Lars Capiau
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Branco van den Boomen looked back on the match after the lost match against AZ (2-0). The 'surprised' midfielder saw a disappointing Ajax play in a system with five defenders and afterwards he can mention one starting point: Ahmetcan Kaplan's substitution.
“Very disappointing,” Van den Boomen calls the Amsterdam team's loss. “We didn't create enough, AZ was very compact, I think it was a deserved victory.”
Ajax played against AZ with five defenders. Van den Boomen saw merit in that. “I thought it suited the players well. Today we had two types of backs who were ideal for this formation. I was surprised, but I thought: okay, this is a good plan.”
“You prefer automatisms, but ultimately you have to deal with a selection. This was the plan and you have to execute it. We didn't do that well today, also in terms of fitness.”
When asked whether, despite the hopeless defeat, any clues remain after the match, the midfielder responds affirmatively. “For example, Kaplan, who came in fantastically, a big compliment to him. For the rest, we have to see how we proceed with this and whether we train on this or on a different system.”
Van den Boomen, who was out for three months with a serious knee injury, played eighty minutes for Ajax. On Thursday, the playmaker also spent 120 minutes on the field in Norway, when FK Bodø/Glimt was eliminated after extra time (1-2).
Van den Boomen is not calmed down. “I was completely devastated after Bodø/Glimt, of course, that was tough. Today (Sunday, ed.) I played a mediocre game, but that was not just due to the physical aspect.”
“I think if we had a very fit squad I might have played 45-60 minutes, but that's just not the case. But I am happy that I am playing football again and that I can play again,” Van den Boomen concludes.
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