It's been a long time since I've been here. Great to see my club in the final against Manchester United. In recent years many people in Holland were convinced a Dutch club in a European final would never happen again, or at least not anytime soon. I always thought that was nonsense, but I didn't think we'd be here at the beginning of the season.
It's been fun reading this thread and all the pre-match expectations. Obviously on paper Ajax is the underdog. But that actually suits these players. It takes the pressure away from us. Without too much pressure against a club with the name of Manchester United is exactly the scenario that suits our young players best. Manchester United is an opponent against which they can really make a name for themselves. And this Manchester United team is not as good as the name suggests. Everyone knows this. That's why I definitely see good chances for Ajax.
In my opinion it all depends on Ajax's form who's gonna win it on Wednesday. If Ajax is close to it's best form then I'm convinced Ajax will win this match.
Ajax on a good day is simply a stronger team than this Manchester United team. But will Ajax be on, or close to, it's best? That's the million dollar question. In football anything can happen and finals usually don't bring out the best. Hopefully this time it will bring the best. At least the best of Ajax
. Mourinho obviously also is a master in making sure the opponent doensn't reach it's best form. But if we do reach our best level I'm fairly certain we'll win it. I sincerely doubt this United team will be able to withstand the pressure and quality of this Ajax team if Ajax does rise to the occasion. On the other hand, if Mourinho does manage to take the sting out of Ajax, of if Ajax players do crumble under the pressure of playing a final or for some other reason just don't play a good match, than Manchester United obviously is very likely to win. Ajax is not the kind of club/team to win (big) matches without playing well. That's why for me it's gonna be crucial which Ajax we're gonna see Wednesday.
I wonder what kind of tactic Mourinho will use. Most of the time he sets his team up defensively, waiting for opportunities on the counterattack. These opportunities will come against Ajax. But on the other hand this tactic might play into Ajax' hands. Ajax loves to be controlling the possession. If Mourinho lets Ajax have the ball there's a much bigger chance that Ajax will feel comfortable during the match. Unless United scores quickly on the counterattack I think Ajax will only get more confident and stronger and the ball and that will eventually lead to chances. Maybe therefor Mourinho will change his tactic and suprise Ajax by playing much more offensively and trying to put pressure on Ajax on Ajax' own half. This could force Ajax to make mistakes and prevent Ajax from feeling comfortable in the game. That's why I wouldn't rule out that Mourinho actually makes that choice, although I would still put my money on Mourinho going for a defensive setup if I had to.
Anyways, two days to go. Although I wish Manchester United all the best, I don't on Wednesday
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My prediction: 3-1 Ajax. 1-0 Schöne ('11), 2-0 Klaassen ('34), 2-1 Fellaini ('68), 3-1 Dolberg ('90).
