Willem van Hanegem thinks that coach John van 't Schip played against AZ in a 5-3-2 system on the advice of assistant Michael Valkanis. Before kick-off, Ajax's coach surprised by deploying not four, but five defenders. According to The Curve Valkanis has 'a lot to contribute to Amsterdam'.

Ajax suffered a painful defeat on Sunday afternoon when they visited AZ. The team from Amsterdam also appeared weak with five defenders and were slaughtered by two good goals from Ruben van Bommel: 2-0.

In his column in the Algemeen Dagblad Van Hanegem says that he finds the new formation unfounded and that the plan to close the defensive leaks comes from Valkanis.

“John van 't Schip has brought the Greek Michael Valkanis to the Arena and he has quite a lot to contribute to Amsterdam,” says Van Hanegem. “I wonder if he has thought about playing in that system with five defenders.”

“That is a kind of holy solution for some people: more defenders, then things will probably go better. At Oranje there was also a movement that kept talking about that way of playing. Louis van Gaal played it, but he had to constantly fix it. It's not a trick that always works.”

“Ajax thought it could introduce such a setup between Norway and Alkmaar. Without being able to train on it. How naive actually. Moreover, it is better for teams in trouble to remain stable, and that is what a system with three men up front and four defenders offers.”

“Ajax just does whatever it takes, even against AZ. And in the meantime, the players are increasingly losing their way. They always think they have found the solution,” concludes Van Hanegem.

More sports news