Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 28 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Willem II moved on, Davy Klaassen reports back to Ajax, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Joeri Heerkens will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Ajax the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ajax have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is 20, he is averaging 7.11, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jordy De Roon will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Ajax the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
He is 21, he is averaging 7.40, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ajax is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ajax can pretend not to have heard.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 27 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Marked 10.00 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Ajax will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ajax can pretend not to have heard.
A season average of 7.05 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Ajax know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ajax is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Marked 9.13 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
11 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ajax have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.08 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Marked 10.00 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
8 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Joeri Heerkens will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Ajax the goodbyes have quietly begun.
7 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 32 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ajax have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
A season average of 7.23 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Ajax know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.79 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Maher Carrizo. 1‑0 against De Graafschap, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
4 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ajax they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Kasper Dolberg. 3‑1 against Sion, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 9.21 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ajax have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 10.00 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Oscar Gloukh was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Marked 9.14 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Ajax, and 0 appearances in 17 say he has earned the hearing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ajax is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Shots: 8. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Ajax has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 40 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ajax have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Marked 9.27 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Marked 9.05 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ajax have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Joeri Heerkens will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Ajax the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Marked 10.00 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
The name of Abdellah Ouazane has come up in conversations Ajax were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Marked 8.85 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: Heracles have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Sean Steur. The answer from Ajax has not changed — yet.
Marked 9.69 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. Ajax have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.
4 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 24 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Oscar Gloukh was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The offer from Willem II for Jorthy Mokio was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.38 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Marked 8.61 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Ajax are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ajax they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
The shirt still fits. Jeroen Janssen is back at Ajax, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Denzel Bergwijn is a Ajax player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Ajax, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Jorthy Mokio has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
The fee is $4.1M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Utrecht drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Ajax, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Ajax, and it is not being withdrawn.
Oscar Gloukh was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Ajax hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Add another name to the list: Vitesse have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Anton Gaaei. The answer from Ajax has not changed — yet.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: ADO Den Haag have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Sean Steur. The answer from Ajax has not changed — yet.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Ajax has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
The fee is $10.1M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Cádiz drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
The offer from Cambuur for Anton Gaaei was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Ajax know it.
The fee is $14.9M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Utrecht drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The phone has started ringing about Abdellah Ouazane again, and this time the name on the line is ADO Den Haag. Ajax are listening politely and promising nothing.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Ajax has been clear about where Chuba Akpom stands, which is more than many ever get.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The phone has started ringing about Anton Gaaei again, and this time the name on the line is Cambuur. Ajax are listening politely and promising nothing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Rayane Bounida trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Ajax that is a harder question to answer.
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Youri Baas’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
Qualification is done, and next season the floodlights come on for something bigger. A stage for the players, oxygen for the accounts and a passport for everybody else.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Ajax will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
Qualification is secured, and next season the big floodlit nights are continental ones. For the players it is a stage; for the accounts it is a lifeline; for the supporters it is passports.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ajax is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
19 goals in 35 games at Renate — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Ajax updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Ajax, and 21 appearances in 44 say he has earned the hearing.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Ajax has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Raúl Rangel has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Ajax that is a harder question to answer.
In brief
Loan watchThe goals keep arriving from Sean Steur’s exile
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Ajax are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ajax is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ko Itakura trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Jorthy Mokio has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.48 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Marked 8.96 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Marked 8.49 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
In brief
SquadThe team sheet said everything about Ko Itakura
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.11 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Marked 8.62 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
17 goals in 28 games at Renate — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Ajax updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 15 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ajax they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.95 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Marked 8.56 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Oscar Gloukh was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Add another name to the list: KuPS have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Tristan Gooijer. The answer from Ajax has not changed — yet.
Shots: 11. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
15 goals in 24 games at Renate — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Ajax updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Marked 8.89 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Ajax, and 0 appearances in 28 say he has earned the hearing.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Owen Wijndal will call it something else in private.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ajax they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Oscar Gloukh was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Ajax are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
12 goals in 23 games at Renate — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Ajax updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
In brief
BoardroomNobody left the Ajax dressing room in a hurry
Keisuke Osako was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Ajax heard it as anything else.
Marked 9.73 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ajax have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ajax have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: De Graafschap have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Oliver Edvardsen. The answer from Ajax has not changed — yet.
Marked 8.82 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
The offer from Podbrezova for Dies Janse was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 39 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ajax have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Ajax have had the benefit of it.
