Van Halst criticizes two people at Ajax: ‘That really bothered me…’
Monday, April 29, 2024 at 9:53 PM
Jan van Halst is seriously disappointed in Sven Mislintat and Maurice Steijn. The former Ajax director tried with all his might to restore relations between the then director of football affairs and the then head coach, but he felt he was flogging a dead horse. “That really bothered me, boy…”, said Van Halst on Monday at Rondo on Ziggo Sport.
Mislintat started his job at Ajax in May 2023 with good courage. In his first weeks, the German surprisingly chose Steijn as head coach. Initially, the duo worked together, but that changed completely when Steijn distanced himself from almost all purchases after the disappointing draw against Fortuna Sittard (0-0) on September 3. “I haven’t had zero influence, but I have had little influence,” Steijn said at the time. “I can live well with a player like Sutalo.”
The relationships within Ajax were therefore greatly strained. “I had the hope of still bringing them together,” says Van Halst. “I thought: there must be some form of cooperation possible? That they just interact normally? Especially because the technical director has appointed the trainer. You often see that they work together.”
Van Halst initially sat on the Supervisory Board at Ajax and later became interim general manager. “I haven’t managed to fix it. Oh man, I’ve had so many conversations and sessions. It has to come from all parties. I haven’t succeeded.”
At the end of September, Ajax decided to fire Mislintat after the deception in the Classic against Feyenoord (0-4 loss). “His support within the technical staff and also De Toekomst became less and less. The low point was of course the home match against Feyenoord. Then we decided to part ways. It was inevitable. The results were terrible, the cooperation was minimal.”
Not long afterwards, Steijn also had to leave the field. “I really see the appointment of John van ‘t Schip as a first step in the recovery,” said Van Halst. “He also really enjoys collaboration. I missed that so much: working with each other and respecting each other. His focus was immediately on the staff. He did that very well.”
Van Halst was succeeded at Ajax by Alex Kroes, who was suspended within a few weeks by the Supervisory Board, led by Michael van Praag. Ultimately, the issue was resolved internally and Kroes was allowed to continue at Ajax as titular technical director.
“Kroes and Van Praag were diametrically opposed to each other, but the good thing is that they showed: we are trying to solve it. That bothered me so much, boy at Ajax… Now solve it together,” he said. Van Halst on the argument between Mislintat and Steijn.
2024-04-29 19:53:00
#bothered #man..
