T
H
E
B
R
EA
K
D
O
W
N CUPFINAL
Ten yearsafter their
lastDutch Cupwin,
PSVclinchedthe
trophybybeating
Ajax2-1.Goals
fromMexican Erick
Gutierrez andwinger
CodyGakpo five
minutes afterthe
break were enough
towipeout Ryan
Gravenberch’s
successfulfirst-
halfeffot.
EUROPEAN
QUALIFIERS
Ajax(Champions
League),runners-up
PSV(Champions
Leaguequalifiers),
third-placeFeyenoord
(Europa League)and
FCTwente(Europa
ConferenceLeague
preliminaries)all
qualified forEurope.
Theywerejoinedby
AZ, whowon the
Europeanplay-offs.
RELEGATEDAND
PROMOTEDTEAMS
PECZwolle(afterten
years)andWillemII
(aftereight)godown
and arereplaced
bySecondDivision
championsEmmen
(immediatereturn) and
WimJonk’sVolendam.
The play-offssaw
16 th-placedHeracles
alsorelegated,with
Excelsiortaking
their place.
PLAYEROF
THESEASON
AnOlympic champion
lastsummer,Antony
tookthe next steps
inhis development.
A speedy,dazzling,
trcky winger who
causeshavoc for
oppositiondefences,
hemadehis senior
Brazildebut this term
and couldmovetoa
massive European
clubthissummer.
Ajaxclinchingthetitlemeansthat
thepre-seasonpredictionscametrue.
However, themannerinwhichthey
diditwasfarfromcomprehensive.
Winningthe league–forthe 36 th
time– is alwaysa joy,butthistitlewas
hardlyconvincing.Still,Manchester
United-boundErik tenHagwasableto
saygoodbyewithhisthirdconsecutive
title,butthere were some controversial
momentsto overcomebefore eventually
gettinghishandsonthe trophy.
Basically, Ajax’s seasonwasa tale
oftwo stories.Beforethewinterbreak
theywereontrackfor everypieceof
silverwareavailabletothem;soon
afterwards,however, theircuphopes
hadbeenendedandtheystruggled
toreachthe finishlineintheleague.
After somedazzlingfootballand
impressiveresults in theChampions
Leaguegroupphase,nobodywould
Amsterdamclubmakeitthreetitlesinarow,but
withlargethankstosomecontroversialdecisions
Ajaxstumbleover
thefinishline
havethoughttheAmsterdamclub
wouldgetintroubledomestically.
Yet it allbegantocrumbleaftera
seriesofincidents.First,there wasthe
sackingofdirectorMarcOvermarsfor
sendinginappropriatemessagesto
female colleagues– a huge blow for
Erikten Hag,whowas missinga key
partnerinthe architectoftheclub’s
recentsuccess.
A surpriseknockoutby Benfica
inthe ChampionsLeaguewasalso
a bigdisappointment. Andbehindthe
scenesprotagonists were alreadythinking
aboutjumpingship.NicolasTagliafico’s
Barcelonatransferfellthrough,which
lefttheArgentinianfrustrated,while
NoussairMazraouirefused to extend
hiscontractandhas nowjoinedBayern
Munich.Thereis uncertaintyoverRyan
Gravenberch’s futuretoo,withhis current
dealexpiringin 2023. Andthenthere was
Internazionale-
boundAndre
Onana,who
becamepersona
nongratafor
hisungrateful
behaviour
towardscluband
fans.Thefactthatthe Cameroonian
returnedbetweenthestickswas only
becausehistworeplacementswere
amongthe many injuredplayersthe
Amsterdamclubhad.
Theheatwason.Theylost thecup
finaltoPSV despitegoing in front. More
thanoncetheyweresavedby thebell
withnarrow or last-minutewinsagainst
minnows, butthemostcontroversial
matcheswereyetto come.
First,Ajaxclincheda 2-1victory at
closest rivalsPSV,witha highlydubious
winninggoal from Mazraoui.Duringthe
attackitlookedlike theballhadcrossed
thetouchlineyet refereeandVAR gave
thevisitorsthebenefitofthe doubt.
Then,threematchdaysbeforethe
endoftheseason,cameevenmore
drama.Theleadersstumbled;with
48 WORLDSOCCER
Theperfectsendoff...ManchesterUnited-bound
managerEriktenHagsalutestheAjaxsupporters
ABOVE:Threeina
row...Ajaxplayers
celebrateafter
winningtheclub’s
36thleaguetitle
TEAMOFTHESEASON
TyrellMalacia
(Feyenoord)
Lisandr(oMAjaxarti)nez
GernotTrauner
(Feyenoord)
NoussairMazraoui
(Ajax)
LuisSinisterra
(Feyenoord)
CodyGakpo
(PSV)
Antony
(Ajax)
SebastienHaller
(Aja
DavyKlaassen
(Ax)
LarsUnnerstall
(FCTwente)
KLAAS-JANDROPPERT
NETHERLANDS
IbrahimSangare
(V)
Itcausedfuriousreaction,withnearlyeverybody
agreeingthatthepenaltyshouldneverhavebeen
awarded.EventheDutchFAagreed,issuinga
statementthefollowingdayadmittingthemistake