Keisuke Osako was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Youri Baas. 5‑3 against Zwolle, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Add another name to the list: Utrecht have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Oliver Edvardsen. The answer from Ajax has not changed — yet.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ajax is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Oscar Gloukh was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 27 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ajax have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Keisuke Osako was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Ajax are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Marked 9.06 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Ajax game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Albacete runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Marked 8.88 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Marked 8.62 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ajax is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Ajax, and 0 appearances in 23 say he has earned the hearing.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 38 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
2 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ajax have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ajax they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Marked 8.97 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Ajax, and 0 appearances in 15 say he has earned the hearing.
Shots: 11. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
In brief
The terracesEverybody has an opinion about Kasper Dolberg
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Keisuke Osako knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Ajax, and 0 appearances in 19 say he has earned the hearing.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ajax is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Marked 8.92 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“I watch every Ajax game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Cambuur runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
0‑3 to Vitesse, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Ajax know it.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Ajax, and 0 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
“Three loans in three years. At some point a club has to decide if I am their player or their asset.” The spell at Valladolid continues; the message travels home.
Shots: 7. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ajax they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Oscar Gloukh was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Marked 8.94 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Ajax, and 0 appearances in 15 say he has earned the hearing.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ajax have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ajax they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Oscar Gloukh was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
4 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Keisuke Osako was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Oliver Edvardsen. 2‑1 against Twente, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 8.29 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“I watch every Ajax game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Albacete runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ajax is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Marked 9.22 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Ajax, and 0 appearances in 7 say he has earned the hearing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: De Graafschap have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Oliver Edvardsen. The answer from Ajax has not changed — yet.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Marked 9.38 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Raúl Rangel knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Oliver Edvardsen will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Ajax the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Ajax know it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Maher Carrizo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Ajax the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I watch every Ajax game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Charleroi runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
7 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Ajax could ask drops and the wages Davy Klaassen can ask rise.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jorthy Mokio trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Ajax game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Bristol City runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
A new face in his position, and Kasper Dolberg suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Ajax have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Lucas Rosa trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Ajax would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
A season-long look at somebody else’s player: Tarik Hamamioglu arrives from Twente with something to prove and a return ticket in the drawer. Good loans make everybody richer; this one starts Saturday.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Ajax, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
ADO Den Haag pay $760.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Ajax, and 0 appearances in 6 say he has earned the hearing.
The offer from ADO Den Haag for Lucas Rosa was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ajax is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Ajax game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Cambuur runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Ajax, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Oscar Gloukh trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Oscar Gloukh has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Oliver Edvardsen has his answer from Ajax; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Still no offer on the table, and Chuba Akpom’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
Oscar Gloukh was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The phone has started ringing about Anton Gaaei again, and this time the name on the line is Zwolle. Ajax are listening politely and promising nothing.
Lucas Rosa has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Oscar Gloukh’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
The minutes were not coming at Ajax, so he will look for them at Bristol City. Everybody involved calls it development; for the player it is simply a chance to play.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ajax is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Ajax has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
The fee is $32.5M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. KV Oostende drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
The chase for Raúl Rangel ended with $11.1M changing hands and Guadalajara out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Oscar Gloukh was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Ajax that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
Position 1, 73 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Add another name to the list: Cambuur have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Rayane Bounida. The answer from Ajax has not changed — yet.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 goals in 25 games at NEC — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Ajax updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Ajax that is a harder question to answer.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jorthy Mokio trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Oscar Gloukh’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ajax they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Ajax that is a harder question to answer.
This is the season the town will measure the next twenty against. The trophy travels home with the squad, and the route through the streets was agreed days ago.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Ajax have had the benefit of it.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Oscar Gloukh was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ajax they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Ajax that is a harder question to answer.
Oscar Gloukh was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ajax they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Keisuke Osako was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Ajax that is a harder question to answer.
Keisuke Osako was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Ajax, and 11 appearances in 33 say he has earned the hearing.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Ajax that is a harder question to answer.
3 goals in 28 games at Excelsior — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Ajax updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
In brief
Loan watchThe goals keep arriving from Tristan Gooijer’s exile
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ajax is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Youri Baas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
6 goals in 25 games at NEC — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Ajax updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Oscar Gloukh has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
4 goals in 31 games at Empoli — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Ajax updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
The sale went through, the money came with it, and everything anybody had planned for next season is now provisional. New owners always arrive promising patience.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: Hammarby have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Emre Ünüvar. The answer from Ajax has not changed — yet.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ajax is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Oscar Gloukh was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Shots: 14. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
2 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 30 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Ajax is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ajax this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Position 1, 64 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ajax they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Oscar Gloukh was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Marked 9.54 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Marked 9.48 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.