Schreuder came to say goodbye to the players after the dismissal. “He wished us luck,” Tadic said. “We had to stay close together and become champions. I think he is a good trainer. He was already at FC Twente. But there are also reasons why we perform less.”
Departed players
For example, Ajax said goodbye to Sébastien Haller, Antony, Lisandro Martínez, Ryan Gravenberch, Noussair Mazraoui, André Onana, Perr Schuurs and Nicolás Tagliafico last summer. “Those were a lot of good players,” said Tadic. “And how many times have we lost points when we should have been leading 5-0? We should have won this game too. But we won’t.”
The fanatical fans of the F-Side were already screaming in the opening phase of the duel with FC Volendam (1-1) for the dismissal of trainer Alfred Schreuder. After the final whistle, a large part of the ArenA sang along.
‘Appointment Schreuder gross blunder’
The fact that Schreuder has to leave the field was also no surprise to many media. The AD states that Schreuder’s appointment appears to be ‘a gross mistake’. “Against Twente and Feyenoord, Schreuder crawled through the eye of the needle, but it turned out to be a postponement of execution for the coach who is praised for his tactical baggage, but as a manager and in managing processes in the group of players heavily by the basket fell.”
De Telegraaf yesterday called Ajax’s game against low-flyer Volendam ‘dutiful and unimaginative’ and saw that Ajax was ‘without any confidence’ on the field. “Even against the small teams, the game turns out to be below average.”
Vertrek Daley Blind
Schreuder previously failed as head coach at FC Twente and Hoffenheim. He led Club Brugge to the national title in the second half of last season. At Ajax, the coach from Barneveld kept looking for his best formation. In retrospect, Ajax should have said goodbye to him just before the winter break. Then the new coach would have had more time to bend a team to his will. It is very likely that Daley Blind had not left.
But Schreuder still saw a future at Ajax just before the World Cup. After draws against NEC, FC Twente, Feyenoord and FC Volendam, the patience of the club management had run out. And so Ajax is looking for a new trainer, one for the rest of the season or for the long term.