UCLScouting report: Alfred Schreuder's 'unpredictable' Ajax

Two years on from their previous clash in the Champions League group stage, the Reds go in search of a response to their defeat in Naples against the team who lead the section courtesy of a 4-0 victory over Glasgow Rangers last week.

Liverpoolfc.com spoke to Michiel Jongsma, journalist and Opta’s senior editor for Dutch football, for more detail on Alfred Schreuder’s Ajax team…

Ajax underwent a significant rebuild over the summer following the departure of several influential first-team players and a coach who had been so successful. Does this feel like something of a hard reset for them?

Definitely not. With the departure of [former director of football] Marc Overmars – albeit under non-sporting circumstances – this February, the feel of change being on its way had already set in. This was only confirmed by the announcement a couple of months later that Erik ten Hag would depart the club as well. However, Ajax moved swiftly to get their No.1 choice, then-Club Brugge manager – but formerly Ten Hag’s assistant at Ajax – Alfred Schreuder. In that sense, the managerial situation has been more of a continuation, or some would even say evolution, to what it was before.

In terms of the squad the turnover has been huge, but a few of these departures were already expected. The only departure that seems to have put a bit of a dampener on things has been the Eredivisie record move of Brazilian winger Antony to Manchester United, but the right-wing position was far from a weak one in their squad anyway. Overall, Ajax have had a hectic few months, but whereas the mood in the spring seemed a bit languid, it has now again turned into one of positivity.

Ajax have six Eredivisie wins out of six so far, scoring 21 goals in the process, and a 4-0 victory over Rangers to start their Champions League campaign. What have you made of their performances?

Ajax have looked good and capable of shifting gears when needed, too. The game against Rangers on matchday one only emphasised that; when they’re hungry they are a torrid team to face and it speaks volumes that those games saw several different players thrive. Compared to last season, Ajax seem quite a bit more flexible, with Brian Brobbey [an academy graduate who returned from RB Leipzig in the summer] filling the more typical striker role when needed, and Mohammed Kudus dropping deep and roaming from the nine position when the opponent requires a different approach.

What kind of personality is Schreuder and will he change the playing style at all?

Alfred Schreuder might not have had the fame as a player of many of his predecessors, but he is actually the first permanent Ajax manager to take charge with a league title [last season’s Jupiler Pro League] already to his name since Morten Olsen in the ’90s. Ajax are renowned for growing talent not just on the pitch, and so far it seems like Schreuder is doing all the right things. He has had a bit of a rocky path to Ajax, with several fairly short stints as head coach at FC Twente, Hoffenheim and Club Brugge as well as being assistant at several clubs, including Ajax and Barcelona. However, he’s always been held in high esteem by the players he has coached, and so far he seems to have made a really good impression on the Ajax players as well.

Ajax seem to have a lot more movement than last season, with players interchanging positions, full-backs posing a genuine goal threat by popping up in the box and forwards dropping back when needed. They seem to have become quite a bit more unpredictable.

Which particular players would you suggest to look out for from the current side?

Jurrien Timber won both Eredivisie Player and Eredivisie Talent of the Year last month, and is a supremely talented centre-back. Despite making his debut only 30 months ago, he is already a mainstay in the Ajax defence and is regarded highly by Dutch national team manager Louis van Gaal. A quick and technically gifted centre-back, he is a serious candidate to start for the Dutch at the World Cup later this year.

Ahead of him, Edson Alvarez has been really impressive as a holding midfielder. The Mexican was originally signed as a centre-back replacement for Matthijs de Ligt and initially struggled to fill the void, but has reinvented himself as a holding midfielder and is instrumental in maintaining the defensive balance for an otherwise very attacking side. Recently, he seems to have developed a bit of a goalscoring knack as well, and aged only 24 he will only get better.

Lastly, after the departure of Sebastien Haller and Antony, new signing Steven Bergwijn is the man in attack to watch. The former Tottenham Hotspur winger, who was once part of Ajax’s youth set-up but became the club’s record signing in July, has been rejuvenated after returning to the Eredivisie. Expect a different player to what Premier League fans have seen so far; Bergwijn at Ajax is a player that is allowed to express himself going forward, and so far he has rewarded that with blistering dribbles, great link-up play and some clinical finishing. So far he’s scored eight goals in eight games, leading the goalscoring charts for Ajax.

One final thing that will be interesting is whether Ajax will field the more classical No.9 Brobbey, who is seen as a major talent and fits the mould of a strong, clinical target man, or the more agile, dribbling wizard Kudus. The 22-year-old Ghanaian Kudus is actually a central midfielder by trade but has been trialled in the No.9 role by Schreuder this season with impressive results, scoring four in the last three games, including a stunner against Rangers. Funnily enough, he said in the wake of that Man of the Match performance against Rangers that he didn’t like playing there, but did it for the team.

Obviously when these sides met in the group stage two years ago the stadiums were empty due to COVID-19. How much will Ajax fans be relishing a visit to a full Anfield, and equally, what have Liverpool fans got to look forward to atmosphere-wise at a full Johan Cruijff Arena?

For Ajax, Liverpool are always linked to their breakthrough onto the international stage in 1966, when they beat the Reds 5-1 in the second round of the European Cup, in what is dubbed ‘the mist game’. And since, there have been plenty of players that have played for both clubs. There is a lot of respect for Liverpool, a historical giant in a category that Ajax fans see their club occupying as well. So the appetite to visit Anfield, 56 years after the last meeting with fans in the stadium, is huge. Predictably, Ajax had sold all away tickets within a few days.

In terms of the game at the Johan Cruijff Arena, in the Champions League especially, they are really capable of creating an atmosphere. The hunger for European success is quite clearly there and they have been close to adding to their already impressive collection of European prizes in recent years. Expect an impressive Johan Cruijff Arena that will be right up for it.