D)
THE A J A X CONNECTION
"This was my second European start - the first
was Marseille away (lost 2-1) and this was my
second one in the return match at home. We lost
in extra time, 4-3 on aggregate. It was the first
time I'd really experienced a big European night
at home and it was quite a good game. I was
unhappy with the result but on the other hand,
at my age, happy that I had agood performance.
Under the lights, Ajax has a fantastic stadium
and the fans are unbelievable so it really was
an honour to play in those games."
"Great! The three of us in one photo.and is
Hugo Lloris playingfor Lyon in this game? Yes,
he would have been. It was in the Champions
League -1 think it was 0-0 away in Lyon. We drew
0-0 at home as well that year. Who could have
known we'd all be here now in the semi-final of
the competition with Spurs? We've come this
far and hopefully we can go further. It's nice
to play with those boys, I'm very happy and it's
great to have them in the team - then and now!'
"This was me in one of my last games for Ajax
at the start of the 2013/14 season. You can't
see the opponents but I know it's the Johan
Cruyff Shield - we won it against AZ Alkmaar
(3-2 after extra time). I had a wonderful time
at Ajax. I lived there in Amsterdam for eight
or nine years, went through the youth system,
played in the Champions League, won three
Eredivisie titles, won the cup once and the
community shield as well. It was a good step
towards going abroad. I feel like I left through
the front door, not like being transferred out
the back. I think Ajax helped me, I helped Ajax
and some of my best years were there. I'm
very lucky that I had my education there, it
helped me as a player to be good on the ball
and to be confident on the ball - that aspect
you only learn when you're young. Then when
you're older you go abroad and you learn to
fight and to know how to survive but yes, the
basic skills, even for a centre-back, I have
because of Ajax."
"My first goal intheChampions League against
Auxerre away! It would have been in 2010/11.
We lost 2-1 but again it was an honour to score.
Always as a young boy I dreamed about playing
in the Champions League and then scoring in
the competition, it was an unbelievable feeling.
Looking at my celebration there.I didn't score
that much so I didn't know what to do! Maybe
it was a bit of improvisation!"
"This was my debut game - the first time I
played in the first team for Ajax. It was the
second game of the Amsterdam Tournament
against Inter (August, 2008) against all the
big players. You can see Zlatan Ibrahimovic, I
remember Adriano played as well - that was
not a bad strike duo! We lost 1-0 but, yes, it was
myfirst game at the highest level. You can see
physically the difference between Zlatan and
me. At that moment, you have a reality check,
to see how much you have to do to become as
strong as that"
Toby on tonight's semi-final: "It's a double feeling because of course I like Ajax, I'd want them to win it if we weren't there, but I will
fight for my club. This is my fourth season for Spurs but of course I will fight with good feelings. I will play Ajax but, on the pitch, you
want to die for Spurs. On the other hand, it's very nice to see Ajax come this far."
OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME
