The year 2022 is really almost over and therefore also a year full of football. Things did not always go smoothly for Ajax, but there were still plenty of highlights to note. It started with a 0-3 win over FC Utrecht, while a 3-3 draw against FC Emmen marked a disappointing end to the year. Together with Ajax Showtime editors Bart Veenstra, Jesse ter Haar and Thijs Zwagerman we look back.
What is your high and low of 2022?
Bart: ‘Ajax supporters mainly have a bad aftertaste of the year 2022, but we must not forget that the club “just” became champion again in this calendar year. The game in the second half of last season was not always something to write home about either, but the team showed to be mentally strong and to win the title. For me, despite certain difficult circumstances at Ajax (think of Antony’s injury), the title was the highlight of this year.
‘The year of Ajax has known several lows. Think of the forced departure of Overmars or the exodus last summer. On a sporting level, the 1-6 defeat against Napoli was of course the absolute low point. You can lose in the Champions League, especially against a club like Napoli, but 1-6 is of course extremely embarrassing at the highest level. It was the biggest defeat of Ajax ever in the Champions League and so this must be the low point of 2022. Ajax was so much of a dick to the rest of the world, painful. The year also ended in a disappointment for Ajax with the painful departure of Daley Blind. A club icon shouldn’t leave like this, I think, and I recently had my say about that in a column on this site.’
Jesse: ‘It sounds pretty gloomy, but I don’t find it easy to point out a highlight. I have no choice but to win the national championship. Erik ten Hag got the farewell he deserved, although it didn’t go great under his leadership at the end. He brought structure to Ajax, a lot of football know-how, but above all a real winner’s culture. A final title for him, but also for players like Antony, Lisandro Martínez, Ryan Gravenberch and Sébastien Haller, was a highlight. At number two comes the first game against Rangers, when it felt like it was going to be a great Champions League season…
“The biggest sporting low point can only be the 1-6 defeat against Napoli. Prior to the season I had not expected that Ajax would be very successful in Europe, but this went very far. It is painful to experience a record defeat of the club so consciously. It really said something about the level of Ajax at the moment, because Napoli had no problem with the team from Amsterdam. In Naples it became 4-2, but I feel that was mainly because Napoli was not out for a new wash. Overall, Blind’s departure is truly painful. You have to protect such a big Ajax player and always leave the club through the front door. Now it has a bad taste and as a club that is really a moment to be ashamed of.’
Thijs: ‘In terms of matches and field play, Ajax fans are not spoiled enough in 2022. The last months under Erik ten Hag were poor and on the gums. Somehow I could enjoy the mentality, fighting spirit and resilience in that period, but it is of course not what Ajax should stand for. Under Ten Hag, good results were achieved in a difficult way. Under successor Alfred Schreuder, this has also been omitted too often in the first half of the season. My Ajax highlight of 2022 is therefore a moment under Ten Hag. Turning around in a sensational way and winning the Classic in March of this year. That game had everything: two evenly matched teams, good football, mistakes, passion and an exciting scoreline. For me, that won match against Feyenoord is the Ajax highlight of this year.
“It is painful and telling that, looking back at this year, lows are coming up faster than highs. The unnecessary Champions League elimination against Benfica, the historic defeat against Napoli and recently the sad goodbye through the back door of Daley Blind. I find the way he has been directed to the exit Ajax-unworthy and far from chic. It is really painful that such an Ajax icon leaves in this way. That should never have happened. The biggest low point, of course, remains the Marc Overmars gate. It is very harmful how he has misbehaved in the workplace for years and from a sporting point of view it is really distressing how Ajax has still not been able to properly absorb his departure. The fact that Ajax ended up in such a hole after the departure of Overmars is unworthy of a top club and unacceptable. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like this will be resolved any time soon.’
Who is your Ajax player of the year?
Bart: ‘I have to say that many Ajax players have not consistently performed at a high level for a whole year. The better Ajax players, who have often shown very good things this year, have also known their lesser periods. The best Ajax player of this year, and therefore also the most consistent player of this year, is Steven Berghuis in my opinion. Especially in the last half of the season, I found Berghuis to be one of the few who often still reach a good level.
Jesse: ‘For me, Dusan Tadic is the Ajax player of the year, followed closely by Steven Berghuis. Berghuis may have reached a higher level at times, but my weakness for Tadic remains. No player in the selection radiates to be more Ajax player than him and I attach great importance to that. No, not everything works out for him, but he will always do everything he can to serve the club in the best possible way. So it hurts me to see or hear when supporters turn against him, because I’m sure it hurts him too. He just does everything he can to help Ajax, nothing more. Support can have a positive influence, but severe criticism can only make things worse.’
