The Dutch legend admitted that he was delighted to see Ajax performing brightly against Borussia Dortmund in Champions League, but also admitted that the Eredivisie champions failed to match the Bundesliga outfit’s intensity
in the closing stages of the game.
Johan Cruyff is of the view that the Dutch clubs do not have the quality to compete successfully in the European competition.
Ajax Amsterdam, who suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Borussia Dortmund and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/FC-Twente-c39233 Enschede settled for a 2-2 stalemate against Hannover in last week’s European games.
Cruyff, who won several pieces of silverware during his playing time at Amsterdam Arena, revealed that he was disappointed to see the Dutch top flight clubs struggling in the European games.
“What got my attention the most this week is the way in which Dutch teams struggled with the intensity in big European games”, Cruyff was quoted as saying in his column for De Telegraaf.
The former http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604 player and manager went on to admit that the Amsterdammers made a bright start against the Bundesliga champions in their Champions League opener, but they failed to impress in the final 20 minutes of the game.
“Ajax made a good start against Borussia Dortmund. Even better than I'd expected. It was an even game until 20 minutes before the final whistle, and you can only give Ajax a compliment for that. However, Dortmund then switched
to the next gear, and Ajax were unable to match their intensity”, Cruyff added.
The Tukkers were in total control against Hannover, leading the game by 2-0, but they had to settle for only a point at the end.
“The same thing happened at Twente - Hannover. Twente made a good start, resulting in a 2-0 lead. Nevertheless, they had to settle for a draw after Hannover started pushing”, Cruyff concluded.
Ajax will take on Real Madrid in their next Champions League encounter on October 3, while PSV and FC Twente will lock horns against SSC http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Napoli-c40003 and Helsingborg in their upcoming UEFA Europa League fixtures on October 4.
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