Rafael van der Vaart foresees a wonderful battle between Ajax and PSV for the national title. The former football player recognized Sunday at Studio Football that he is impressed by the game of PSV and the possibilities that Roger Schmidt has at his disposal. Van der Vaart pointed out that it seems that PSV has even a bigger roster than Ajax, where he lacks ‘a little bit of speed’ in attacking terms. He was also hard towards Nicolás Tagliafico after his red card in the Johan Cruijff Scale.
Van der Vaart is impressed by the current PSV, which he saw live when Schmidt’s team visited FC Midtjylland in Denmark earlier this month as part of the Champions League. “I’m becoming like an Ajax player… Let me put it this way, I don’t get nervous. But I really think it’s a great team,” emphasized the former football player. “They have so much quality, they are so fast up front, a Noni Madueke who is in incredible shape. It’s just a certain feeling I have. That it’s right or something.”
PSV did not appear in the strongest line-up against Heracles Almelo on Saturday, but were not surprised by Erve Asito. “They almost have a bigger selection than Ajax, that may sound strange. They give players rest, other players come in… The players are calm with the ball. Last season all balls were lost. There is much more footballing ability. They free each other. I am really enjoying this PSV”, acknowledged Van der Vaart. “It’s just play, move, tap-tap.”
Van der Vaart also saw PSV at work against Ajax in the battle for the Johan Cruijff Scale. Schmidt’s team quickly took a 0-2 lead and after the red card for Tagliafico, the Eindhoven team ran out to a 0-4 victory. “That might have been a somewhat distorted picture because of the red card, but PSV is very strong in the counter. Especially with Madueke in shape, I think it will be a fantastic competition.”
Theo Janssen is also impressed by the qualities of PSV’s selection. “They have speed, they have suitable midfielders, they can play with Davy Pröpper who just sits on the bench, a Marco van Ginkel who also has depth. There is quite a lot of variation possible.” Van der Vaart made the comparison with Ajax. “I think Ajax lacks a bit of speed in the front. An Antony or David Neres never goes deep without a ball.” Janssen: “Ajax is good at positional play and creating opportunities from there. And PSV has an extra weapon with the counter.” Van der Vaart: “That’s right. I also saw that during the Johan Cruijff Scale and then I thought: soooo. But also about Ajax.”
“Ajax was 0-1 behind and they played very well after that. Then I thought it was going to happen, until that crazy guy…”, Van der Vaart was referring to on the early red card for Tagliafico after a charge on André Ramalho. “I almost threw my television out the window. That is unbelievable. Then you’re out of your mind. I would never make that again. But that’s why I’m an assistant coach”, the assistant coach of the Danish Esbjerg fB concluded his speech somewhat humorously.