The first match of the eighth final of the Europa League against Young Boys is scheduled for Ajax this week. The champion and leader of Switzerland will initially visit Amsterdam on Thursday, after which the return in Bern is scheduled for a week later. Aad de Mos predicts in conversation with Football zone that it will not be ‘easy’ and thinks that the synthetic turf pitch in the Wankdorf Stadium of Young Boys will be a ‘big disadvantage’ for Ajax.
By Kalum van Oudheusden
De Mos speaks of a ‘dangerous draw’ for Ajax. “Why?” Asks the retired trainer, and then immediately answers himself. First, they eliminated Bayer Leverkusen. Then you must have qualities. I can still remember them from the period that Feyenoord played against them ”, De Mos points out the double encounter in the group stage of the Europa League last season between Feyenoord and Young Boys. The team from Rotterdam lost 2-0 in Bern and did not get further than a 1-1 draw in their own Kuip.
“A big disadvantage for Ajax – you shouldn’t pay too much attention there, but everyone is going to mention it anyway – is the artificial turf, which can get into the minds of the players. You play there on a surface that is not great. You will have to get over that. Ajax is used to playing on artificial turf at, for example, Sparta Rotterdam or Heracles Almelo, but it is not pleasant ”, predicts De Mos. Still, the analyst is pleased with Ajax.
Watch the full interview with Aad de Mos here, in which he also looks ahead to the meeting between Manchester United and AC Milan.
“Ajax has a well-trained team, with a midfield that is very decisive. Blind, Gravenberch, Klaassen, possibly Álvarez: enough choice to set up a midfield that is very strong ”, says De Mos. “That has sometimes been different. They also have scoring ability. Tadic shows that he is important in these kind of matches. Unfortunately no Haller, that’s a blemish. That’s going to be an expensive check mark, if you don’t make it to the final or don’t win. It will come back once that it has been very untidy. ”
“It won’t be easy. When they play against Tottenham Hotspur or AC Milan, everyone says it is difficult. Now it is said: ‘Ah dude, easy’. They can get a lot of information by studying two DVDs of the Young Boys matches against Bayer Leverkusen ”, he continues. Young Boys eliminated Bayer Leverkusen in the sixteenth final with a double victory: 4-3 and 0-2. “The closer you get to a final, the more even the teams are. You need a little luck, because you are always going to play a bad game in your campaign. If you win those bad matches, you have a chance to make it to the final. That’s the case at World Cups, European Championships and European tournaments. ”
De Mos speaks from experience, because he played the final of the European Cup II with KV Mechelen (1988, won from Ajax) and Anderlecht (1990, lost to Sampdoria). ”From those campaigns I can name a number of matches in which we have less were the opponent, but we were lucky. Pole, crossbar, a terribly good goalkeeper with Michel Preud’homme. You have to be lucky to get to a final, so I don’t dare to put my money on it. ”
“Ajax has a young team that is under construction. You cannot say that there are many players who already have a lot of experience in international matches. Exceptions are Tadic and Blind, but the rest are young. You never know what will happen in the Eredivisie, or maybe they will run into a blunder in the cup. That is looking at coffee grounds. In any case, my feeling says that Ajax will win prizes again this season ”, De Mos concludes.
Kalum van Oudheusden is a full-time video journalist, presenter and program maker at Voetbalzone and makes, among other things, exclusive interviews and various programs.