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This article is a short report of one of the conversations in the opinion football talk show Studio Voetbal. Videos of other conversations can be found at the bottom of this article.
It was a striking image last Saturday in Volendam. Captain Dusan Tadic had been replaced at Ajax, but continued to coach his team fanatically from the sidelines for the last half hour. With coach Alfred Schreuder nearby. Pierre van Hooijdonk thinks so.
“This undermines the authority of the trainer,” says Van Hooijdonk in Studio Football.
Leonne Stentler: “Bizarre. I can’t imagine that Tadic is not aware of the symbolic effect in this situation. The trainer is under pressure. He is not a stupid boy.”
Ibrahim Afellay: “I think it’s a storm in a teacup. Tadic does the same in the field. I’m sure Schreuder called him into his office the day after the game and told him never to do this again. It’s not smart, but he has good intentions.”
Who is the boss at Ajax? ‘Tadic undermines trainer’s authority’
“I don’t doubt his good intentions,” says Van Hooijdonk. “Tadic is a winner and super involved with the team. He also has a good relationship with Schreuder and is loyal. Then you should not do this. It is not useful at the moment, given the position of the trainer.”
Tadic himself gave the following explanation: “I tried to help the players. At a certain point we lacked some energy and I tried to give that from the bench.” Schreuder had no problem with it: “Nice to see that he is so compassionate.”
Van Hooijdonk was waiting for a reaction from Schreuder during the game. He didn’t come. “Who is the boss at Ajax?”
“Of course that is the trainer,” says Arno Vermeulen.
Van Hooijdonk: “Then you have to radiate that. If I were Schreuder, I would have put my arm around Tadic’s shoulders and said: And now sit down for a while.”
Back to the left
Tadic played against FC Volendam again on his trusted left side and no longer on the right side, as often this season. On the right he got further and further away from his form. “The biggest mistake at Ajax this season was taking Tadic away from the left winger,” says Afellay.
“If Schreuder had told Bergwijn that he would play on the right and Tadic on the left, there would have been no problem,” says Van Hooijdonk. “Bergwijn can play well there and then you keep Tadic in his power. Schreuder is responsible for Tadic’s form crisis.”
Check out the regular sections in Studio Voetbal below: Final signal by Frank Heinen about Afonso Alves and Korte Corner by Jan Beuving. View further fragments about AZ and about Remko Pasveer and Jasper Cillessen.
