Alternative match report: Ajax enter 2023 with hope and desperation

Like many of us, Ajax enter the new year with a sense of both hope and despair. Alfred Schreuder, once touted as the mastermind behind the club's 2019 Champions League run, remains full of confidence. Still, Erik ten Hag's former assistant and current replacement as head coach has shown on several occasions that he may not be up to the job for a club of Ajax's stature. Calls from #SchreuderOut reverberate on Twitter and, now that rivals Feyenoord are three points clear of the standings, the groaning voices are sure to increase in volume. Yet as easy as it is to point the finger at the coach alone, a boring performance to open the curtains of 2023 was the culmination of a variety of things that went wrong after that fantastic run nearly 20 years ago. four years.

Schreuder has been ridiculed by fans as a lackluster coach, but lately it's been the players who haven't competed at par. Legendary defender Daley Blind has now left the club after World Cup winner Lisandro Martínez joined Ten Hag and Antony in Manchester last summer, opening up chances for newcomers and young players in defense and attack. But the "who's next" system, which Martínez himself benefited from, was not repeated under the new leadership. Former AZ Alkmaar star Owen Wijndal has failed to claim a starting role, while full-back Devyne Rensch has waded into a new central role. Wijndal was completely absent from action in Nijmegen as Ajax opened their 2023 campaign against mid-table NEC, a clear example of how things have unfolded recently for the Dutch champions.

You would expect a club with so many high-quality players to suffer somewhat after a grueling mid-season World Cup schedule. Indeed, many Ajax players who have played in Qatar have suffered from some kind of disease. The two Stevens, Bergwijn and Berghuis, failed to make the trip south, while Mohammed Kudus also called in sick over the weekend. Many fans were rightly fed up with Kudus' behavior when he skipped training to try and force a move last year. Berghuis' absence was particularly significant as the former Feyenoord challenger has been Schreuder's best attacking play this season. Teenage sensation Francisco 'Chico' Conceição took over on the front line, making exciting runs from the right wing to threaten the NEC defence. The Portuguese is one of the (increasingly rare) bright spots in a team that only a few years ago dazzled their opponents with displays of arrogance and flair. But the youngster is...