‘At Ajax they set fire to our bus, people’s lives were saved there’

‘At Ajax they set fire to our bus, people’s lives were saved there’

Tuesday, October 31, 2023 at 4:57 PM

Wesley Sonck has looked back on the fatal fire in 2003 that completely destroyed the Ajax team bus. The former striker of the Amsterdam team was one of the first to notice the fire twenty years ago and believes that lives have been saved. “Three rooms were black with smoke, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s.”

Last weekend, the football world was shocked by fan violence in France, where Olympique Marseille supporters pelted the Olympique Lyon team bus with stones and fireworks. Trainer and world champion Fabio Grosso had to pay for this with a bloody face and the match was cancelled.

Sonck also experienced a similar situation as a player. As a player for Ajax, he was awakened in his sleep in 2003 when the team bus was set on fire. The Ajax selection spent the night at Hotel Duinoord in Zeegse, Drenthe, prior to the away match against FC Groningen.

“I woke up at 4 a.m. by crackling,” Sonck recalls at Extra Time. “Our bus was next to the players’ hotel, close to the rooms. I said to Tom Soetaers, who was in my room: ‘Tom, our bus is on fire.’ He thought I was dreaming, but I told him to get up.”

Sonck then decided to wake up the rest of the selection. “It was life-threatening. In the end we all had to leave the hotel. That was between 4:00 and 4:30 am. Three rooms were completely burned black. That bus was completely burned out. The tires were cut open and set on fire.”

“I think people’s lives were saved there,” Sonck continues. “The rooms next to the bus were badly damaged. It was very strange, because from that moment on we didn’t sleep anymore. You get up at 4.15 am and don’t sleep until the match starts.”

Ultimately, the fire had no influence on Ajax’s game. The Amsterdam team won 1-3. Sonck scored and prepared an Ibrahimovic goal. The third goal was scored by Nicolae Mitea. Rafael van der Vaart and Nigel de Jong, among others, were also part of that class.

2023-10-31 18:00:00
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