Benjamin Tahirovic was also completely unable to convince the Ajax side against Olympique Marseille on Thursday. The Bosnian midfielder is tackled hard during halftime (2-2 score). ESPNanalyst Marciano Vink. “Tahirovic is dramatic. He really doesn’t understand where to walk. He runs like a blind chicken there in front of the defense,” said Vink.
“All the danger of Olympique Marseille arises for Ajax’s defense (in Tahirovic’s space, ed.),” continues Vink, who saw that Ajax started well. The Amsterdam team took a 2-0 lead within twenty minutes. “When you are in a tight spot, like at the beginning of the match, the spaces are small and Tahirovic still looks okay. But then you lead 2-0, and then they seem to think : Now we can play football. And then you see that attackers are less likely to retreat. More and more spaces are being created…”
Kees Kwakman saw something similar. “I think Tahirovic is going out! It’s unbelievable.” Kwakman was right: at halftime Tahirovic was replaced by Silvano Vos. “That right back (Anton Gaaei, ed.) too…” sighs Kwakman. “There is so much loss of ball. It is impossible to play against that. Then it becomes a back-and-forth match. There is no idea behind it, not even in the build-up. It is even a miracle that it is 2- 2 is at rest.”
With colleagues from Veronica Kieft is also critical of Tahirovic. “I thought he gave a lot of wrong passes, that boy,” said Kieft. “This always created an opportunity to play on the counter.” Dick Advocaat meanwhile saw that Vos was preparing for a half-time substitute. He must have a reason to put him in,” said Advocaat. “After all, they bought seven midfielders…”