Marco Rose and Julian Brandt admire Ajax. The coach and attacker of Borussia Dortmund expect a difficult match in the Johan Cruijff ArenA on Tuesday evening. They suspect that Ajax will make the game and they believe that Erik ten Hag’s team is also capable of that. Rose describes the Champions League opponent as a ‘well-oiled machine’.
Rose expects that Ajax will put plenty of pressure. “We have to play sharply and look for solutions. Ajax puts a lot of pressure, which also creates space for us behind the defense. We need depth in our game to take advantage of that,” the trainer says. “We will not get much time on the ball. We have to play quickly, but also have phases in which we temporize with the ball in the team. Even then we have to be careful, because Ajax is a good team even without the ball and can do it quickly. switch.”
“I am not interested in who is the favorite. We have a lot of respect for Ajax”, the trainer adds. “It’s a well-oiled machine. We expect Ajax to play very aggressively. We want to go along with that and create an open match.” Rose calls Ajax a ‘big club’, which usually has ‘big players’ in its ranks. “The club has a clear philosophy, which is noticeable from the youth academy to the first team: 4-3-3, a lot of ball possession, dominant, strong in counterpressing. That will be a big challenge for us. Of course we want a good result keep the game.”
Brandt also points to the recognizable identity of the opponent. “Ajax has always remained true to its own identity and still plays attractive football. The club has a good youth academy and always makes the most of the available resources.” Although Borussia Dortmund is preparing for Ajax’s aggressive playing style, the club itself also likes to put a lot of pressure. Brandt, who came over from Bayer Leverkusen in 2019, is happy with that. “I have two years Full pressing played under Roger Schmidt and that doesn’t just happen.”
Related
More sports news