By Myles Palmer
This week’s heroes of Highbury played in a 4-1-3-2 formation.
They were Lobont — Trabelsi, Chivu, Pasanen, van Damme(sub: R Witschge, 76) — Galásek — de Jong, Pienaar (sub: A Yakubu, 90), Maxwell — Zlatan Ibrahimovic (sub: Boukhari,78), van der Meyde.
These kids were a breath of fresh air.
Football only gets interesting when good little teams threaten the big boys.
Football, as we know, is a game full of zig-zags, trapdoors and banana skins.Just when things seem to be going well, you lose. And when you’re in a bad run, and can’t score a goal to save your life, you suddenly win.
It was fascinating to see a team of kids from all over the world, mainly raised in the Ajax academy,playing the same tidy football that Ajax have played for decades.
They were well organised defensively. Naturally. A team coached by Rudy Krol and Ronald Koeman would have a good shape.
Ajax took 45 minutes to get to Highbury for training the night before.
But on Tuesday night they took 90 minutes. They arrived only 35 minutes before kick-off and Koeman asked for a 15-minute delay to the kick-off so that his lads could compose themselves.
UEFA refused that request. So it was : get your kit on and straight out on the pitch to face a mature team of giants.
The Arsenal players were bigger and stronger and faster and more experienced. And they had home advantage.
Didn’t the kids do well?
They wobbled early on and conceded an early goal to a
brilliant Sol-Pat-Dennis move that put Wiltord in unmarked.
The Romanian keeper Lobont, a muppet, was covering the sidenetting rather than the near post by the time Wiltord shot through him.
But after that wobble Ajax settled down into their formation and contained Arsenal quite easily.
Van Der Meyde, the No7, was roaming from right to centre before the goal.After the goal he switched to the left to mark Lauren.
Ajax had half a dozen players of Stuart Taylor’s age or younger. Their team was like Arsenal playing Taylor, Svard and five Pennants.
Litmanen was out, Mido, the Egyptian striker, was injured, John O’Brien the USA centreback was out.
The main whizkid Rafael van der Vart was out. A very clever player and a great finisher.
Witschge didn’t start because he’s coming back for injury.
These are key players, not peripheral players
Ajax outsmarted Arsenal by defending deep and attacking wide and improving as the game went on.
They were well worth their draw.
Skipper Chivu is 22 and had Henry in his pocket. He wishes he played against Henry every week.
Real Madrid will sign Chivu next season to replace Hierro.
Chivu is a reader,not a bruiser, a pure footballer.
He will be like Redondo playing 30 yards deeper, controlling the defence, spraying out left footed passes to Zidane and Figo.
Romanians are semi-Latin so the matador football Madrid play will come naturally to him. He is what Casillas needs in front of him.Madrid have everything else.
Did you see the tubby Ronaldo tap-in from Zidane’s cross for 2-1? They needed that win. As I kept saying in June, Ronaldo scores most of his goals from crosses these days.
I digress. Ajax showed that the biggest and richest don’t have to win every game.
They played with panache, with an effervescent spirit, a bubbly energy, deploying themselves with intelligence. They settled into their formation and were tactically superior to Arsenal.
The little No10, Pienaar, a South African,did well against Vieira. Pienaar is 20.
Maxwell , a Brazilian, is 21 and promising.
The goalscorer, De Jong, is 18 !
The Tunisian Trabelsi is a zippy right back and a good passer.
OK, Lobont, the keeper, is a clown who didn’t catch anything for 80 minutes.
The big Belgian van Damme was AWOL for the goal. He did not play like a left back. I don’t think he can be a left back. He looked more like a centreback.But Koeman had eight players missing.
Galasek anchored the midfield astutely, as he did for Czech Republic in Paris last week.Good footballing brain, blocking the channels.
Galasek did a pretty good job on the mobile Bergkamp, who worked very hard, got an assist for Wiltord’s goal and clipped the outside of the post.
Zlatan put himself about.Looked a bit clumsy. Lost the ball for the move that led to Arsenal’s goal in 5 minutes. He has skills we have not seen yet. More to come from him next week.
It was 1-1 after 17 minutes.
When De Jong got inside Cole and controlled that Galasek’s 35-yard pass ball perfectly, Seaman should have come out quicker. He reacted slowly.He should have got in his face and put him off. Cygan did not anticipate either.
De Jong’s surefooted control of that pass, killing it stone dead,gave the kid a crucial chance.And he buried it left footed, with aplomb.
Great balance, sweet touch, confident finish.
His first goal for Ajax. The first of many, I’d say.
Most smart teams come to Highbury and sit back ands stifle Henry and try to exploit the space behind Ashley Cole.
After that equaliser Ajax settled down and the game was transformed. Arsenal huffed and puffed, mostly.
Boukhari, the Moroccan sub, almost won it in 85, but took his eye off Van Der Meyde’s cross as sub keeper Stuart Taylor dived at him.The ball hit his thigh and went wide.
Gooners tell me that next week Ajax will have to come out,will have to attack more, but I’m not convinced of that.Koeman might say: Same again, nick a win.
One thing I do know. Their bus driver will get Ajax to the game before 7.10 pm.
Overall, I liked Ajax a lot. So refreshing to see a young side, learning as they go, switching around to close down Lauren’s early surges, improving as they found their feet, turning my expectations upside down.
Good luck to Ajax, a club which has stayed true to its academy tradition.
I have some worries about Arsene.Will return to those another time when I shake off the heavy cold that has flattened me this week.
Man United 2 Juventus 1.
This is often a good game, from way back when Boksic smacked one in off Schmeichel’s face at Old Trafford.
Flu-hit Juve played rather well after Wes Brown’s early headed goal from Beckham’s corner.
They dominated 70% of the next 70 minutes.Then Beckham crossed and van Nistelrooy volleyed in.Nedved got the late consolation.
Big player, Beckham. Not as good as Pires, but a big player.
United have three wins.
They perked up a lot when O’Shea came on at left back for the crocked Silvestre.
But Juve played really solid, intelligent football .Who knows what might have happened if Buffon, Zambrotta and Di Vaio had been fit. Not to mention Del Piero.
A fine side, Juventus. But Arsenal beat them 3-1 last season.
That was with Freddie. He scored two goals that night. He ain’t Arsenal’s best player. But he gives them another dimension. He gives Arsenal something they cannot get from anybody else.
He makes diagonal runs, reads Bergkamp’s passes, give the team a presence in the box.They miss him.I have said that for weeks, months.I was hoping Freddie would be back for this game.
But his achilles is still inflamed. It’s been scanned and looks OK but it still flares up and gives him pain.
I feel for injured players. When a small part of your body is not working, and the rest of you is raring to go, it is annoying.Whoever you are, whatever age you are.
If you are a fit young professional footballer, and you have to watch a game you should be playing in, it’s intensely frustrating.
21st February 2003