-2006 season was
going to be the 'season of the exodus' for Ajax. Several
players (too many players, as we now know)
started the campaign with expiring contracts, while technical
director Martin van Geel energetically and succesfully
attempted to receive transfer fees for a number of players who
were surplus to requirements in Amsterdam. Anthony
Obodai,
Daniël de Ridder,
Julien Escudé, Bogdan
Lobont,
Nigel de Jong,
Maxwell and
Rasmus Lindgren left the club during the season.
Ajax's recent decision not to land loanee
Juanfran on
permanent deal didn't come as a surprise. After the
Groningen home game the Ajax family said goodbye to five well
respected players who will leave the club on a 'Bosman'. Ajax
USA wishes to give these five Ajacieden the credit they
deserve...
Tomás Galásek, Steven Pienaar, Hatem Trabelsi,
Hans Vonk and Yannis Anastasiou. [Photos: Ajax.nl]
Goalkeeper Hans Vonk (born Alberton,
South-Africa, 30 January 1970) joined Ajax as a reserve
goalkeeper on
02 June 2004, coming from SC Heerenveen. His predecessor,
Sander Boschker, hadn't see a single minute of official first
team action that season, but Vonk's Ajax career would be
considerably more succesful. Due to injuries (and sometimes
poor form) of Maarten Stekelenburg, Vonk played 36 official
games for Ajax-1, in which he proved to be a calm, experienced
and reliable goalkeeper. And if he didn't play he was always
there for his younger colleague. Hans Vonk turned down an offer
from PSV earlier this year. He prefers a move to his native
South-Africa, where several clubs are interested in his
services - and understandably so.
Update 17 May 2006: Hans Vonk will stay
part of the 'Ajax family' after all. He signed
a two year contract at Ajax Cape Town today, with an
included option to continue as a "sort of technical
co-ordinator" for Ajax's South-African 'sister club'. It will
be part of his job to report to Ajax Amsterdam on the
progress and development of South-African youth players.
Both Ajax.nl
and Ajax
CT.com published extensive reports on Vonk's
career move.
Striker Yannis Anastasiou (born Arta,
Greece, 05 March 1973) will be missed by many at the Amsterdam
ArenA. The 'man with the eternal smile', who joined Ajax
from Roda JC on
03 February 2004, will be remembered as an ever
positive, loyal and genuinely respected mentor and father
figure in Ajax's young and inexperienced squad. But hey: let's
not forget he also did the business as a 'supersub' striker on
a regular basis. He had 38 official appearances for Ajax, in
which he scored 10 goals, several of which were good for
last-gasp wins in the Eredivisie or vital points in the
Champions League. In
June 2005 he got to sign a new one year deal, but
now that Ajax have Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Markus Rosenberg,
Angelos Charisteas and Ryan Babel, Anastasiou's time
has come. "I am proud to have played for Ajax for two and a
half years," he said yesterday evening. And we were
proud to have you here, Yannis. Thank you and good luck.
Update 30 May 2006: Yannis Anastasiou has signed a
two year deal at Sparta Rotterdam. He was about to join to
'Castle club' a few weeks ago, but it appeared that Sparta
couldn't afford Anastasiou. With the help of a few sponsors
they have now landed the Greek striker after all.
The only departing Ajacied who already signed for a new club
is Steven Pienaar (born Johannesburg,
South-Africa, 17 March 1982), the first ever player from
'sister club' Ajax Cape Town to make the 'big jump' to
Amsterdam. Just like his good mate Nigel de Jong he will move
to Germany, where he signed a deal at Borussia Dortmund on
18 January of this year. Pienaar joined Ajax in 2001
and had 133 official appearances (18 goals) for Ajax since his
official début on 24 February 2002. Pienaar's career at
Ajax was, let's say, eventful. He was suspended for
violent play a few times, had a conflict about his
contract in the 2002-2003 season and was
sidelined for months with a mysterious muscular injury, after
he had pressed ice to his calf too hard and too long. More than
anything else, however, Pienaar was a stylish, sassy and
thoroughly entertaining Ajax player. Always creative and mostly
a joy to watch. The 'number 10' position is his favourite one,
but - due to stiff competition - Pienaar did not always play
there. He was frequently used as a right winger, which was one
of the reasons for him to not renew his deal
and leave the club that has become his club after
four and a half years. Steven, it was great meeting
you and watching you play. Good luck in Germany!
Will it be Arsenal? Inter, perhaps? Paris St. Germain? One
thing is for sure: some of Europe's greatest clubs will be
standing in line now that right fullback Hatem
Trabelsi (born Ariana, Tunisia, 25 January 1977)
leaves Ajax on a free transfer. Trabelsi joined Ajax on 24
July 2001 as an unknown player from Tunisia's Club Sportif
Sfaxien, but developed into Ajax's feared and respected
'express train' on the right flank. His five year spell at the
Amsterdam ArenA was unpleasantly interrupted by a
conflict with Ajax (which actually led to a lawsuit)
about the validity of a one-sided extension option in
his contract. Ajax
won the case and it seemed like Trabelsi would never
play for Ajax again, but Trabelsi showed that he is a grown-up
person and
returned to the squad, where he reverted to doing what he
does best: driving the entire left flank of opposing teams
absolutely insane. Luckily, after 145 official games (2 goals)
for Ajax, Trabelsi says goodbye to Ajax as a deeply respected
Ajacied, a good friend and, of course, one of the best right
fullbacks on the planet. Merci pour tout, Hatem. Et
bonne chance!
Last but not least, Ajax USA takes a deep, respectful bow to
our good friend Tomás Galásek
(born Frydek-Místek, Czech Republic, 15 January 1973),
who joined Ajax in the summer of 2000. After five seasons at
Baník Ostrava and four at Willem II, he would spend no
less than six season at Ajax, so we can proudly say that Ajax
was the most important club in Galásek's career.
Galásek played precisely 200 official games for Ajax, in
which he scored 28 times, not seldomly with one of his
typically fantastic long-range shots.
Galásek's start at Ajax wasn't easy: it takes a
while before you start noticing how tremendously important
players like Galásek are to a football team.
Hard-working, self-effacing, loyal, reliable and solid as rock.
A player like that deserves the captain's armband.
Galásek wore it with pride, for several
years. Ajax simply played better when he was there,
even when he didn't do anything spectacular. Six years at one
club... That's a long time in modern football. Hopefully it
means that Tomás Galásek loved Ajax as much as we
loved him. Thank you, Tomás. It was a privilege to have
you here.
Update 19 May 2006: Tomás
Galásek has found a new club. Rumour had it that PSV
wanted to sign him, but he has opted for Germany, signing a two
year deal at Bundeslige outfit FC Nürnberg. Reports
appeared on Ajax.nl and
UEFA.com, to name but a few.
The Ajax careers of Vonk, Anastasiou, Pienaar, Trabelsi and
Galásek are not over just yet. Some of them are
likely to play two more games for Ajax: the return leg of
the play-off encounter with FC Groningen (03 May) and/or the
Gatorade Cup final against PSV (07 May). After that it
really is over. Next season's Ajax team will look very
different from this season's. All we can say is: thank you,
Ajacieden, and good luck wherever you go. (MP)
Source: Ajax.nl
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