We all remember the historic run Ajax had last season, beating teams like Schalke 04 and Olympique Lyon en route to the Europa League final in Stockholm. And while the Amsterdam side has Champions League aspirations this season, last year’s captain, Davy Klaassen, hopes to make a similar run in Europe with his new club Everton.
Speaking to Liverpool Echo, Klaassen talked about the lessons he is going to take from his time at Ajax, with hopes of turning that into Evertonian glory. “It was really nice to get to the final. I was at Ajax from the age of 11 and it was my dream to be captain. I got that and then to reach a European final, no one expected that at the beginning of the season. But we had a really good squad, everybody knew how to play, we did well and it was really fun,” Klaassen told English media.
After leaving Amsterdam for Merseyside in a €27 million move, Klaassen made his official club debut for Everton last week in the early rounds of Europa League qualifying, featuring a total of 86 minutes in their 1-0 win over Slovakian side Ruzômberok.
Playing under Dutch manager Ronald Koeman, another former Ajax player and coach, the duo will hope to continue their campaign by eliminating Ruzômberok in the return on Thursday. Meanwhile, Ajax look to advance to the final round of Champions League qualifying when they play Nice at the Johan Cruijff ArenA on Wednesday.