Mateo Cassierra looks back with a good feeling on his employment with Ajax. The striker came over from Deportivo Cali for 5.5 million euros in 2016, but was sold to Belenenses three years later. In conversation with the Colombian EFE Cassierra tells that he notices a lot of difference between the competition of the Netherlands and that of Portugal.

Cassierra was unable to live up to expectations at Ajax. In his first two seasons he made a total of 21 appearances in the Eredivisie and scored 3 goals. After half a season on loan at FC Groningen, for which Cassierra played ten times and scored once, he was rented out to Racing Club in Argentina in January 2019. That rental period would actually continue until mid-2020, but because he was not discussed at Racing Club, the lease was dissolved in August and Ajax the Colombian sold to Belenenses in September 2019.

Cassierra, who was a lot more successful in the service of Young Ajax with 29 goals in 46 duels, says that he has learned a lot in Amsterdam. “If you go to a club like Ajax from Colombia, you end up in a completely different world. I learned a lot,” he says. “It’s like a school. I trained under Dennis Bergkamp, ​​I played with Frenkie de Jong … It’s something that will always stay with me.” Bergkamp was an assistant coach at Ajax in Cassierra’s first season. “He was a player who made the difference and you could see those qualities. At Ajax he is an idol. I always tried to learn from everything he did.”

Cassierra usually has a base at Belenenses. The club is currently thirteenth in the Liga NOS, with seven points from as many matches. Last season, Cassierra scored 4 times in 29 appearances. He says he felt at home in Portugal from the first moment. “I really like football in Portugal. I came from Argentina, where I didn’t get any chances. I am very grateful to the chairman of Belenenses. Here, as a football player, I have the continuity I was looking for. I learn every day.”

“Last season was difficult and we were close to relegation, but in the end we managed to keep playing at the highest level. This season is going very well. There have been games where we clearly had the upper hand,” the 23 continued. -year-old attacker. “From the first moment I liked football in Portugal. It is a very different competition than the Netherlands, Argentina or Colombia. The intensity is very high, the game is very physical and the teams do not differ much from each other in mutual matches. You learn here every day, because you always compete against very strong teams. “