Rafael van der Vaart had expected more from Steven Berghuis in the role as number ten of Ajax. The attacker, who came over from Feyenoord, was the replacement for the injured Davy Klaassen in the match against PEC Zwolle (0-2 win) on Saturday, as a result of which the newcomer, Antony, Dusan Tadic and Sébastien Haller appeared together at the starting signal for the first time this season. Although Berghuis was good for two assists in Overijssel, Van der Vaart still had his reservations.
Van der Vaart received a supplement on Sunday evening Studio Football the question how he thought Berghuis on ten to play against PEC. “Mwah, mwah”, replied the former Ajax player. “He is not helped either. It is primarily up to you. I think his character at Feyenoord was different than now at Ajax. I’ve said it from the start, but Berghuis is really being skipped at Ajax. That irritates me a bit, because in my eyes he is the most creative player of Ajax.”
The NOS then showed images in which David Neres and Noussair Mazraoui, among others, repeatedly opted for a different solution on Saturday, while Berghuis apparently was in better shape. “Maybe I’m looking too much, but when he plays he should get a lot of balls. Out of twenty possible balls, he may only get five. That is the problem. Berghuis is also not allowed to take free kicks. On Saturday he was allowed to take a corner and he was good for two assists.”
Ibrahim Afellay thinks Berghuis is ‘still too humble’. “Rafael rightly notes that he is potentially Ajax’s most creative player. If you give him the ball, he generally does something good with it. You’re just missing that poison that he says, ‘The ball here’.” Van der Vaart is not someone who thinks that a newcomer needs time at another club. “When you’re new to a club you have to make a statement. That you indicate that you are the best at this and that. And then you have to show it,” said the former midfielder, who portrayed that the Berghuis of Feyenoord would have indicated with much more noise that the ball should have gone to him. “That irritates me,” the analyst repeated.
“They are talking about Antony, Neres and Mohamed Daramy. That’s fine, but nobody can do what Berghuis can do. That’s that left leg, that decisive cross or cross. Antony is one-on-one and Neres is also of the same, but nobody can do what Berghuis can do. He just lets it happen a bit and his fellow players don’t help him either. That irritates me.” Freek Jansen from Football International noted that everyone at Ajax asks for the ball, not just Berghuis. Van der Vaart: “You get someone from Feyenoord, that’s not nothing, let’s be honest. For a lot of money and then it’s like: ‘Just join in, we’ll see’.”
“I think they would not have reached Berghuis for fifteen million euros”, Jansen pointed out the difference in purchase price between Berghuis and Antony. “It was just a bargain for Ajax and they assumed that they would sell Neres”, emphasized the journalist, who pointed out that in terms of base place it is on the right between Antony and Berghuis. Van der Vaart: “I would always choose Berghuis. He has something no one has. Also with the Dutch national team. Two, three balls so that the Dutch scores a goal. Nobody does that at the Dutch either. Louis van Gaal does not put him up for nothing.”