Alvarez played the full 90 minutes at RCB yesterday. He had a couple of poor passes out from the back but was generally good. Unfortunately, Ajax missed his stopping ability in the MF as Blind who returned from injury played up with Martinez at LCB. Blind's lack of quickness was a liability and Ajax were occasionally overrun in the middle. In the end it did not matter as the Swiss team is really not very good. IMO, Alvarez is preferred as the holding MF.
It's an adjustment for Ajax fans, I'm sure. Edson is not the typical holding midfielder that Ajax uses or produces but he's perfectly in line with what Mexico produces. A holding midfielder that can drop and help the center backs with Rafa Marquez being the best example of this. He's the perfect compliment to Gravenberch and their partnership has helped Ajax gain a bit of stability while allowing Klaassen to push forward and create.
Here is a good review of his play yesterday from one of the best Ajax sites: https://www.ajaxshowtime.com/hoofdnieuws/is-alvarez-als-centrumverdediger-voor-herhaling-vatbaar Google translator is your friend if you don't read Dutch. Several years ago Christian Poulsen joined Ajax for two years as he was nearing the end of his career. Poulsen had played in every one of Europe's major leagues and while he was no longer a regular 90 minute player he did see a lot of action for two Ajax championship teams as a defensive MF. He's now an assistant trainer at Ajax and I suspect he might be helping Alvarez.
Edson Álvarez contra Young Boys https://t.co/dSXtcD1xFR— Mexican Prospects (@MXProspects) March 19, 2021 Ajax won 2-0.
Alvarez with a goal in the first half in a great display of total football. He is nominally the RCB again today but the player rotation given field openings he has a lot of liberty to move forward with the two deep MFs rotating backward as necessary.
Edson on fire 🔥. Gol que resalta el gran momento del mexicano. pic.twitter.com/GYEiNR5Mif— Martín del Palacio (@martindelp) March 21, 2021
A solid match today as Alvarez went 53 minutes before being subbed off. He was constantly moving between attach and defense as Ajax were giving a clinic in total football. He got his first league goal near the end of the half and won every duel he was involved in.
¡GANAN, GUSTAN Y GOLEAN!Edson Álvarez fue titular, marcó un gol y disputó 54 minutos en la victoria del Ajax sobre el ADO Den Haag; Rensch, Brobbey, Tadic y Klasseen fueron los demás anotadores, ¡son más líderes que nunca! 😎🔥🇲🇽🇳🇱#EdsonAlvarez #Ajax #ADODenHaag #Eredivisie pic.twitter.com/Sl3OjtGAua— Fanbolero (@fanbolero) March 21, 2021
a recent interview with Ajax manager. I clipped the part where he discusses Edson. https://streamable.com/rkau4h
i thought he played well after the mistake. Him and Martinez are developing a nice CB partnership. granted, the opposition wasn't exactly sending everyone in the attack. I still think he moves to the midfield in Europa League as extra cover for the backline.
He was really poor on the goal, getting beaten quite easily. He moved up into the MF for a short period of time in the second half and then back when Ajax made a substitution. Ajax started with Rensch, normally a RFB pushed up into the holding MF with Alvarez at RCB. Rensch did not have a good match, maybe a result of playing in an unaccustomed position. Alvarez had a much better 2nd half with some key wins in the air and interventions on the ground. Personally, I think he is better in the MF with someone behind him.
Otro error grosero. Es increíble la cantidad de errores técnicos y tacticos que cometen nuestros jugadores, y es que en la liga mexicana la formación es muy deficiente. Muy poca calidad.
⚽: El mexicano Edson Álvarez jugó el partido completo que perdió el Ajax ante la Roma por 2 goles a 1, en la ida de cuartos de final de la Europa League. Davy Klaassen adelantó al cuadro neerlandés y Lorenzo Pellegrini e Ibañez remontaron por el equipo italiano. pic.twitter.com/JJTQ2uReLX— José Juan Vázquez (@josejuangelmx) April 8, 2021
Calmado...no es para tanto. Los errors groseros fueron del que fallo el penal y el portero. Pareces cangrejo. No fue buen partido de Edson pero los errors fueron muchos por parte del Ajax. De acuerdo que le falta much por mejorar, ojala alcanse a ese nivel que nos hace falta en la selecion.
No soy cangrejo, apoyo mucho a los futbolistas mexicanos pero honestamente es lo que veo. No fue una falla normal, fue una falla de fútbol amateur, era una pelota de rutina, en Holanda rápidamente se dieron cuenta que técnicamente es limitado para el centro del campo. El problema está en la formación, los formadores mexicanos son muy limitados.
To be honest the errors started in the midfield with Rench (?) which more or less forced Martinez to give a suck ball to Alvarez, who then didnot handle it well, leading to the foul.
¡CON LO JUSTO!Edson Álvarez fue titular y disputó todo el partido en la victoria del Ajax frente al Waawijk, ¡acarician el título de la Eredivisie! 🤩🏆🇲🇽🇳🇱#EdsonAlvarez #Waalwijk #Ajax #Eredivisie #SoyFanbolero pic.twitter.com/pY9hVnNYDd— Fanbolero (@fanbolero) April 11, 2021
Edson Alvarez acaba de recuperar el balón 14 VECES ante el Waalwijk.Record en un solo partido de la Eredivisie 20/21. pic.twitter.com/3J3dXv35ad— Statiskicks (@statiskicks) April 11, 2021
He was lucky the ref did give him a yellow card for hitting his opponent. The incident was discussed in the footballshow Studio Voetbal and they were the opinion it should have been a red, which could have Ajax drop points.