Alfred Schreuder looks forward to his employment at Ajax on Belgian television. The trainer says goodbye to Club Brugge with the national title and is confidently looking forward to his return to Amsterdam. Schreuder is not afraid that he will run a risk after Erik ten Hag’s successes. “I don’t think that way”, says Schreuder at Canvas† “I am convinced that I can also be successful there and that it is a great opportunity, I have no fear of that.”
It is expected that in addition to Ten Hag, the necessary supporting forces will also disappear from the selection at Ajax: André Onana (Inter Milan) and Noussair Mazraoui (Bayern Munich) are leaving on a free transfer, Ryan Gavenberch (also Bayern) is about to be sold and there are are rumors about Jurriën Timber, Sébastien Haller and Antony, among others. However, Schreuder does not expect any major problems. “I trust what I can do. Ultimately you have to do it together. Ajax still has great players and if players leave, good players will come back.”
Schreuder could also think of ‘bringing’ players from Club Brugge to Amsterdam. A name by Canvas is raised is Hans Vanaken, for many years one of the star players of Blue-Black† “Hans is already showing in Belgium that he is a top player,” Schreuder responds. “Hans can play at Ajax in terms of football, one hundred percent. There are a number of them, also in my team. But Ajax has grown enormously in recent years. Are you talking about Ajax at Eredivisie or Champions League level?”
As assistant coach of Ajax, Schreuder already reached the semi-finals of the Champions League in the successful 2018/19 season. “The advantage is that I know the club and the way it works. Not much will change for me, although I am now the head coach instead of the assistant. But no, if I was afraid I wouldn’t have done this. ” Schreuder is asked whether he will stick to the classic 4-3-3 system in Amsterdam, as he plays with three centre-backs in Belgium.
In response, the trainer thinks that ‘people think too much in systems’. “When Erik ten Hag was the trainer, we also did not play 4-3-3 in the Champions League. If you looked at Ajax with Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt, we also played with three defenders in possession. Frenkie de Jong always slumped, Nicolás Tagliafico and Noussair Mazraoui went high and Hakim Ziyech and Dusan Tadic came on the inside.”