Experiencing the new and exciting Ajax FC thanks to FC Barcelona

Experiencing the new and exciting Ajax FC thanks to FC Barcelona 

UCL 2nd Leg - Real Madrid vs Ajax - March 5, 2019

I have not watched Ajax this season or for that matter any season in the recent past. I never sit up for any of the weekday, early morning UCL games (in India it mostly starts at 1.30 am) except for those of FC Barcelona, because its very difficult to get back to work the next day. 

I had missed a number of interesting match-ups and was content watching only the highlights or the recording of the entire match (if it turned out to be a good contest).

Moreover as the Champions league reaches its final stages, summer starts to peak and it becomes intolerably hot and sultry in my city. As in most, middle class Indian homes the AC is available only in the bedrooms. The living room where the TV is placed would be like an oven even in the nights. I would sit right under the ceiling fan with an electric bat to keep off the swarm of mosquitoes that get attracted by the light from the television, because the repellents are ineffective against these tiny torturers. The next day in office would be awful after keeping myself awake all night. I sit through this royal torture for the live, weekday games of FC Barcelona only, because of my love for the club and its players. 

Against my usual practice, I decided to watch the 2^nd leg of of the Real Madrid – Ajax clash for one reason. After reading all the hype surrounding the young player De Jong who had signed up with Barca for the next season, I wanted to see him play against a tough opponent like Real Madrid who had the upper hand from a 2-1 win in the 1^st leg.I did not have any big expectations from this small team and expected Madrid to go through.
  
I know Ajax was the club of one of my all time favourite football players – Johan Cruyff. All the success and beauty of today’s Barcelona is attributed to the philosophies that Cruyff had brought in from Ajax. 

Despite waning in the recent years, the traditional giants of Dutch football have churned out some legendary players like the Laudrups, the de Boers, Rijkaard, Kluivert, Bergkamp, Sneijder etc. Of course, Barcelona’s current lot includes ex- Ajax players like Luis Sauarez, Cillessen, Vermaelen with the talented De Jong being the latest addition to the list.

Moreover there was no Sergio Ramos and that was one less reason to hate Real Madrid. While the Madrid fanatics worship him as one of the best in the world, many (including me) consider him a shrewd and nasty villain who gets away with a lot of awful things on the football field. He was on a self imposed ban, as he had earned a deliberate yellow card in the earlier game. He was confident of his team going through to the Quarters after the 2-1 win in the first leg and wanted to be on the safe side in the next round in case he got penalized.

Reading through the Ajax line-up, I had no idea about any of the players in the team, except for Blind and Tadic who were in the Premier League sometime ago. I had difficulty pronouncing and spelling their names.  Some of them were tongue twisters and sounded like the the Scientific names of some plant species (eg. Tagliafico, Mazraoui). Whenever I tweeted during the game, I spelt almost all their names wrong.

But none of those mattered, once the match started. An inspired Ajax put on a wonderful and magical display. Led by the 19 year old (!) De Ligt, the youngsters and veterans of Ajax came into the match, all fired up despite being on the back-foot. They were up by 2-0 goals within 20 minutes of the game and Real Madrid’s advantage had vanished into thin air.

Mind you, Real Madrid were also attacking as much as possible. It was no mean task to take on the three time champions filled with some of the top players in the world, including the Best of 2018. But they did not seem to care about the reputation or the home advantage as they went about executing their game plan, in style. 

Every time they attacked my jaw dropped because the lanky Ajax players came up with some unbelievable football. As the game progressed, it was not about just De Jong (who dazzled in the first half) anymore. I was left admiring the likes of Neres, Ziyech, Onana (incidentally he is a product of Barca's La Masia) , de Ligt, Mazraoui, de Beek, Tadic (truly scintillating) and Schone. 

Tadic was in inspired form as he was involved in the first two goals setting it up wonderfully for Ziyech and Neres. The enthusiastic youngsters grabbed their chances with both hands. Tadic scored the third goal with a screaming strike. I felt the VAR decision went against Madrid as the ball seemed to have crossed the line before the 3rd goal was scored. VAR had turned out to be more controversial than useful in UCL. The calm Schone’s goal from an incredible free kick was just mind blowing which made it 4 for Ajax.

