February 1990
Ajax… Fifteen Years Ago
After an 'extended' winter break, Ajax are counting the days
until the first Eredivisie fixture of 1990: against FC Twente
at De Meer. The excitement gets an extra impulse on Saturday
evening, as PSV travel to Roda JC and lose 3-1. Roda
temporarily leapfrog Ajax with this win, but Amsterdam is
pleased with the result anyway, confident that the title race
will eventually be a race between PSV and Ajax.
De Meer looks great the next day (04 February), in spite of
the gray, extra fencing. The February sun is pleasant and no
less than 14,000 spectators have shown up. Just like Roda,
Twente are also a point ahead of Ajax (although they played 20
games and Ajax only 18). But not for long. Beenhakker's eleven
play one of their better games of the season. Ajax are 1-0 up
at half time (penalty by Stefan Pettersson) and entertain the
crowd in the second half: Pettersson makes it 2-0, Ron Willems
scores against his previous club again and Bryan Roy scores the
goal of the month: what was intended to be a cross turns into a
diagonal shot that curves over goalkeeper Hans de Koning and
into the upper ninety. 4-0. The gap with PSV is down to two
points and Ajax have a game in hand to close it. Two weeks
until Ajax vs PSV at the already sold out Olympic
Stadium…
But first: MVV away, on Friday evening, 09 February. It's
cold at Maastricht's Geusselt stadium, where Ajax start
aloofly. Alfons Arts sets the atmospheric ground on fire after
only nine minutes by rocketing a free kick past Stanley Menzo:
1-0. Ajax are slightly more energetic in the second half, but
just seem to have another of their off days. Beenhakker brings
in Bergkamp and Ronald de Boer. Two extra forwards. But MVV
remain upright. 1-0. What a painful defeat. Beenhakker foams
with rage after the game: "You can beat Twente 4-0, but if you
play like this against a team like MVV five days later, then
what bloody sense does it make?" The next day PSV beat NEC:
6-0. Four points, one game in hand. This is a painful
setback.
Five days later Ajax find themselves in the province of
Limburg again, this time for KNVB quarter final against Fortuna
Sittard. Ron Willems has lost his spot to Wim Jonk, which turns
out to be a fortunate decision by Beenhakker: Jonk is the man
to hammer the only goal of the game against the net in the 31st
minute. Ajax are under pressure in the second half, but advance
to the semi final, in which PSV will be the opponent, on 14
March in Eindhoven.
But first the reigning champions come to Amsterdam for a
vital confrontation in the league. Sunday 18 February is the
day. PSV: 30 points out of 21 games. Ajax: 26 out of 20. If
Ajax win they will be breathing down PSV's neck again. If they
lose, the gap will be six points. The players count the hours,
as 52,000 fans climb the concrete steps of the Olympic Stadium
on a another beautiful, sunny Sunday. Beenhakker's line-up
contains one major surprise: young Marciano Vink will play
alongside Peter Larsson in defense. They will have have to
eliminate PSV's lethally effective striker couple: Romario and
Wim Kieft. Captain Jan Wouters moves to midfield.
Jan Wouters (4)
and Aron Winter acknowledge PSV's #1 danger: Romario. [Photo:
Voetbal International]
The start is nervous. The teams feel each other out and take
no risk. As Ajax seriously accelerate for the first time around
the half hour mark, they are immediately punished: Gerald
Vanenburg (mercilessly jeered at by the Amsterdam fans, who -
as usual - imitate his high-pitched voice each time he touches
the ball) beautifully fires home from just outside the penalty
box: 0-1 (33'). But Ajax seem unimpressed, shift to a higher
gear and level the score only five minutes later, as a shot
rebounds off the cross-bar and Stefan Pettersson is standing at
the right spot: 1-1.
