Ajax struck by tragedy
Although they deservedly earned praise for their way of playing, and for reaching last season’s Europa League Final, Ajax finished the campaign without silverware and the heat is on to deliver.
However, even if they should succeed this term, any celebrations will be marked by sadness as tragedy struck before a ball had even been kicked in the Eredivisie.
The tragic accident happened during a pre-season training camp in Austria, when Ajax were playing Werder Bremen. With 20 minutes left to play, 20-year-old midfielder Abdelhak Nouri collapsed due to heart arrhythmias and was airlifted to a hospital. At first, his condition looked stable, with no permanent damage expected, but later that week came the horrific news that a lack of oxygen caused him to suffer permanent brain damage. He will require medical treatment for the rest of his life.
Understandably it was an enormous shock to Ajax, who Nouri had joined at the age of seven. “The blow is also hard for Ajax”, said the club’s chief executive, Edwin Van der Sar. “Abdelhak was such a great talent, but unfortunately we will never know how far his star would have reached if this hadn’t happened to him.”
Sadly, a large part of that answer could have been given this season. As a member of Ajax’s reserve team, Nouri was voted the best player in the Dutch second division last season. And having already made his Eredivisie debut, he would certainly have got more playing time under new coach Marcel Keizer following skipper Davy Klaassen’s departure for Everton.
Previously Nouri’s boss in the reserves, Keizer – who is a nephew of 1970s winger Piet Keizer – was a surprise choice to take charge of the Ajax first team considering his only coaching experience had been with second-tier sides Cambuur, Telstar and Emmen.
His appointment came about after the departure of Peter Bosz, who left for Borussia Dortmund citing disagreements that divided the club. Bosz revealed that during the last months of the season there was a rift between the coaching staff (him and his assistant Hendrie Kruzen) and the Ajax “treasurers” (Dennis Bergkamp and Hennie Spijkerman). Former Arsenal player Bergkamp later denied the accusations, speculating that Bosz was forcing a break to move to Germany.
It will be interesting to see if Keizer, who is known for his discipline and hard work, will survive in the Amsterdam
pressure cooker, where a complex structure of many different opinions is always bubbling just under the surface. A few bad results is all that is needed to make his position uncomfortable. The return of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar will go some way to helping to offset the loss of Klaassen and youth products Kenny Tete and Jairo Riedewald.
As usual, the Amsterdam club will face competition for silverware from Rotterdam and Eindhoven.
At defending champions Feyenoord, coach Giovanni Van Bronckhorst will have to deal with the departures of Eljero Elia, Terence Kongolo, Steven Berghuis, Rick Karsdorp and Dirk Kuyt. The good news, however, is that they are trying to bring home prodigal son Robin Van Persie.
And even if Van Bronckhorst fails to get his man, the backbone of last year’s successful side – goalkeeper Brad Jones, midfield anchor Karim El Ahmadi and striker Nicolai Jorgensen – is still intact and they are hungry for more success.
At PSV, coach Phillip Cocu will again rely on striker Luuk De Jong and midfielder Marco Van Ginkel, who is on loan from Chelsea for a third time. The departure of Mexican duo Hector Moreno and Andres Guardado has been compensated by the arrival of fellow countryman Hirving Lozano and AZ defender Derrick Luckassen.
While it is hard to predict who will finish the season in pole position, some will argue that the question is hardly relevant and the plight of Abdelhak Nouri shows that there are far more important things in life.