Erik ten Hag finds it difficult to compare the current Ajax with the success team of the 2018/19 season. With players such as Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt and Hakim Ziyech, Ajax reached the semi-finals of the Champions League at the time; On Wednesday evening, the current team hopes to take a first step towards the quarterfinals against Benfica. Rafael van der Vaart said in the run-up to the game that Ajax had individually better players in the 2018/19 season.
When reporter Wytse van der Goot asks Ten Hag what he thinks of that statement, the trainer comes closer with a smile: due to the deafening noise in the stadium, he initially does not hear the question properly. “I remember that we had quite a difficult phase after the winter”, he then looks back on the 2018/19 season. “Especially in the match against Real Madrid, we were able to reach a higher level, because we were challenged. Now we are actually in a very good phase. Of course that was a great team, but I always find it difficult to compare teams. I think there’s still some stretch in this team.”
??’We must want to annoy big adversaries!’
Ajax coach Erik ten Hag looks relaxed
‘The players have been looking forward to it’#ZiggoSport #UCL #BENAJA pic.twitter.com/NA7pav2QYr
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) February 23, 2022
Ten Hag does not yet want to think about winning the Champions League. “We should not think about that at all. We want to annoy big opponents and watch from match to match. That is a cliché, but it is true. We will have to be very good in two matches,” he says about the fight with Benfica . In the interview, Ten Hag made a relaxed impression, conclude Van der Vaart and Van der Goot; in the studio, Youri Mulder is also happy to see how calm and cheerful Ten Hag is in front of the camera.
“He enjoys his work. That’s nice to see. Of course I still know him from FC Twente, where I played with him. This is actually exactly the same person as then,” says the analyst. “You can see that he enjoys talking about football. Then such a conversation is great fun. As far as he is concerned, it can go on for another ten minutes, while most trainers look forward to it. He is very free.”