As for Madrid, it was the same old story of missed opportunities and their players had a pathetic outing. But the image that remained was that of Madrid's most promising youngster -Vinicius. The poor kid was inconsolable as he limped off the field, early in the first half, after injuring himself. The more I saw him cry, the more I wanted to kick Ramos. 

At the tender age of 18, the young Vinicius had taken on the heavy mantle of being the principal creator of his team. He had soldiered on gallantly, despite the shambolic performance of his teammates. It was a hard lesson which the kid did not deserve. It was heartbreaking. But I am sure many accolades would come his way as he develops into a  complete player.  With Vinicius, went the little hope that Madrid had, of a fightback. 

Watching the  youthful Ajax play with ease and score at will, they reminded me of  a bunch of happy kids, having the time of their life. They were overenthusiastic as times making mistakes. But they were not bothered by it. Just like little boys accidentally falling during a fun game, they dusted themselves up and got back into the match with more energy. They were supported fantastically by the more experienced players in the team. 

There was no way any one could hate them, not even the Madrid Fans. All I could do was smile in admiration as they, deservedly,  won the game 4-1 and marched into the quarter finals of the UCL. It was a dream come true for the Dutch team while it was a total nightmare for the Spanish title holders including Sergio Ramos who was up in the stands watching the game.

Kudos Ajax on a mind blowing  and memorable performance.

Observing the joyous Ajax, I couldn't help remember my favourite cousin brothers, when they were kids, feeling happy and excited whenever they got a pleasant surprise from me. That look on their faces gave me a delightful satisfaction. Only one young footballer managed to evoke a similar emotion in me and that little guy has now grown into a legend and leads FC Barcelona. 

There was a calmness among the Ajax players, an infectious enthusiasm and the urge to give it their all without letting the pressure get to their heads. I felt I was witnessing 10 Messis who resembled the Barca magician at different stages of his career.  It was beautiful and left me with a familiar, satisfied smile that appeared every time I saw Messi weave his incredible magic. 

I will have to admit that till date only FC Barcelona had given me such joy. It was wonderful to discover another Club that gave me the same experience. 

I know for sure that this team of Ajax will not last for long as the big clubs will come calling and swoop up the talented youngsters for huge sums. In fact the process has already begun with De Jong signing up for Barcelona next season. While I am extremely happy for Barca, deep down I felt sad. 

De Jong and the rest looked so happy, relaxed and content, playing amazing football as a unit for Ajax. They were cohesive and trusted each other. How I wish like Pep's Barcelona, these players could stick together to become one of the best clubs in the world. But that's impossible since the revenue of Ajax is nowhere near the big clubs or even the big stars of today.   

Soon these kids will go in their own ways, leaving the coach and the veterans to mentor another set of youngsters for the club. Name and fame could make or break them. While some will achieve greatness, some will do okay and some will fade into anonymity. 

Hope one day Ajax generates enough revenue and gets back to its glorious days where players groomed by them will lead the club to the ultimate glory. Good Luck dear Ajax - from now on you will hold a special place in my heart. 

As a Barca fan I was left rueing how great the current Barcelona team would have been if they had concentrated on bringing their prodigious teenagers of La Masia into their senior team instead of all the expensive buys. Probably wishful thinking!

When I sat to see the Ajax-Madrid clash, I had planned to watch only the first half and get back to bed.  But I ended up watching the entire game and went to work with a heavy head. But I must concede, it was totally worth it.  They have progressed to the UCL semi finals beating the mighty Juventus, against all odds. 

Only God knows how far Ajax will progress in the tournament. But its time for me to learn to pronounce the complicated names of the Ajax players because they are worth remembering.  I am going to keep a tab on these de Godenzonen (Sons of the Gods - which I found to be one the nicknames of Ajax and I think it suits the current team perfectly) and see how they progress in their careers.

A big, warm hug to Ajax for the wonderful and joyous experience. Thank you.


Image Credits - Google Images