As a neutral football fan, Ruud Gullit is not waiting for games without tension. Tension is an essential part of watching football for the former football player and he was surprised more than a week ago when he was present at the game between Ajax and SC Cambuur (9-0) in the Eredivisie. “There was a remarkable atmosphere there. It lacked any tension,” Gullit writes in his column on Tuesday The Telegraph.
“No one wondered if Ajax was going to win, but everyone sat down with the idea of how high the victory would be. Players cannot afford such an attitude. Such nonchalance will kill you. The first twenty minutes Ajax dropped defensively and offered space to SC Cambuur.” However, Gullit saw how the northerners couldn’t translate that into goals. “At Feyenoord you will enjoy yourself better than at Ajax. Go to De Kuip and you still don’t know what to expect.”
“Although something is growing in Rotterdam, it remains unpredictable.” Gullit enjoyed the match between Feyenoord and NEC much more. Slot’s team gave up a 2-0 lead completely and turned a 2-3 deficit into a 5-3 victory. “Such a course is more fun than counting goals like in Amsterdam. Although every club would like to be in Ajax’s position. I enjoy the Feyenoord of Slot. The team plays fresh football according to a plan with a lot of pressure forward. At the same time, they proved that they can defend well and control the counter at PSV. You can see that there is panache and running ability in the team.”
“Players like Luis Sinisterra, Guus Til and Justin Bijlow – a very good goalkeeper – develop quickly.” A flourishing Feyenoord is good for Dutch football and the Dutch national team, emphasizes the former European Championship winner of 1988. “Recently, Til, Bijlow and Tyrell Malacia were in the base of the Dutch against Montenegro. National coach Louis van Gaal deserves a compliment for that. He doesn’t select based on sentiment, he chooses the best players for the team.”
Gullit points out that Steven Berghuis, Denzel Dumfries, Steven Bergwijn, Bijlow and especially Stefan de Vrij came into action and that one of the list of Virgil van Dijk, Matthijs de Ligt and De Vrij had to drop out in Van Gaal’s formation. “De Vrij always had the sentiment against the previous national coaches. He was therefore often on the bench with Danny Blind, Ronald Koeman and Frank de Boer. Not with Van Gaal, who sees him as a basic player and dares to pass De Ligt as a former Ajax player and player of Juventus.”