Erik ten Hag simply chooses Kjell Scherpen again in Ajax’s away match against RKC Waalwijk on Sunday afternoon, despite the much-discussed blunder of the tall goalkeeper in Thursday’s Europa League duel with AS Roma (1-2). Prior to the encounter with RKC, the Ajax coach draws the comparison with Manuel Neuer, the Bayern Munich goalkeeper who, according to Ten Hag, is also not infallible.
“He (Scherpen, ed.) Behaves as I expected”, Ten Hag explains in conversation with reporter Hans Kraay junior of ESPN. “He is realistic and also knows that he is wrong there (with the free kick of Roma player Lorenzo Pellegrini, ed.). He has to learn from that.” Kraay junior then asks whether Ten Hag has had to provide ‘extra warmth’ to the closing post in recent days. “Yes. I also saw Manuel Neuer make mistakes at the beginning of his career at Schalke 04. And in the end he became the best goalkeeper in the world. Well, I do not want to say that Scherpen will be, but at least he has made great strides. Every goalkeeper, especially at the beginning of his career, experiences moments like this. It’s about how you deal with them. “
Kraay junior then puts the question to Ten Hag whether Scherpen will also be under the bar at Ajax in the away match against Roma on Thursday. “No, you shouldn’t just assume that, because Maarten (Stekelenburg, ed.) Is on the right track. Only today it is still too early for him.” Devyne Rensch simply occupies the right back position against RKC, despite the fact that the Ajax player was suspended on Thursday for the second meeting with Roma in the quarterfinals of the Europa League. Ten Hag explains why he made that choice. “Because he is doing very well, I am very satisfied with him. Today is important and from here we look to Thursday again,” said the Ajax coach.
Ten Hag further explains why Brian Brobbey is missing from Ajax’s match selection. “He had an ice leg and it was too short to be there today.” The trainer also reports that he may save players against RKC for the game in Rome, if the intermediate score gives cause for it. In the studio, analyst Kenneth Perez says that this could have been a match for Oussama Idrissi, for example, who has little or no time to play for Ajax. The wing attacker hired from Seville also starts on Sunday against RKC on the bench at Ajax.
“Idrissi is hired from Sevilla. He has to play in these games”, says the somewhat surprised Perez. “I’m not necessarily a fan of rotation, but if you’ve bought in like that and rented an Idrissi … Then he can’t play against RKC.” In the view of fellow analyst Ronald de Boer, Ten Hag is taking a risk by not opting for fresh players in the run-up to Thursday’s meeting with Roma. “You assume that the championship is almost certainly in the bag. The Europa League match against Roma is extremely important. You do take a risk with some players.”