Milan - Ajax Stadium is sold out. Car is rented. Ticket's been bought. Beer is ready Sos is ready Nitraatjes are ready. Now all we need is sun in Milan. What do we think? Pirlo is out, Seedorf is out, Rui Costa is uncertain and I believe someone else at Milan was also out. Don't remember who though. In the meantime, Ajax has some injury troubles, but not too severe. Sikora, De Jong, Trabelsi, Galasek out, not sure when they're back.
Re: Milan - Ajax it is Maldini i believe. he is also uncertain, most likely closer to probably though. i believe Serginho and Kaladze are banged up but are going to play.
kaladze and serginho will not play - they havent even resumed training - rui costa and maldini will be last minute decisions i say AJAX will at least get a 1-1 if not win the match as for you going to the san siro, have a good safe winning trip YOU FORTUNATE BASTARD!!!!!!!
I'm a MLS and EPL guy, mostly MLS. But I really want Americans, in this case John O'Brien to do well in foreign competitions. Playing at Ajax has really made John so much better on the national team; he may be the best midfielder we have now that Reyna is past his prime. So, really, go Ajax, kill Milan. Does anyone know injurys for both sides? Who is out?
All four trained to some extent on Monday. vdVaart wants to play, has been cleared medically--according to him.
can someone from Amsterdam tell me if they love JOB and think as highly of him as we all do here. i mean, theres been a lot of talk recently that he can play anywhere in the world (including--gasp--Real Madrid), and is his just us Yanks getting giddy, or is he really respected as a leader and top player in Amsterdam?
Well, of course I can only speak for myself, but in general I'd say he's not that 'big' here yet. He's got a great pass and good insight in the game. He's seen as a good player, but not one of the main players at Ajax. And nobody's seeing him at Real atm
O'Brien just doesn't stand out as a person or player. But you have to say he IS a good player and also reasonably young. I don't think he'll make Real, but he is a valuable player most of the time. Sometimes when pressure is put on him he seems a bit weak though. I think he's one of those typical players who don't stand out and means a lot more to the team than you'd say. But truth is, he wasn't missed that much when he was out...
He's one of the only Americans to go into Europe as a teenager and develop there. He's young, but there is no way I can see him compeating at Real Madrid. About the big games, I somewhat beg to differ. He scored in 4th minute World Cup Opener against Portugal. That was big . Being an average player for a strong european team is still a lot better than the best player on a MLS team. While the whole Ajax team is young, I think we would be crazy to assume he won't get better as he reaches 30 years of age. I see it as an example...the USA should be sending more players to Europe at young ages to develop in systems' like Ajax's. And Ajax should be investing in talent here...Youth Soccer is huge here. Really huge, which is one of the reasons why it is confusing club soccer never catches on. It's not like europe, i'm sure, but I hear from 'foreigners' that america's youth is focusing on basketball. At a young age, most kids are playing either soccer or baseball. The problem is when they reach highschool/ college level, the talent drops off and they can not develop like other oversee players can. I really think that good American players countiue to prove themselves in Europe and there is a market to be tapped over here in the younger kids. Now that I finished my rant, i'd like to say "GO AJAX!"
agreed. believe me, i'm not saying JOB is good enough to play for Madrid, but he could move on in a year or two to a Barcelona type, as they've been looking at him for a few years now
Koeman saying the pressure is on Milan, no decisions yet on the injured players, and sounding somewhat confident: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=264942&cc=5901
Preview of the game http://soccernet.espn.go.com/preview?id=96999&cc=5901 Probable Lineups from Soccernet: Milan: 12-Dida; 14-Dario Simic, 13-Alessandro Nesta, 3-Paolo Maldini, 19-Alessandro Costacurta; 32-Christian Brocchi, 23-Massimo Ambrosini, 10-Rui Costa, 4-Kakha Kaladze (or 27-Serginho); 7-Andriy Shevchenko, 9-Filippo Inzaghi. Ajax: 1-Bogdan Lobont; 2-Hatem Trabelsi, 5-Christian Chivu, 16-Petri Pasanen, 18-John O'Brien; 22-Abubakari Yakubu, 4-Thomas Galasek, 10-Steven Pienaar, 37-Wesley Sneijder; 9-Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 23-Rafael van der Vaart.
Latest news: Vd. Vaart is out! he is still hampered by the effects of the mild concussion suffered in the game vs. Roda JC He'll be watching the game from the stands
Lineups: 12 Dida 3 Maldini 4 Kaladze 7 Shevchenko 9 Inzaghi 10 Rui Costa 13 Nesta 14 Šimic 19 Costacurta 23 Ambrosini 32 Brocchi Lobont 1 Trabelsi 2 Chivu 5 van der Meyde 7 Ibrahimovic 9 Pienaar 10 Pasanen 16 O'Brien 18 Yakubu 22 Van Damme 24 Sneijder 37 Ajax only have six subs since vdVaart, Maxwell, and Galasek are all out.
ya i just saw the lineups on milan's site, kind of depressing. can anyone give me some info on van damme and sneijder please? i am very very very scared/nervous right now.
Ok, here's what i know/think of them Van Damme is a strong left back. He's not as good as Maxwell and he probably can't contribute offensively like Maxwell, but he shouldn't be a liability..... Sneijder is another talent from the Ajax school. He's a playmaker who uses both legs equally. If he's on form and can step up to the level of play in this Champions League he is as good as Galasek, if not better....high potential!
**** Gawddamn!!!! I mean, how frustrating is that! They should've been in the semis.....but 3 absolute ***************e goals from Milan eliminate them I can only imagine how AFCA must feel....
If anyone is in indy tonight I'll be gettin ************ed up right at a few bars wearing my ajax jersey. find me for a fee drink. what a heartbreaking finish. man oh man.