PSV hopes to win the first prize on Saturday since the won national title in 2018. In the battle for the Johan Cruijff Scale, the team of trainer Roger Schmidt will compete against national champion and cup holder Ajax. At the press conference prior to the match, Marco van Ginkel says that PSV is motivated to win the prize, while Schmidt indicates that he expects a strong Ajax in the Johan Cruijff ArenA.
“PSV has not won anything in the last few years”, Van Ginkel realizes. “As PSV you always have to play for the prizes. If you can win a prize in one match, that is certainly alive. Maybe it is something more special because it is against Ajax, but in the end you just want to win the match.” Van Ginkel calls Ajax ‘always one of PSV’s biggest competitors’. “Last year they came first with a lot of points difference. I don’t think we have won anything for three years. Then it will be an extra nice clash.”
Does PSV see Saturday’s match as an opportunity to take revenge after last season, in which Ajax became champion by sixteen points? “Not necessarily, but we have started the season well. We want to continue that series. You can win a prize in one game, who doesn’t want that?”, Van Ginkel wonders. PSV won both meetings with Galatasaray in the second preliminary round of the Champions League and laid the foundation for qualification for the last preliminary round with a 3-0 win over FC Midtjylland on Tuesday.
However, Ajax is also in good shape, Schmidt thinks. He saw the club keep pace with Bayern Munich (2-2) and RB Leipzig (1-1) in pre-season. “Ajax has a very good team. They have not lost a single key player, have strengthened their selection and have kept the trainer. It is always a great advantage to keep the selection together. You can also see that on the field. Ajax is always a tough opponent. They played well against top German clubs in preparation, so we expect a strong Ajax. But we saw last season that we can play well against Ajax. I expect an intensive, good match.”
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