Lindenbergh joins Sparta after contract dissolution
31 August: Ajax have dissolved the contract of Olaf
Lindenbergh, which would have expired on 30 June 2008. This
allowed the left-footed veteran, who was deemed surplus to
requirements at the Amsterdam club this summer, to pen a one
year deal at Eredivisie outfit Sparta Rotterdam, less than half
a day before the UEFA transfer window closed.
Having come all the way through the ranks of the Ajax youth
system, Olaf Lindenbergh (born Purmerend, 06 february 1974)
never made it to the first team as a youngster, but
returned to Ajax as a veteran in June 2005. Ajax reportedly
paid AZ some 2 million euros for him. Lindenbergh, a versatile
midfielder or defender, committed to Ajax for three seasons.
Two years later his Ajax career has come to an end and
everybody, including Lindenbergh himself, will agree that it
was a bit of a disappointment. Lindenbergh had 50 official
appearances for Ajax, mostly as a substitute and most of
them under the head-coach who landed him: Danny
Blind. He never really became a starter and disappeared
from the stage under Blind's successor, Henk ten Cate.
During the summer a move to NEC seemed close, but the
Nijmegen club couldn't cough up Lindenbergh's wages and the
deal fell through. The player's salary also appeared to be a
major obstacle for Sparta Rotterdam. According to unconfirmed
media reports the Amsterdam club will pay a part of
Lindenbergh's wages this season.
He was far more succesful at his previous clubs: De
Graafschap (159 appearances and 6 goals between 1994 and 1999)
and especially AZ, where he developed into a key
player for the team that would make the jump to the top of
Dutch football under Co Adriaanse. In six seasons in Alkmaar,
Lindenbergh had 135 league appearances and netted 6 times.
At Ajax, however, things never really worked out, although
the combination of Lindenbergh and Tomás Galásek
(very briefly) seemed the solution for Ajax's midfield problems
in September 2005. Danny Blind, who believed in
Lindenbergh when he was head-coach of Ajax, still believes
in him now that he is technical director of
Sparta Rotterdam. Olaf Lindenbergh found himself a new club.
Good for him. (MP)
Source: Ajax.nl
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