The duel between Ajax and PSV on Sunday afternoon is also dominated by the meeting between Sébastien Haller and Ibrahim Sangaré. The two are friends because they play together for the national team of Ivory Coast. Haller mentions Sangaré in conversation with ESPN ‘one of the best midfielders’ in the Eredivisie.
“Yes, Ibra is a friend of mine. I see that he is doing very well at PSV, I am very happy for him. Even though I hope he doesn’t win this weekend,” Haller said. The Ajax striker is confronted with the words of PSV coach Roger Schmidt, who called Sangaré ‘a top player for the Eredivisie, one of the best players in the competition’. “Yes I agree. He is one of the best midfielders in the Netherlands.”
“He can play anywhere on the field. He takes the ball from backwards and tries to make the play. On offense, he tries to score and break through the defence. He is a very good player, especially for a team like PSV,” Haller continues. Nevertheless, the striker counts Ajax as a favorite on Sunday in the Johan Cruijff ArenA. “We are not going to fool each other. We are Ajax, we are first, we are reigning national champions. It’s up to us to show that it’s deserved. That we deserve to be first. Nothing is obvious. Whether it’s the Champions League or PSV. We need to get back to work and prepare physically and mentally.”
“We know how the previous game ended so we want revenge”, Haller points to the match for the Johan Cruijff Scale, which PSV won 0-4 in August. In 36 matches for Ajax, Haller has provisionally recorded 25 goals and 11 assists. The Ivorian international states that the move to Ajax may have turned out better than he initially expected. “I have regained my confidence on the pitch.”
That confidence had faded somewhat after his stint at West Ham United, where he couldn’t always live up to high expectations. “I simply went back to basics. As an attacker you have to find the target and the conditions have to be right. I have done that. My goal was to get close to the goal to put a lot of pressure and play offensively. It’s nice to see that everyone is focused on attacking. I have returned to the basics of my position.”