After the lost Classic against Feyenoord (2-3), John Heitinga cannot deny Calvin Bassey’s weak performance in possession of the ball. The coach of Ajax emphasizes the defensive qualities of the mandekker and believes that his team should help Bassey when it comes to his game in possession. “It’s a team sport. You do it together,” said Heitinga at the press conference, where reporter Jelle Kusters was present.
Feyenoord coach Arne Slot had clearly instructed his men to let Bassey do the build-up at Ajax as much as possible, by releasing the left central defender. The Classic therefore became a struggle for the ball for Bassey, who hit himself in the head at times. “We have to make sure we help him get the ball,” says Heitinga, who had also come up with a concrete plan for this.
“Calvin alternates those moments. We know that, especially when an opponent comes here. Kenneth Taylor has to get to the ball more.” Heitinga wanted the midfielder to collapse to the defense during the build-up. “Then Calvin comes in the middle, Kenneth on the left and Jurriën (Timber) on the right. At times when we managed to do that, you also saw that we came under pressure from Feyenoord. Sometimes you just have to put the ball behind it, with a great ball on Steven Bergwijn.” That pass from Steven Berghuis to Bergwijn, to which Heitinga refers, eventually resulted in Dusan Tadic’s 2-1.
Heitinga continues to stand up for Bassey. “He also plays with us for his defensive qualities. Calvin is critical. The great thing is that he keeps going. He is not going to play hide and seek. Some players then no longer want the ball at all. It is a development point, we know that. ” Heitinga never considered substituting Bassey at halftime. “No, not considered. Because Calvin is also important because of the defensive qualities. There are other guys who have to help. You do it together. I think we put too much emphasis on Calvin now.”