Ajax friendlies

[Kowalczyk]

Ajax.nl reports that Ajax's contract with IEP, the company that organizes the Amsterdam Tournament, has been extended for three years. Which means in practice that the Amsterdam Tournament will be organizes at the Amsterdam ArenA for at least three more years, until 2008.

K.

[Kowalczyk]

According to Ajax Netwerk the 20 July friendly between Ajax and Borussia Mönchengladbach in the small town of Bocholt has been forbidden by the local authorities. The mayor of Bocholt is afraid of the trouble with the travelling Amsterdam fans.

It is as yet unknown what will happen to the fixture. Will it be played elsewhere? Will it be called off and, if so, will there be an alternative? We do not know at this point. Stay tuned to this thread. A news report will appear on Ajax USA as soon as we have the full scoop...

K.

[bluedaddy19]

According to Ajax Netwerk the 20 July friendly between Ajax and Borussia Mönchengladbach in the small town of Bocholt has been forbidden by the local authorities. The mayor of Bocholt is afraid of the trouble with the travelling Amsterdam fans.

It is as yet unknown what will happen to the fixture. Will it be played elsewhere? Will it be called off and, if so, will there be an alternative? We do not know at this point. Stay tuned to this thread. A news report will appear on Ajax USA as soon as we have the full scoop...

K.

oh for crying out loud...

[Kowalczyk]

oh for crying out loud...

What's up, son?

K.

[carcajou]

oh for crying out loud...

What's up, son?

K.

I think I can explain bluedaddy's frustration : From that kind of decision, you could fear that the Ajax supporters are just a horde of barbarians looking for rapes murders and looting. I mean come on it's just a summer friendly...

[bluedaddy19]

oh for crying out loud...

What's up, son?

K.

I think I can explain bluedaddy's frustration : From that kind of decision, you could fear that the Ajax supporters are just a horde of barbarians looking for rapes murders and looting. I mean come on it's just a summer friendly...

exactly... don't ambush our train in the middle of town, and i'm sure things will go fine - i mean, do AJAX people start brawls at preseason friendlies?

[SE6Ajacied]

Well, I've got my flights booked for the Amsterdam tournement which means I'm in town from 27th July till 4th August _ i'm having a bit of a holiday with my girlfriend....this means I'll be able to catch the Ajax open day on 3rd August!!! :D Can anyone tells me what they actually do for this, all I've ever seen is the kiddys face painting etc but there must be more than that........also, why is it on a Wednesday, is it a holiday in NL or something?

[bluedaddy19]

Well, I've got my flights booked for the Amsterdam tournement which means I'm in town from 27th July till 4th August _ i'm having a bit of a holiday with my girlfriend....this means I'll be able to catch the Ajax open day on 3rd August!!! :D Can anyone tells me what they actually do for this, all I've ever seen is the kiddys face painting etc but there must be more than that........also, why is it on a Wednesday, is it a holiday in NL or something?

http://www.ajax.nl/show/id=1220/contentid=41828

handtekeningsessie is autographs, they have several short games and present the team, etc.

[SE6Ajacied]

Well, I've got my flights booked for the Amsterdam tournement which means I'm in town from 27th July till 4th August _ i'm having a bit of a holiday with my girlfriend....this means I'll be able to catch the Ajax open day on 3rd August!!! :D Can anyone tells me what they actually do for this, all I've ever seen is the kiddys face painting etc but there must be more than that........also, why is it on a Wednesday, is it a holiday in NL or something?

http://www.ajax.nl/show/id=1220/contentid=41828

handtekeningsessie is autographs, they have several short games and present the team, etc.

Excellent, thanks for that. It seems worth a trip seeing as I'm in town anyway :D . I guessed it would be that sort of thing but I didn't realise that they'd actually play a game or two as well.

[Kowalczyk]

I've never been to the Open Day since a few of the very first ones in De Meer (early 1990s), but it's the pretty much what you'd expect it to be: autograph sessions, team presentation, an 'open training session' with commentary of the coach, some exercise games and activities presented by the sponsors, etcetera.

It could be a nice day out, but keep in mind that the Open Day is primarily for kids and supporters from all over the country, who support Ajax 'from a distance'. The 'real supporters' are not interested in the Open Day, so don't expect it to be overly exciting for the genuine football fan. It will be a bit of a circus, it will be very busy and it may also get extremely hot (talking about temperatures here; not hot babes...).

I will come to the ArenA towards the end of the day for the Omniworld friendly, which is part of the Open Day (free admission), just like the friendly against Haarlem a few years ago:
http://www.ajax-usa.com/matches/m03-04/ ... arlem.html

K.

[Kowalczyk]

According to Ajax Netwerk the 20 July friendly between Ajax and Borussia Mönchengladbach in the small town of Bocholt has been forbidden by the local authorities. The mayor of Bocholt is afraid of the trouble with the travelling Amsterdam fans.

It is as yet unknown what will happen to the fixture. Will it be played elsewhere? Will it be called off and, if so, will there be an alternative? We do not know at this point. Stay tuned to this thread. A news report will appear on Ajax USA as soon as we have the full scoop...

Seems like this game is off. Ajax Netwerk reports that Borussia Mönchengladbach have announced a new friendly for 20 July, against Racing Genk from Belgium.

