Max de Waal played a leading role on Friday evening in the meeting between Almere City FC and Jong Ajax in the Kitchen Champion Division. The attacker was good for a hat-trick in the 2-4 victory and his third came from eleven meters, and also via a panenka. John Heitinga already knew what time it was on the bench when Jong Ajax was awarded a penalty kick seven minutes before the end, with a score of 1-3.
“If he had missed, he would have been sitting next to me”, assured Heitinga quasi-seriously afterwards, in conversation with ESPN, referring to a substitution. “We already said on the couch: ‘One hundred percent a panenka’. I’ve known Max for a while. I told Michel Kreek (assistant trainer, ed.) that it would be one hundred percent a panenka. Sure enough… But if he makes it, you can’t say anything as a trainer. He goes home with the ball.”
Max de Waal makes his hat trick for Jong with this ‘panenka’ @AFCAjax complete! ???? #? #almjaj pic.twitter.com/6CnspHzS8S
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) September 17, 2021
“At the moment, Max de Waal is on seven goals,” emphasized Heitinga. The nineteen-year-old was already good for a total of three hits in the first three matches and made his fourth of the season last Monday in the 6-3 victory over NAC Breda. Number five, six and seven followed in Almere. The Heitinga team rises to thirteenth place in the ranking thanks to the third victory of the season.
“What is my goal for this season? I would love to become a top scorer in the Kitchen Champion Division,” De Waal emphasized on Friday evening in conversation with Ajax Life. The attacker is currently on a level with Thijs Dallinga of Excelsior. Both have a goal more than Ralf Seuntjens of NAC Breda. De Waal is originally an (attacking) midfielder and has been in the striker at Jong Ajax since this season. ‘In the preparation there were some boys injured and I was allowed to come in as a striker. I did pretty well and now I’m in this position.”
“Which role do I like best? It would be crazy if I say midfielder now. As a striker I am important for the team at the moment and that feels good.” He therefore looks a lot at Sébastien Haller, whom he calls ‘a phenomenon’. “When you see how he moves… He always looks good. That’s not luck. As a striker of Jong Ajax, you look forward to that. I sometimes stand with those guys from the first on the training field, but haven’t really talked to them yet. Hopefully that will come in the future, because my goal is to make it to the first team. From childhood it has been my dream to play football in the Johan Cruijff Arena.”
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