formation
Adriaanse's methods were not
appreciated by everybody.
Veterans Richard Witschge and
Aaron Winter suddenly found
themselves warming the bench, a
decision which is obviously a
managers prerogative. However,
whether it's wise to treat them in such
a manner that both crowd-favourites
accused Adriaanse of lacking any social
skills is doubtful.
Neither Winter nor Witschge were
then willing to remain at Ajax under
Adriaanse and both have left the club
on loan deals this summer.
Furthermore, the omission of the
two former internationals meant that a
very inexperienced line-up was left to
deliver the goods. The fact that they
had difficulty performing under
pressure became apparent during the
final stages of the last term, when they
failed several times to benefit from
slip-ups by runners-up Feyenoord.
The abundance of young players
and lack of guidance from seasoned
veterans apparently didn't seem to
bother Adriaanse ahead of the new
campaign, as he presented another
four youngsters to strengthen his C^O {Ji
squad. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Maxwell,
Hatem Trabelsi and Ahmed 'Mido'
Hossam are undoubtedly talented,
but they have yet to prove their worth
over a longer period.
Furthermore, Ajax were forced to
fall back on methods of the
pre-Adriaanse era. Since most Dutch
talents nowadays prefer PSV u6 SlllClclC
Eindhoven over Ajax because of the
business-like atmosphere in
Amsterdam, the capital outfit once jj.-. roOt'llll
again had to look abroad for
improvements to the side. StOOO -
Adriaanse, meanwhile, did learn
from the commotion that last season's
goals had caused. He threw his earlier
caution in the wind and stated that
Ajax were going after the title, the
Dutch Cup and Champions League
qualification. In order to meet the
objectives the coach drew up a daring
system. His attacking game plan with
four defenders, four forwards and only
two midfielders could well work
against the lesser sides in the Dutch
league, but it appeared to be suicide
on the European stage.
It was still a success against an
indifferent Liverpool during the
Amsterdam Tournament, but
AC Milan showed it could lead to a
painful hammering against any focused
top side. The lesson was apparently lost
on Adriaanse, as he once again tried
his luck against Celtic. Ajax were
overrun from the kick-off, as the
visitors appeared to have sealed the tie
inside the first 20 minutes.
Adriaanse realised a lot would have
to happen in order for Ajax to still
qualify, although he stated that there is
always a small chance when you still
have to play a second leg. This might
be true, but it's doubtful an
experienced, almost monolingual
squad that is well adapted to each
other and the system will concede
three goals in a crucial tie tonight.
%Rutger Slagter is a journalist with
ivww.onefoothall.com
page 37
