Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
AJAX’S OLD BOYS SMELL NEW GLORY
IF there was one image that captured the rebirth of a legend, it came at the final whistle in Turin on Tuesday night.
Matthijs de Ligt’s thumping header had knocked out Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus, and sent Ajax on to the Champions League semi-finals.
But it had also awakened a sleeping giant as Ajax added Juve to Real Madrid’s scalp from the previous round. And for two of the Dutch club’s most famous names, it represented redemption 22 years in the making.
Chief executive Edwin van der Sar and director of football Marc Overmars cut their teeth on
European success in Amsterdam as players and now they are one tie from having another shot at winning the famous trophy.
Both players were in the Ajax side that beat Milan in the final in 1995, but both suffered semi-final heartache at the hands of Juventus two years later. That gave Van der
Sar and ex-arsenal winger Overmars satisfaction as they punched the air and saluted fans with unbridled joy on Tuesday, before the latter did a belly-slide on the pitch in his suit.
Former Manchester United keeper Van der Sar said: “It is nice for me that we won against Juventus.
“We have lost twice with Ajax and I myself have not had my happiest time here as a keeper. It’s starting to smell a bit like 1995.”
The unexpected bonus of millions of extra euros will certainly by welcome at a club that struggles to match the modern financial powerhouses, but Van der Sar sees other things being more important.
He added: “I am not interested.
This is just about football.
“This is purely, sportingly great. For our name, for the way we want and have to play. This is going around the world, that is much more important than money.”