The fact that Ajax chooses Maurice Steijn causes mixed feelings for Kenneth Perez. According to the analyst of ESPN, also a former player of the Amsterdam club, the coach from Sparta Rotterdam does not exactly fit the philosophy of the number three in last season’s Eredivisie. This Monday it was announced that Steijn and Ajax have reached an oral agreement on a three-year contract.
“Maurice Steijn is of course completely at odds with what Ajax stands for,” Perez said in clear terms on Monday. Football talk. “At his last three Dutch clubs, VVV, ADO and Sparta, he is the trainer with the most long balls and a lot of duel power. And when you talk about Ajax, that is a completely different way of playing football. I found it very surprising “that they are so far apart. That does not mean that he cannot still show it. Only it is true that if you have come into a certain pattern as a trainer, it is very difficult to suddenly start playing offensively. “
“I’m not saying I write him off, I just wonder if he can,” Perez repeats his opinion about the upcoming marriage between Ajax and Steijn. “Setting up the organization and playing with long balls is not that difficult. That is easier than having to grind in creativity and offensive patterns. If you look at the figures, Sparta in the Eredivisie was the team with the most long balls on the striker.” The analyst compliments Ajax on the courage it shows by choosing Steijn. “I think it’s incredibly daring from Ajax. You expected an established name, but now they have someone who still has to show everything.”
Finally, Perez refuses to write Steijn off definitively now. “There is nothing wrong with Maurice Steijn. He also has flair and confidence in himself when he stands there along the field. I’m just talking about completely different football that he has to play now. Can he do that? I really ask myself now we like it, the long ball on Lauritsen and I fully understand it. Only that is not accepted at a club like Ajax. That is not allowed. And so I honestly wonder if he can do that, “said the somewhat Perez worried.