Ajax is a few sizes too big for Maurice Steijn, concludes Valentijn Driessen after the dismissal of the 48-year-old coach. According to the football chief of The Telegraph Steijn could no longer hide behind the mess that the now dismissed director of football affairs Sven Mislintat has made of Ajax.
Driessen thinks it is too easy to solely blame the player material for the crisis Ajax is currently in. “Steijn did not take advantage of an opportunity that he never thought he would get as an average professional player and average trainer of small clubs,” Driessen writes in his column for The Telegraph. “The harsh judgment is that Steijn is too small as a trainer for a big club like Ajax.”
The columnist is of the opinion that after the debacle against FC Utrecht (4-3 loss) there was no longer any argument why the club management at Ajax should continue with Steijn. “Under his leadership, Ajax has always been like loose sand, there was no direction or progress to be discovered in the game and the confidence and form of all players decreased by the week. To such an extent that at times it even looked like sabotage, which Berghuis, Taylor, Sutalo, Sosa and Tahirovic showed in Utrecht.”
Driessen saw ‘the total implosion at Ajax’ surface on Sunday afternoon in Galgenwaard Stadium. Referee Dennis Higler had to temporarily stop the match against FC Utrecht twice. Steijn could no longer reach his players or they ignored him, writes Driessen.
“It was an unorganized mess on the field of coaches and players, who stood in groups discussing while Steijn wanted to give instructions as a team. There was even an argument between Steijn and his assistants and substitute goalkeeper Ramaj, while Berghuis calmly discussed the latest world news with his hand over his mouth with the substituted FC Utrecht striker and his former Ajax buddy Labyad.”
Steijn’s response to dismissal
In Amsterdam, Steijn still had a contract that ran until mid-2026, but that was terminated early on Monday evening. Steijn said in a press release that he was disappointed with the decision, although he understood that there would be consequences for the disappointing results. “This morning I had a meeting with the management and we met again at the end of the afternoon. We came to the conclusion that this is now the best thing for Ajax, although I think it is a terrible shame.”
Hedwiges Maduro, who served as Steijn’s assistant coach, will do the honors for the time being. The next game for Maduro will be Thursday’s Europa League match against Brighton & Hove Albion. The top match against PSV is then scheduled for next Sunday.