Director Edwin van der Sar does not think that Ajax should adjust its ambitions due to the financial consequences of the corona crisis. The Amsterdammers expect a loss of millions this season and have already spoken of a gap year, but nevertheless still want to storm the European top.
“Corona doesn’t mess up our plans,” said Van der Sar in an end-of-year interview with Ajax TV. “The ambitions are still there. Marc (director of football affairs Marc Overmars, ed.) Is talking about a gap year, but that is only there to come out stronger.”
“You now notice that the transfer fees are going down”, Van der Sar continues. “Then we can keep players even longer. Of course we aim for the strongest possible team. Then it can also be a favorable factor.”
“There may be a lot of jealousy. We sell players for so much money, we have so many sponsors and the stadium is always packed. That’s right. But we look up. We look at Bayern Munich, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. The 2018 / season” We want to experience 2019 more often. Everything is based on achieving that in the coming year. Becoming champion is then essential. “
Ajax, which reached the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2019 and won both the national title and the KNVB cup, has had a changeable first half of the season. The team from Amsterdam will enter the winter break as the leader in the Eredivisie, but are only one point ahead of competitor PSV.
Ajax was unable to meet the high expectations in the Champions League. The team of trainer Erik ten Hag finished third in the group with Liverpool, Atalanta and FC Midtjylland and must continue in the knock-out phase of the Europa League after the winter.
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