Owen Wijndal had a dramatic cup evening on Wednesday when he visited AZ (6-0 loss). The Ajax left back received a direct red card in the 66th minute after a clumsy foul on Wouter Goes. “Yes, stupid. Especially because I let my team down for another half hour,” Wijndal responded guiltily to ESPN.
Wijndal saw the images of his action afterwards. He knew immediately that it was going to be red. “I actually wanted to walk in before I saw that card. I already knew it, yes.” According to him, the red card was the result of a frustrating evening full of mistakes and setbacks. “I had problems, but I really did my best to make it to this match. It is a special match for me.”
The ex-AZ player was booed all evening by the audience of his former club. “I already knew that. It doesn’t really matter to me, but it’s fun. It would have been nicer if we had been ahead.” The Ajax crowd saw how their team was completely outclassed in Alkmaar and went down 6-0. “If you get 6-0, that is unworthy of Ajax. That is simply not possible.”
According to Wijndal, Ajax as a team showed none of the stability it had built up in the weeks before. “We made a lot of individual mistakes, AZ immediately resigned and then you quickly find yourself behind. We still had a phase in which we thought: we can straighten this out. But today it didn’t work. Why? I have no idea.”
The defender has been struggling with physical complaints in recent weeks, but was still at the kick-off against his old club. His suspension, which probably also applies in the competition, is an additional setback for him. “We just have to wait and see how long the suspension will be.”
Finally, Wijndal is asked about the rumors about his departure. The fullback becomes visibly irritated. He emphatically denied that. “I have not heard anything myself. What is written there is a lie. Or the people who said it did not say it to me. If they are big men, they will also say it to me.”
As far as he is concerned, his future is clear: “I have said before: I will not let myself be sent away just like that. Ajax is a very nice club, I really enjoy playing here. So as long as I am here, I will do my utmost.”
