Young Ajax starts Friday evening with a home match against FC Eindhoven in the second half of the season in the Kitchen Champion Division. The team of trainer John Heitinga had a changeable first half year and is in twelfth place. Reporter Kalum van Oudheusden went to the capital for an exclusive interview with Kian Fitz-Jim. The midfielder talks about his early days at Ajax, his dumbest teammate and his greatest example in the first team.
Fitz-Jim has a trainer with a lot of experience in Heitinga, but in the past he was not always able to go through one door with the former professional football player. “In the past, our relationship was variable. One time it went better than the other,” said the midfielder. “But I think I generally have a good relationship with Heitinga. In the past I sometimes disagreed with him. But he is just a good trainer. The threshold is very low, so you can always visit him. He will never show you the door. You can say whatever you want, as long as it is done with respect.”
When entering his third year with the reserves, Fitz-Jim had counted on a place in the A-selection, but it did not come to that. Alfred Schreuder does not need the inspector for the time being. “In the beginning I had a hard time with that,” Fitz-Jim continues. “But I have talked about it a lot with the trainer. In the end I have to do it myself. I can throw the cap at it, but then I won’t get there. I don’t feel like pressure, I try to do as well as possible. For now I have to focus on Jong Ajax.”
The player closest to the A-selection in Fitz-Jim’s eyes is Sontje Hansen. “He’s a good friend of mine. He’s had a bad period, but he’s coming back now. He passes easily and is very fast. He may not be very smart off the field, but you don’t notice it on the field of. I have to be careful not to put him down, but sometimes when you’re talking to him he doesn’t know what you mean. He’s just not a very smart guy.”
In the first team, Fitz-Jim looks at Steven Berghuis with above-average interest. “I really like him. His kick is really good. But also how he gets the ball and how dominant he is. I like to see that. He is also a very good guy off the field, you can always to him to ask things. Where will I be in five years? Or at Ajax in the first or at Barcelona. That would be nice. Barcelona is one of my dream clubs, together with Ajax. “
Kalum van Oudheusden is a full-time video journalist, presenter and program maker at Voetbalzone and makes exclusive interviews and various programs, among other things.
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