John Heitinga guided Ajax to second place in the Eredivisie, but the team is still stuck there for the time being

Mohammed Kudus (l) in NEC-speler Souffian El Karouani.Image Pro Shots / Show Dip

Numerous studies have been conducted in Europe into the sense and nonsense of firing a football coach. Most results show that a club does not benefit from sending a coach away. “Dismissal makes no sense at all,” Jan van Ours, professor of applied economics, once said. Van Ours, affiliated with the Erasmus School of Economics, did point out the positive short-term effect that a trainer change can have. “There is often a short-term recovery that can be attributed to psychological factors, among other things. On average, however, clubs do not make a profit in the longer term.”

The sporting resurrection of Ajax, at least in numbers, is due to the fresh wind that has blown through the club after the dismissal of Alfred Schreuder and the (temporary) appointment of John Heitinga. Players cling to the new trainer’s approach, there are opportunities for reserves, everyone has started with a clean slate.

Winning goal

The best example is Mohammed Kudus, who scored the winning goal against NEC. It was his tenth this season in the Premier League. The Ghanaian has now scored 18 times this season in all competitions he has participated in or is taking part in, nationally and internationally, including two goals at the World Cup. Under Heitinga, however, he is only sure of his place.

The confidence with which Kudus plays also gives the rest of the team something to hold on to. Heitinga has been busy from the start to rotate as little as possible, and to work on patterns and automatisms. He guided Ajax from fifth to second place, but the team is still stuck there. Feyenoord has been unbeaten in eighteen matches and regularly takes full advantage after the winter break with a winning goal in the final phase: against FC Utrecht (1-1), PSV (2-2), AZ (2-1) and on Saturday night against FC Groningen (1-0) the team from Rotterdam collected the necessary extra points in this way. It is reminiscent of the 2009-2010 season when Ajax failed to catch up with leader FC Twente. Attacker Bryan Ruiz almost single-handedly made the Tukkers champions by deciding six matches at the last minute.

Ajax itself does not win its matches with the greatest of ease. It was no different against NEC, with the intelligent Lasse Schöne and Oussama Tannane on board. Calvin Bassey, also a player who has recovered under Heitinga, defensively had his hands full with striker Nany Dimata, but if necessary he took care of Elayis Tavsan and Tannane.

Whether this was his best performance in the shirt of Ajax? Bassey laughed at the question he was asked at the press conference. “I’m not the jury, so tell me.”

Entertainment value

What the Nigerian Brit did want to say is that he is still happy at Ajax, ‘the best place for young football players to develop’. Bassey was also regularly on the bench under Heitinga in recent weeks, but that did not frustrate him in the least. “You can also learn from the side, by looking at others from a different perspective. I want to learn to understand the game of Ajax. The club helps me with that, and I can give the team strength and intransigence in return.”

In the end, Ajax had enough with Kudus’ goal, seven minutes after the break, with an assist from Dusan Tadic, his fifteenth in the Eredivisie. Heitinga statistically rivals his predecessor Schreuder with eight victories in ten duels under his leadership. Schreuder did not win thirteen of his 25 matches with Ajax.

The series that Heitinga has started should lead to at least second place in the premier league, which entitles him to participate in the preliminary round of the Champions League. There are still ten duels to go, the top 4 are very close together. All teams that compete for the national title won their match 1-0 this weekend. Heitinga shows himself to be a conscious crisis manager: “This was a business victory today. The entertainment value was not high, unfortunately, because you also want to entertain people. But at this stage of the season we have to win.”