Tuesday, October 19, 2021 at 1:00 PM• Last update: 13:03

Dusan Tadic is looking forward to taking on Borussia Dortmund, and in particular Erling Braut Haaland, in the third group stage match of the Champions League on Tuesday evening. Like his trainer Erik ten Hag, the captain of Ajax does not see it as a disadvantage that the star player has recovered in time for the squatter.

Haaland made an impression last Sunday during his return after a lingering thigh injury by being accurate twice against FSV Mainz 05 (3-1). Tadic is not unhappy that the Norwegian is back just in time. “He is a great player,” the Ajax captain said on the club’s official website. “I saw that he played this weekend. But that doesn’t matter, you always want to compete against the best players. If we beat them, they don’t have the excuse that they didn’t have their best player.” On Monday, Ten Hag already said at the press conference that Ajax is not only focusing on Haaland, but on the whole of Dortmund. “It is an insult to those other players how you, how you speak about Haaland,” the Ajax coach told the journalists.

With six points from two matches, Ajax is in good shape in Group C of the Champions League. “The first game was great with that 1-5 win at Sporting with the away fans,” said Tadic. Then Besiktas won 2-0 at home. “Everyone was excited,” Tadic recalls. “I told the players that a Champions League match is different from playing at home in the Eredivisie. They saw that and thought it was fantastic. I think everyone had a good time: the people in the stadium, us.”

Ajax will fight with BVB for the lead in the group. Tadic expects the Germans to be impressed by the atmosphere in the stadium. “The atmosphere will do something to the opponent. They will have the idea that everyone is against them and that they are playing against twelve men.” The attacker is also looking forward to measuring himself with a European top team. “We are excited. It’s a great game, a great opponent. It will be fun to watch. Dortmund has a good team, is good at transition and has good players.” The match between Ajax and Dortmund will start on Tuesday evening at 9 p.m. in the Johan Cruijff ArenA.