On Wednesday, Ajax resumed training in small groups at De Toekomst. Captain Dusan Tadic, Donny van de Beek, Quincy Promes, Joël Veltman and Daley Blind, among others, made their appearance. Trainer Erik ten Hag is happy that he can receive players on the field again.
“It is of course nice that you can start again after we have been out of the running for so long. You can see the enthusiasm, also with the staff. This period is very strange, for the whole of society, but of course also for Ajax”, says Ten Hag against Ajax TV.
Due to the corona crisis, the players of Ajax also could not train on the field for more than six weeks. The Amsterdammers now train with six players in the morning and with six other players in the afternoon. The players present are then divided into two groups of three.
“We have recently come up with a lot and we can only train in small groups. We have divided those groups with trainers. I observe, give instructions and evaluate”, says Ten Hag.
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September 1 starting point for Ajax
At Ajax they take into account the scenario that football may be played again in the Netherlands from 1 September, but that is far from certain, as Ten Hag also knows. “We hope so, of course. It’s a guideline we’re focused on.”
According to Ten Hag, the main thing now is that his players can really get back to work. “They haven’t felt the ball for a few weeks. You can also see that they are very happy with that, that they can finally do things with the ball. That was a while ago.”
The ending of the Eredivisie by the KNVB last Friday did not yield Ajax with a new league title, but the Amsterdam team will receive the best European ticket for next season as number one.
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