Sjaak Swart sees that Steven Berghuis does not yet assert himself as emphatically in the uniform of Ajax as with Feyenoord, but the living legend of the Amsterdam club has a lot of confidence in the the Dutch international. According to ‘Mister Ajax’ it is only a matter of time until the fans get to see the very best Berghuis. “I have every confidence in that. Steven is a gifted footballer with a fantastic left leg.”
Swart knows that after his transfer from Feyenoord to Ajax, Berghuis has had some problems. “He must now try to get rid of that and just play football, because he can do that like the best,” emphasizes the 83-year-old former Ajax player on Tuesday in conversation with The Telegraph. He saw how Berghuis was a cog in a well-oiled machine last Saturday in his competition debut for Ajax against NEC (5-0 win). That gives him courage. “Good football players can always play together and you saw that Steven has a great click with Dusan Tadic, Davy Klaassen.”
“But also with Noussair Mazraoui, who constantly thundered over him. Believe me, he is going to score 15 goals and provide 10 assists this season.” Following the example of Rafael van der Vaart, Hans Kraay Jr. and Valentijn Driessen, Swart also questions the much-discussed moment in the final phase of Ajax – NEC. Not Berghuis but Zakaria Labyad took a free kick and his kick ended in the wall. “What he did was impossible, could it? He has not played for a long time and demands a free kick on the edge of the penalty area,” the former attacker sighs.
“If Dusan Tadic plays and takes a free kick, I say forward, but in this case Berghuis should have taken the ball from Labyad. Maybe Steven found that difficult in a full Johan Cruijff ArenA, but he should have done it,” says Swart. “He must put aside his modesty in such cases, because he has a spike in his left leg…”
Berghuis created six chances against NEC and that was more than any other player on the field. The assist on Dusan Tadic, the 4-0 in minute 38, meant that Berghuis was directly involved in an Eredivisie goal in the Johan Cruijff ArenA for the first time in his career. In his previous eight league matches in Ajax’s home port, he did not score or assist.