Ajax play increasingly well in the second half. Jan Wouters,
in particular, has an absolutely terrific game. He wins the
battle in midfield for Ajax. The Amsterdammers get chances as
the crowd's roar increases in volume. And then, all of a
sudden, there is a PSV counter attack, a low cross towards the
near post, a diving Stanley Menzo, a sliding Marciano Vink
and… a dramatic own goal by the young defender, who had
such a good game so far. 1-2 (62'). It's undeserved. What a
heavy blow for Ajax.
This time the Amsterdammers do seem be thrown off
their balance. But there's always Jan Wouters, who - more than
ever - incites his young team-mates like a father and a
field-marshall at the same time. He battles for every inch,
rouses his young, inconsistent team-mates and single-handedly
saves the day for Ajax as he steps forward for a 71st minute
free kick and superbly fires it around the PSV wall and out of
Hans van Breukelen's reach, into the far side netting: 2-2.
A split second
before the eruption... Jan Wouters' free kick slams home
for
Ajax's second equalizer against PSV. [Photo: Voetbal
International]
The heat is on at the Olympic. Not a single spectator
remains seated as PSV falters under Ajax's desperate siege for
a much needed win. Exactly nine minutes after Wouters'
equalizer the great moment arrives. Pettersson penetrates PSV's
penalty box. He pulls the ball back in front of Van Breukelen's
goal, and there is Jan Wouters, who needs to slide and fully
stretch in order for his right foot to meet the ball at exactly
the right moment. A split second later the overwhelming,
delightful noise of an erupting Olympic Stadium fills the air:
3-2 - and ten minutes to go.
Ajax are under pressure in the last minutes of the game, but
Jan Wouters is an enigmatic hero today. This match will not be
lost. This lead will not be given away. The Amsterdam rookies -
De Boer, Roy, Vink, Witschge - who can sometimes be so
annoyingly aloof, now fight like lions and make it to the
finish line. What a day. What a game. What an unforgettably
heroic win.
Richard Witschge's reward for his now extraordinarily mature
play is his first ever Oranje cap, three days
after the win over PSV. Holland, with Jan Wouters as the only
other Ajacied, settle for a tepid 0-0 draw with Italy in a
friendly at De Kuip. The man on the Dutch bench is not Thijs
Libregts, whose contract was not extended after the
qualification World Cup, but his assistant, Nol de Ruiter. The
KNVB announce that Holland will go to Italy in the summer with
a new captain on the ship... Will it (finally) be Johan
Cruyff...? Time will tell.
Wouters and Witschge return to Amsterdam. It's time to
look forward: next up is the fixture that
was postponed last month: Sparta away. Their home ground
of 'The Castle' looks a bit strange without a roof (it was
blown off by the January 27 hurricane) and Ajax look a bit
different than usual also: Bryan Roy is left out and Richard
Witschge plays as a left winger. Ajax take an early lead (good
goal by Wim Jonk in the 4th minute), but have trouble against
the surprisingly offensive hosts, who have started in a sort of
4-2-4 formation. Sparta have a secret weapon from Ghana. His
name: Prince Opoku Bismarck Polley Sampene, or simply Prince
Polley. He's fast, he's strong, he's utterly unpredictable -
and he equalizes for Sparta in the 59th minute, beating Sjaak
Storm, who replaces an injured Stanley Menzo in the Ajax goal.
Ajax can start all over again. Beenhakker brings on Ronald de
Boer. The team battles in the latter fifteen minutes of the
game and ends up booking a hard fought win: defender Peter
Larsson is the man to time well on a high Frank de Boer cross
and head past goalkeeper Ed de Goey (76').
In
trouble at 'The Castle': Prince Polley levels the score for
Sparta. [Photo: Voetbal International]
A hard fought win, but a very important one, because PSV
once again drop a point, this time at Groningen (0-0). Ajax are
second in the table, but 'virtually' tops: PSV have 31 points
out of 23 games, Ajax now have 30 out of 22 - and now seem very
much up for the title race. Roll on the next
game! (MP)
Next month:
- KNVB Cup semi final: PSV vs Ajax
- Breathing down PSV's neck…
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