Alex Pastoor is extremely critical of Ajax talent Aaron Bouwman in the Rondo program. The analyst thinks the Ajax defender is strong in terms of football, but sees him falling short defensively.
Rafael van der Vaart is positive about the development at Ajax under Fred Grim. “I like that Ajax has made itself heard in Europe. Grim is doing well, he has brought back stability. You have young players who are doing well and it is fun to watch again.”
Bouwman was preferred to Ko Itakura last week against FC Volendam (2-0 win) and in the Champions League against Villarreal (1-2). Yet Pastoor is not convinced of the youngster.
“I am not overly enthusiastic,” says the clubless trainer. “At the front, yes. Bounida, I like to watch that, just like Hadj Moussa. These are guys who can break open a defense. But I don’t like to watch a defender who cannot defend.”
The analyst lashes out at Bouwman. “Why he can’t defend? I don’t know either. There will undoubtedly still be a lot of ground left undeveloped. A goalkeeper who can play football, but can’t keep goal, that’s not nice either.”
According to Pastoor, defending is about much more than just being able to play football. “Boys at the back can play quite well, actually play excellent football, but defending also means reading where the ball is going to fall,” he explains. “Closing passing lines, and if necessary, dueling. Assessing: should I go forward or back? I think that is really poorly done.”
Pastoor suspects that the cause of this lies in the training at Ajax. “That is often one-sided in such a course,” he says. “That you play for the team that always has the ball.”
