Ajax is one of the most popular international soccer clubs because of its historical impact of 125 years since its inception. They consistently win the major competitions in the UEFA, making them a big deal in the football world globally.
However, with every great team comes some downfalls. Let’s go over their defensive woes to see where they can improve.
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A High Line with a Low Reward
Ajax naturally has an aggressive offensive with a high defensive line and a compact midfield. Erik ten Hag and other dynamic club managers have employed this approach consistently because of the team’s elite defensive stars and balanced coordination amongst all players. Unfortunately, the backline has been disjointed in recent campaigns that lacked proper management.
Ajax’s center backs are sometimes where their opponents aren’t when navigating the field. While they prefer to support guiding the ball along with offensive stars, they lack the positional awareness to recover accordingly to return to their defensive duties. For Eredivisie in the 2024/2025 season, Ajax conceded the most goals because of counterattacks when compared to the top six teams in the league.
Lacking Midfield Cover
Despite implementing a highly defensive play style, midfielders are having difficulty defending their side of the field. Key midfield enforcers like Edson Alvarez, who are no longer on Ajax’s team, have left them open to teams scoring more against them because of a lack of midfield cover.
Other players like Kenneth Taylor and Branco van den Boomen lend the team high levels of technical quality on the field. However, they do not have as much defensive ability to keep gameplay balanced when it’s their time to ward off an opponent’s offensive efforts. Hence, defenders are under constant pressure because opponents can easily get through Ajax’s minefield section.
Too Much Rotation Without Stability
Defensive stars facing injuries and managers making rotations to the defensive lineup have led to so much tactical indecision. Jorrel Hato and Ahmectan Kaplan work well together when on defense, while Devyne Rensch and Josip Sutalo have that same chemistry. However, changing out who is on the defensive lineup too frequently can lead to inconsistencies and unpredictability that could cause the team to fail. When center backs do not trust the defensive rhythm, more mistakes than victories can happen on the field.
Full-Backs Unable To Find Balance
Full-backs have a dual responsibility: to be a bombshell in the offensive lineup while also ensuring defense is as hard as a rock. Owen Wijndal and Devyne Rensch are the current full-backs with these multifaceted responsibilities that sometimes make it difficult to realize on which side they are needed most.
When turnovers happen on the field, full-backs will have to scurry back to the defensive lineup, especially against teams that deliver explosive counterattacks. Hence, Ajax’s full-backs need to learn the balance between when to help the offense and when to assist the defense to lead to higher chances of victory.
Coaching Confusion
There’s nothing worse than coaching confusion when leading a sports team. Certain Ajax managers alter the coach’s proposed lineup at the very last minute because some prefer zoning, while others want one man against an opposing one in the same position. Ajax’s coaches and managers must communicate with one another to be on the same page.