TURIN • First Real Madrid, now Juventus.
What a story this Champions League campaign is turning into for Ajax, who produced another remarkable performance to reach the semi-finals for the first time since 1997, courtesy of a player who was not even born then.
Matthijs de Ligt, Ajax's outstanding 19-year-old captain, ended Cristiano Ronaldo's hopes of a fourth successive Champions League title and a first for Juventus with a towering header in a 2-1 comeback win on Tuesday that completed a 3-2 aggregate quarter-final success.
With Manchester City or Tottenham waiting in their semi-final, de Ligt insisted his young team are a match for anyone and can emulate the 1995 team by winning their fifth European Cup.
"Can we can go on to win the competition? Well, we are in the semi-finals now. And we have eliminated two of the favourites in the last two rounds," he said.
"We don't know what we can achieve, but we are never satisfied. There's so much potential in this team, we are all still quite young and you see us grow every game."
Ajax fell behind to Ronaldo's header in the first half before Donny van de Beek's equaliser drew the tie level on aggregate, with de Ligt's winner just reward for a superb second-half display.
Young and dangerous
FRENKIE DE JONG, 21 MIDFIELDER
Possibly the most high profile of Ajax's youngsters, de Jong has transformed from being an aggressive centre-back to more of a deep-lying midfielder after Daley Blind returned to the club from Manchester United. The Dutch midfielder has already agreed to join Barcelona in the summer on a five-year deal worth €75 million (S$114.7 million).MATTHIJS DE LIGT, 19 DEFENDER
The Dutchman (main picture) may be just 19 years old but he is already captain. A beast in the centre of defence, he can dribble forward from the back, fire laser-guided passes with either foot and has a knack for heading in corners. He will command a fee in excess of £70 million (S$123.5 million).
DAVID NERES, 22 ATTACKER
Skilful and a good dribbler, the 22-year-old Brazilian is a tricky one for full-backs to contain. The forward is excellent at creating space for himself with a neat touch or flick before putting a dangerous cross into the box. Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and United are now weighing up summer moves for the player.
That 4-1 second-leg win at Real last month seemed freakish as well as brilliant, but the scoreline here could have been similar.
Ajax's dynamic, incisive attacking football was simply too much for Juve to handle, especially in the second half when the visitors created chance after chance.
David Neres, Dusan Tadic and Hakim Ziyech wreaked havoc with their fluid movement and clever touches.
Frenkie de Jong and Lasse Schone controlled midfield and van de Beek was exceptional playing in between the lines.
Ajax coach Erik ten Hag said: "This team grows and grows. We know how to push boundaries every time. And, with Tottenham or Man City, there will be another challenge. We look forward to it."
Barcelona-bound midfielder de Jong believes the win in Turin should have been more emphatic.
"We dominated after the break and were well worth our victory. In fact, we probably should have won by more," said the 21-year-old, who will join the Catalans in the summer for €75 million (S$114.7 million) and is likely to be joined by fellow youth team graduate de Ligt.
Ajax have brought a breath of fresh air to Europe's top club competition, which has been in danger of going stale over the last decade as it has become dominated by a handful of big-money clubs.
Remarkably, Ajax are the first from outside England, Germany, Spain, Italy and France to reach the last four since fellow Dutch side PSV Eindhoven 14 years ago.
Once regarded as a major power in European football, Ajax have in the last 10 years become a feeder club, signing players at a young age, helping them mature and develop before selling them.
Even so, they have been able to build a young team that play exciting, fluid football.
"We are on the way back, the signs are there," said ten Hag. "We have incredible talents and it will get better and better."
THE GUARDIAN, REUTERS
SINGAPORE - Singaporean Akbar Nawas has been named the I-League's best coach after leading Chennai City to their first title earlier this month. The Indian team swept seven out of 10 categories at the I-League awards and trophy presentation ceremony at the Taj Corramandel in Chennai on Wednesday (March 20).
Singaporean coach Akbar Nawas' Chennai City FC crowned new I
WEST HAM UNITED 3 SOUTHAMPTON 0. Arnautovic ends drought as West Ham sink Southampton. 3 Min Read. Soccer Football - Premier League - West Ham United v Southampton - London Stadium, London
Arnautovic ends drought as West Ham sink Southampton
Home » News » News » Neymar to miss Man Utd tie after being ruled out for 10 weeks Neymar to miss Man Utd tie after being ruled out for 10 weeks On January 30, 2019 1:33 pm In News , Sports by
Neymar to miss United tie after being ruled out for 10 weeks
Football: PSG buy Argentina midfielder Paredes for estimated €47m before Man United clash PARIS (AFP) - Paris Saint-Germain have completed the signing of Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes on a four-and-a-half-year deal, the French football champions announced on Tuesday (Jan 29).
Paris Saint-Germain 'beat Chelsea to £41million deal' for
Neymar was found guilty of "insulting/molesting acts against a match official LAUSANNE (AFP) - Neymar was suspended for three Champions League matches by UEFA on Friday for a foul-mouthed tirade at match officials following Paris Saint-Germain s shock exit from this season s tournament to Manchester
Tottenham have a bad recent record against Manchester City, but Liverpool have laid out the tactical blueprint for beating Pep Guardiola's side. Two consecutive transfer windows without a
Mourinho gives Spurs blueprint to beat Ajax after
Lucas Moura, from PSG cast-off to Tottenham idol Rejected by Paris Saint-Germain after the world-record signing of Neymar, Lucas Moura propelled Tottenham to heights the French giants could
Lucas Moura: From PSG cast off to Tottenham idol
Messi backs Guardiola's City for success. Manchester City will continue to grow more under Pep Guardiola. Barca put City to the sword in a 4-0 Champions League rout on matchday three and
Manchester City are Premier League champions: How Pep
Pedro scores an away goal as Chelsea recover from an early setback to draw with Eintracht Frankfurt in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final.
Frankfurt 1 - 1 Chelsea - Match Report & Highlights
Football: Guardiola not worried about Man City players
sportsloveme.com/soccer/football-guardiola-not-worried-about-man-city-players-social-media-use-after-walker-tweet/
Football: Guardiola not worried about Man City players' social media use after Walker tweet 02/02/2019 EPL , Manchester City , PEP GUAR MANCHESTER, United Kingdom (AFP) - Pep Guardiola is not concerned about the way his Manchester City players use social media, despite a post from Kyle Walker that appeared to mock Premier League title rivals
Guardiola not worried about Man City players' social media
Advertisement MUNICH, Apr 25: Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich beat Werder Bremen 3-2 with two goals from Robert Lewandowski on Wednesday to advance to the German Cup final for the second straight year and keep the domestic league and cup double firmly in their sights.
Football: Bayern reach German Cup final to keep double in
0 comments:
Post a Comment