AT THE BACK
<IN THE MIDDLl
MAXWELL
The void Left by Cristian Chivu, who Left Ajax to join
Roma earlier this summer, will take some filling. Chivu
was captain of the Amsterdam club and cornerstone of
the defence, but Ajax have brought in promising young
French defender Julien Escudéfrom Rennes as his
replacement.
Escudé, the younger brother of professional tennis
player Nicolas Escudé, is a left-footed central defender
like Chivu, and had been linked with Man Utd. The 23
year-old will be an excellent addition to the squad, and
Koeman will be hoping he can justify his decision to
bring him to the club.
Petri Pasanen was a regular partner to Chivu and he
will be expected to raise his game another level this
coming season and fulfil his massive potential. Andre
Bergdolmo, Jelle van Damme and John Heitinga are all
vying for a central starting role, but it is highly likely
that Koeman will pair Pasanen with his new signing.
Tunisian Hatem Trabelsi and Brazilian Maxwell made
the right and left-back positions their own last season
with a string of highly consistent performances. Both
are solid defensively, but also contribute to Ajax's
attacking play, and Maxwell even chipped in with four
goals last term.
As the last line of defence, ex-Dinamo Bucharest
stopper Bogdan Lobont has established himself as
number one. The 25-year-old Romanian boasts sharp
reflexes, has an excellent presence within his penalty
area and his handling skills are second to none.
Lobont will be kept on his toes this
season since the arrival of keeper
Sander Boschkerfrom FC Twente.
After spending 15 years at Twente
during which he played 356 games,
Boschker offers plenty of experience
and a safe pair of hands, and along
with promising youngster
Maarten Stekelenburg, they will
provide plenty of competition
for the one goalkeeping slot.
HATEM TRABLESI
TO MAS
GALASEK
A great deal of the attacking threat which Ajax pose,
comes from midfield genius Rafael van der Vaart. When
fit, the playmaker role is almost exclusively left for the
mercurial star who provides the link between midfield
and attack extremely well on top of being a prolific
scorer himself. Van der Vaart was the club's top scorer in
the league last season grabbing 18 goals from midfield.
His main partner, Andy van der Meyde left the club
this summer following Chivu to Italy to sign for Inter.
Van der Meyde chipped in with another 11 goals
himself last season, and was a hugely popular figure
among the Ajax faithful.
Recent signing Victor Sikora will be hoping to fill Van
der Meyde's shoes and convince Koeman to give him
a similar role on the wing this year.
Polish anchorman Tomas Galasek offers experience in
the heart of midfield and he is surrounded by some of
the most talented youngsters in Dutch football.
South African Steven Pienaar, Ghanaian
Abubakari Yakubu and Dutch starlets Wesley
Sneijder and Nigel de Jong are all extremely
gifted midfielders who are comfortable on
the ball, but also believe in the ethic of
hard work.
American international John O'Brien
is another alternative. His versatility
is vital to the team as he is equally
comfortable atthe back or jj
in midfield.
One particular feature of almost all
the midfielders atthe club is that they are
able to play anywhere across the middle
and are as effective going forward as they
are defending.
WESLEY SNEIJDER
