Erik ten Hag is very pleased with the development Edson Álvarez has gone through at Ajax, the trainer explains on Monday afternoon. At the press conference in the run-up to the Champions League match with Borussia Dortmund, the coach revealed that the Mexican will start on Tuesday evening. During the last international match against El Salvador, Álvarez was surprisingly left out of the selection by national coach Gerardo Martino.
Álvarez has become an important pillar within the Ajax team, but according to Ten Hag, the defensive midfielder is not undisputed. “No one is indispensable, but the fact is that with Lisandro Martínez, Álvarez and Jurriën Timber we concede few goals, if that is the block. But no one is irreplaceable. For example, when Jurriën started playing in midfield last Saturday, you also saw that there was a very strong block.” Ten Hag is referring to the last half hour of the game against sc Heerenveen (0-2 win), after Lisandro Martínez came into the team before Mohammed Kudus and Timber pushed a line forward. Perr Schuurs was also drafted as central defender in that match.
Timber, who sat next to Ten Hag during the press conference, is also pleased with the collaboration with Martínez and Álvarez. “The communication between us is very good. We’ve been playing together for a while now and we know what we expect and demand from each other, that’s just very good,” says the centre-back. “Communication with the Latinos is getting better and better, that was difficult in the beginning. At a certain point you also feel each other well and those Latinos can also scream nicely during the game, so then you also know what to do.”
When Ten Hag is asked about Álvarez’s development, the coach is clearly pleased with the steps the Mexican has made in recent months. “His development is just really good. Positionally, he brings a lot to the team, in terms of defensive organization, but he is also playing better football. It’s getting easier for him. The first assumptions, moving the game forward. That is getting better for him and he is making great strides in that regard.”
Remarkably enough, Álvarez was not included in the selection of the national team during Mexico’s last international match against El Salvador (0-2 win). “This was a choice of the national coach,” Ten Hag explains. Ajax’s trainer is not considering leaving Álvarez out of the starting eleven during the Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday evening. “Then I’m going to lift a corner of the veil, but he’s there. I was indeed surprised that he didn’t play, because I had asked him to come back earlier. And that was not allowed by the coach. No, there has been no contact about that.”