Andy van der Meijde does not rule out that the Ajax players played less well against FC Volendam (1-1) on Thursday evening in the hope that trainer Alfred Schreuder was fired. The former footballer said that on Friday Veronica Offside. Fellow analysts Wesley Sneijder and Wim Kieft disagree with Van der Meijde.
The discussion starts with a look back at the match between Ajax and Volendam. “I was watching, and I also felt sorry for that Schreuder,” Kieft opens. “I was like: how glad he will be at the final whistle, when he is fired. At some point you know it’s inevitable. That is also because of himself, of course, but that pressure becomes so immense… that you know you can never win it again.”
Van der Meijde responds by asking himself aloud whether Schreuder may have deliberately pushed himself towards the exit. “Because so many players have left. He sets up that Bassey every time, can’t he also see that it’s not working? Then you just set up that Wijndal, then you just try to win, don’t you? He can play football better than that Bassey!”
Presenter Wilfred Genee then asks the table guests whether it is possible that the players have sabotaged things. “Sure,” Van der Meijde responds. “That’s how it goes. That Bassey plays and doesn’t hit gingerbread, that comes to life in such a team. Then you get pissed off, amongst yourselves. If you don’t play in a team and your qualities don’t come out, it’s because of the trainer. That takes on a life of its own, and then you start to think: God damn it, I’m not playing well, and there’s just shit. I don’t get confidence from the trainer. Then it is very difficult to get ready for a match.”
Kieft cannot agree with that. “I have never experienced that I thought: we are now going into a match and we are going to lose on purpose so that the coach is fired. Then it is also at the expense of yourself, of course. Of course you always want to perform and do it well”, says Kieft, who receives support from Sneijder. “I don’t believe that either,” said the record international of the Dutch. “You don’t go into a competition like this with the idea of: I’m going to play football at fifty percent today because then Schreuder will be out. You all have your pride that you want to win a competition. I also had a trainer once, who I would rather lose than rich. Benítez for example, at Inter. But then you don’t deliberately shoot a ball over. Those footballers do it because they love the game, don’t they?