Ajax hopes to qualify for the quarterfinals of the Champions League on Tuesday at the expense of Benfica. After the 2-2 draw in the first leg, Erik ten Hag’s team cannot afford a defeat in front of its own audience, but Benfica turned out to be able to get Ajax into trouble. Football zone spoke to three supporters who were there in Lisbon and who will also be in the stands on Tuesday. How did they experience the away game and what is their advice to Ten Hag?
Football zone readers Kyle Braakman (23), Devin de Bont (27) and Sebas Meekel (29) responded to our call to speak to supporters who followed Ajax. “We went from Wednesday to Sunday,” says Sebas, who went to the match with a friend. “I already knew Lisbon because I studied there for eight months eight years ago. It is a very beautiful city. It was a bit like coming home in that regard. I stuck to it for a few days to fully enjoy it. I visited some old places, like the place where I used to live.”
Kyle also knew Lisbon, but for a different reason: he was present at Sporting Portugal – Ajax (1-5) in September. “This time we were there a day and a half shorter, also because we had been there quite recently. Last time we went there with very different expectations,” Kyle recalls. “Sporting was a difficult opponent, we thought. Now we were like: Benfica, let’s do that. Then you come home from a cold fair.” Many more Ajax players were allowed into the stadium than was the case in September (3250 to 1200). The atmosphere was therefore good, but the experience around the stadium was ‘a lot less’.
Photo: Kyle Braakman
“You have to take the metro from a square and then you are accompanied by a whole column to the stadium. Those are serious guys that you shouldn’t say boo or ba to. They treat you very arrogantly and just push you back in line.” Partly due to the strict security measures, the supporters of Ajax did not enter Estádio da Luz until late. “It took a really long time. We only got in twenty minutes before kick-off and there were still a lot of people behind me. The interaction was nothing to write home about, but that’s part of it. Last time we were with a lot less men, then they were a little less strict,” says Kyle, who recently started the podcast Tiki Taka United and spoke to Jay Gorter about the duel with Benfica.
In the days before the game, storm Eunice raged through the Netherlands. Most Ajax players flew to Portugal just after the storm, but Devin left a little earlier. He was in Portugal two days before the match. “The outward flight was completely shit because of the storm. We arrived at Schiphol fairly early, but by then the flight had already been delayed by two hours”, Devin looks back. “We were also in the worst lounge you can find at Schiphol, lounge 4, there is really nothing to do there. A stall and a small supermarket, that’s it. There was also nowhere to sit, because many flights were delayed. After two hours we were finally on the plane. But halfway through the take-off runway, we stopped for 15 minutes and were told that there was a technical defect on the plane.”
“The water supply to the toilet turned out to be not quite right. We were stuck on the plane for another hour and a half. All in all, we had been delayed by more than three and a half hours. So be it, we arrived in one piece”, he concludes in a relativistic way. Devin ended up spending five days in Lisbon, where he also celebrated his birthday. “We sat on the terrace and saw a lot in Lisbon. What better way to celebrate your birthday than in Lisbon with twenty degrees on your cup?”, he wonders with a laugh. However, the race course left something to be desired. Devin saw Ajax put under good pressure in the first half, but in the second half Benfica was ‘helped in the saddle’ because the team from Amsterdam leaned back.
Photo: Devin de Bont
Kyle, Devin and Sebas all noticed that Ajax was getting into trouble on the left side of the rear guard. Only when Benfica had come back to 2-2, Ten Hag made two substitutions: Davy Klaassen and Nicolás Tagliafico replaced Ryan Gravenberch and Daley Blind, who were both on the left. “It’s easy to say afterwards that you would have made the substitutions earlier and that Blind should have moved from that position, but we literally said before halftime: ‘Blind there is dangerous’”, Sebas looks back. “Certainly because there was little speed in the combination Blind – Gravenberch. Benfica realized that at a certain point. We had switched much earlier. You always say that afterwards, of course, but we really thought so.”
Devin noticed the exact same thing in the stands. “Blind got a few sprints out on our left. Then I said: ‘You have to change it, otherwise it will go wrong.’ Five minutes later it was 2-2. Everyone could see it coming. Blind is a very good player in the build-up, but if he is up against a fast right winger, he is unfortunately not of much use.” However, he would draft Blind in the return. “Because I expect Benfica to play defensively in the first place. Then Blind is a good one. But suppose you are leading 1-0 or 2-0, and Benfica is really going to come with those fast guys, then I would change Blind for Tagliafico.”
Photo: Devin de Bont
Sebas has strong doubts. He knows that ‘many Ajax players think that Blind is too slow’, but he thinks the left back is important in Ajax’s game. “So I wouldn’t take him out just like that. But with Nico you have a very strong trump up your sleeve. Maybe against Benfica in that position you don’t need someone who can play football very well, but someone who can stop. In the other nine positions you can then have players who can play better football. Normally I wouldn’t take Blind out, but now it’s going to be a very difficult choice. With Nico you’re always a little worried that he’ll get a red card, but I think Nico realizes he shouldn’t. He also sat on the bench for six months. He was severely punished for that.”
Kyle expects Blind to get a base again and that Ten Hag will tinker little with his tactical plan. “Ajax is used to playing against lesser teams and then Mazraoui and Blind are given space. When you play against a 4-4-2, the strikers put constant pressure. For Timber and Martínez it is basically no problem if the strikers are fast, but if the disguised wingers are also fast, then you have a big problem with Blind, especially because they are so high. Personally, I would let Álvarez play a little lower, a bit like Ronald Koeman did at Barcelona with Frenkie de Jong in the beginning. If a defender moves forward, you can lower Álvarez. You saw: as soon as Benfica came out, Ajax was the asshole.” All supporters expect a heavy return. “2-1 or 3-1”, predicts Sebas. Devin goes for 2-1; Kyle keeps it at 1-0 with a goal from Haller or Tadic.
Are you going abroad for a match of your favorite club and do you like to share your experiences with Voetbalzone? Send an e-mail to [email protected]†