Fortune is Blind

Yeah, it was kinda ugly. Yeah, we were not terribly sharp. Yeah, nobody will be too impressed with Dario. And yeah, we only managed two goals against a suspect defense (as I predicted. hooray.) We were fortunate. But three points are three points, and championships are won in forgotten road matches where points could have been dropped but were not. After trailing at halftime, Ajax woke up and scored twice to thwart Volendam. Nothing too memorable about the match except for our first look at Daley Blind.

Suarez scored the equalizer before Vertonghen gave us the lead. I am going to have to get used to ending the match with sound defensive tactics rather than death-defying last-ditch heroics (Heitinga’s area of expertise) preventing equalizers. This is not your typical Ajax, which is a great intro to say a few more words about Daley Blind. He is not your typical youth academy graduate.

Danny Blind was perhaps the best thing to ever come out of Rotterdam and end up in Amsterdam. Five eredivisie titles, a UEFA Cup and a CL victory later, Danny was doing OK. He even managed Ajax for a time only to be unduly forced out, but I digress… This is about an apple that hopefully did not fall far from the tree.

We love Ajax because we love what is lovable about Dutch football: silky smooth attackers that ooze technical ability and confidence. The academy teaches that, and we see a steady stream of players with good touch. But every know and then we get to see one that makes us gasp with a different set of skills: the ability to smother another team’s attacks with positioning or with savvy physicality. Danny Blind had this in abundance. But best of all, his constant defensive presence made even the most confident attacker downright arrogant.

I don’t want to say that Daley is the new Danny (although I want a cut of the profits from any T-shirts with that slogan). But whenever the academy churns out someone who could fit that mold, we should take special notice. MvB and Bergkamp and the like will always be the soul of Ajax, but Danny Blind and others like him will be the heart, doing the steady work that makes it all possible.

Category: Team News

Tags: Team News

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