And On the First Day…

By: Matt | August 29th, 2008

Marco said “Let there be an attacking side worthy of Ajax.” And then he fielded a squad of KJH, Suarez, Sulejmani, Aissati, etc. And Amsterdam saw that it was good. And so begins the chronicles of MvB’s first season of recreating Ajax, renewing the vigor and pride that he knew in his youth. Very soon we will have many questions answered. Among them…

> I am dying to see where Urby figures in. Midfield? Left back? Winger? Bench? Sub? He is a tremendous talent, and he could potentially be on the verge of a terrific breakthrough. But first, we need to see what Marco has in mind. At left back, he was terrific support for Suarez and not-so-much support for the backline. I think he can play left back, but I have no idea what to expect.
> Nor do I have any idea what to expect from the midfield. With Gabri out, the only player I would place a decent wager on being first choice is removed from the equation. Many possiblities come to mind: Aissati-Sno-Lindgren, Urby-Sno-Aissati, de Jong-Vertonghen-Lindgren. I have no idea (but I will hazard a guess below). Will MvB look to set an attacking mindset despite the away venue? Will he hand debuts to both Aissati and Sno?
> And wingers! No more opening day attacking lines of Rommedahl & Luque. We have a very good chance of seeing Suarez and Sulejmani. And between them, they may certainly outpace KJH in goals this season. I simply cannot remember the last time I was so interested in our squad selection on the first day.
> And if KJH plays, can we put to bed the rumors of a Real Madrid swoop coming on the heels of Robinho’s departure? Well, no, but I will feel much better seeing him on the field than off it.
> But what if the backline ruptures! We have been begging for an extra defender all summer with no result. Will Oleguer perform? Will Vermaelen get through warm-ups with his health intact? Will Steks start making people forget van der … whatever his name was?

But enough of that. Willem II is the opposition. A manageable opponent, but with some quality. Moussa Dembele drew some attention at the Olympics, and hopefully he will have the attention of our defenders. I would feel much better with some actual form to go on, but I will make a prediction anyway.

Willem II 1 - Ajax 4
KJH 22′
KJH 38′
Suarez 66′
Dembele 68′
Sulejmani 84′

My guess for the lineup:
Bruno-Oleg-Verm-Urby
Lindgren-Sno-Aissati
Sulejmani-KJH-Suarez