Nothing on Ajax.nl yet... No idea what they'll do now: try to find a new opponent...? Wait and see...

K.

[Kowalczyk]

Ajax have confirmed it: the game is off. Reason: interest for the game is enormous and the local ground at Bocholt is deemed too small. What's that all about then? That is the case in the Eredivisie on a weekly basis. What's wrong with a sold out house?

Anyway: game off. Ajax are trying to add a new fixture to the agenda for 20 July.

K.

[ajaxusa]

Administrivia: The 05/06 pre-season schedule is added to Ajax USA.

http://www.ajax-usa.com/matches/m05-06/

[Kowalczyk]

This is from English tabloid The Mirror:

AMSTERBAN
Wenger to protect van Persie and keep him out of Dutch firing line

Arsene Wenger is ready to pull Robin van Persie out of Arsenal's pre-season trip to Amsterdam, because he fears a backlash from rival fans. The 21-year-old has been allowed out on bail after spending 15 days in prison in Rotterdam, while under suspicion of rape and charges may still follow. Arsenal boss Wenger is standing by van Persie and wants to offer him protection from rival supporters as he faces being barracked.

The Dutchman was due to report back for pre-season on July 19 after being given extra time off following Holland's end-of-season fixtures. But van Persie, who is likely to discover within the next two weeks whether he will be charged, will now be given at least an extra week off, making it extremely unlikely he will play in Amsterdam.

Arsenal are due to play Ajax and Porto in the mini-tournament but the Amsterdam fans already see van Persie as a figure of hate because he used to play for their arch rivals Feyenoord. Ajax fans pelted the youngster's car with bricks after he played in the same tournament last season and Arsenal are anxious to spare him after his traumatic summer.

Arsenal are also worried about his physical condition after his prison spell of 15 days in virtual isolation. He will need time to get himself fit again.

Sounds like a sensible thing to do... We all know what happened last year (Amsterdam Tourney and at De Toekomst). Sending Van Persie onto the ArenA pitch now that he's officially under suspicion of rape... probably not a good idea. It won't be an enjoyable experience for him.

K.

[Kowalczyk]

This Friendlies thread also seems to be the best place for comments about Ajax's pre-season preparations in general, so... I've just published some basic observations from the first training session at the ArenA (today at 11:00).

http://www.ajax-usa.com/news/2005-2006/ ... arena.html

A press conference will follow this afternoon, so the report will be updated at least once today. Check back regularly.

K.

[SPL]

Ko . I have sent you a PM. I am not able to get to the Amsterdam Tourney.

If the PM hasnt got through I will send it again in the morning.

[Kowalczyk]

Ko . I have sent you a PM.

Yup. Got it. I replied already.

For the rest of you: there's a pretty cool little photo report of the first training on the AFS:
http://www.ajaxfotoside.nl/training0705 ... g0705.html

K.

[Kowalczyk]

Seems like Ajax have found a new opponent for 20 July: according to the official Fortuna Sittard website, Ajax will play a friendly at the Wagner & Partners Stadium of the Limburg side.

K.

[raymon]

Seems like Ajax have found a new opponent for 20 July: according to the official Fortuna Sittard website, Ajax will play a friendly at the Wagner & Partners Stadium of the Limburg side.

K.

That depends if they still exist in 15 days time ;)

[Kowalczyk]

An extra reason to go to the Open Day on 03 August...

Skip all the kids' stuff early on the day at De Toekomst, but make sure you're at the ArenA (free admission) by 2 o'clock, as two friendlies will be played:

14.00 CET: Young Ajax vs AFC
15.30 CET: Ajax-1 vs FC Omniworld

For your information: AFC are one of the Amsterdam clubs in the Hoofdklasse of amateur football. They're known as the 'elite club' from Amsterdam-South (DWV, for example, are very much a working class club).

FC Omniworld are, as you know, Ajax's new partners. They will make their début in professional football (First Division) this season.

Nice one. These two games will probably not be 'official', as in 2 x 45 minutes. They might be 2 x 30 minute games or something like that, but what the hey? A few hours of free Ajax football on a summer day - why not?

K.

[Kowalczyk]

sara & i got Fside kaartjes for the arsenal match... who else is going? cinema pub an hour before kickoff, like usual?

I'll be there! Both days. I'll be with a couple of English lads plus (on day 2) Carcajou. We'll indeed be at the Grolsch Cine Café an hour before the game (or maybe at JinSo, directly opposite, because you can sit in the sun over there...). I'll keep you posted on our further plans!

K.

[bluedaddy19]

i don't know how my post got moved to a new thread

[carcajou]

i don't know how my post got moved to a new thread

Probably those moderators and their hidden agendas... :D

[Blind3]

How I love a good conspiracy.Sounds made for the tabloids.

[Kowalczyk]

As you'd expect the English version of Ajax.nl did not publish match reports of all the pre-season friendlies. They did one of the DWV game (the first one in Amsterdam), but failed to report on the matches during the training camp in De Lutte. Until now. They published a sort of summary of the whole week, including all the games (hey, not every site is as thorough as Ajax USA, of course... :eusa_dance: :hypocrite: )

Anyway, it's a nice little read if you have a minute...

http://english.ajax.nl/show/id=118083/contentid=42410

We also put it up on Ajax USA as a news link.

K.