Thijs: ‘Viewed over the entire calendar year, Kenneth Taylor is the best Ajax player for me. I thought it was great to see him take such a decisive role at the end of last season in a struggling team and I am happy that he has continued that line this season. He had been waiting for his big break for two years, but had to wait a long time for his chance. Now Taylor has seized his chance, with a World Cup participation as icing on the cake. I think he is a very complete midfielder and an ideal number 8. I believe that he can also get much better, so I have high expectations of him again next year.’
Has Ajax achieved what the club should achieve in 2022?
Bart: ‘Actually yes. The club has become champion, played in the group stage of the Champions League and has also wintered in Europe. Simply put, you can say that the objectives have been achieved. However, a cup final has also been lost and several painful defeats have been suffered in the Champions League. In addition, the last three matches in this year’s Eredivisie were also disappointing, so that you are also left with a disappointed feeling in that area. In addition, Ajax is very searching in terms of football and therefore the doubts of the outside world are understandable. However, Ajax will think: we have wintered in Europe, we are still competing for the title and can also win the cup. In short: not a man is overboard yet.’
Jesse: ‘The fact that I had to think so hard about a highlight tells me not. The elimination against Benfica at the beginning of this year did not immediately prevent a goal from being achieved, but Ajax can demand more of itself. If you make it to that round and really want to participate in Europe, you have to beat Benfica. It turned out that Ajax and Benfica are of the same level, where as an Ajax fan you hope that the club has just passed that level. That used to be the case, but is certainly not the case today. In the Champions League campaign of the current season, Ajax left a mediocre impression. The club suddenly simply could no longer compete with the European top. In fact, the important objectives – becoming champions and European hibernation – were achieved, but the game of the past few months still brings the necessary chagrin. But: all objectives are still within reach or – European wintering – have already been achieved.’
Thijs: ‘In 2022 Ajax – and that is the most important thing – became champion again, but the cup final and the battle for the Johan Cruijff Scale were lost. This is still manageable, but overall I am inclined to answer this question with “no”. In my opinion, Ajax should be more competitive in the Champions League than it has been this year. It is not a disaster if Ajax does not winter in that tournament for a year, but I do think that Ajax should participate every year in the group stage until the last moment for wintering in the Champions League. That has absolutely not happened this year and moreover the game has been substandard in the vast majority of matches, so I think that Ajax has not performed to the standards that suit the club this year.’
How do you view the Ajax selection compared to that of a year ago?
Bart: ‘The selection of Ajax now is less than that of a year ago, I think. In the past summer you lost several strongholds – especially Martínez, Mazraoui, Gravenberch, Antony and Haller – and the players who succeeded them are not yet at the level of their predecessors. It’s that simple. The ‘replacements’ do have the potential to eventually reach a high level, although that will take time. At Ajax it always goes in waves and that effect is enhanced if a lot of basic players leave in one summer. A new team has to be built and that takes time, only: you don’t really get that time at Ajax.’
Jesse: ‘The selection has given up a lot in knowing what is being asked at the highest level. Always on, doing it not only for others but also for yourself and therefore getting the most out of it. Of course the Ajax players of today can also kick a ball well, it is not the fault of that, but football is more than just technique or hitting a ball well. Players like Martínez were no longer just surprised and that ensured that no opponent could really instill fear in Ajax. At the current Ajax I get the feeling more quickly that people are not in control in a match. The club has simply lost maturity, which is not surprising given the departure of the well-known strongholds.’
Thijs: ‘It is abundantly clear that the Ajax selection has deteriorated considerably this year. Ajax has never succeeded in absorbing the departure of key players Lisandro Martínez, Antony, Noussair Mazraoui, Sébastien Haller and Ryan Gravenberch. Given the exceptional qualities of these players, it was also to be expected that Ajax – certainly in the short term – would take a step back, but I think it is extremely bad that the balance in the composition of the current selection is also missing. With Francisco Conceição, Ajax has one real right winger and there is no full alternative for Jurriën Timber. As has actually been missing for years, a controlling midfielder who can serve as a playmaker and Ajax is missing – especially after Blind’s departure, but actually also when he was still there – a defender who can take care of the build-up from behind. In addition, I think the occupation of the goalkeeper position is qualitatively insufficient and in my opinion youth players should be given more opportunities in the main force. In 2023 my hopes are therefore pinned on guys like Gabriel Misehouy, Silvano Vos, Olivier Aertssen and Jorrel Hato.’
Jesse Ter Haar (Twitter: @jesseterhaar | E-mail: [email protected])
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