Ajax coach Míchel slammed after ‘serious mistake’ in Croatia
Frank de Boer believes Ajax coach Míchel threw Jofre Torrents to the wolves by giving the 19-year-old left-back his first start in the Amsterdam club's away defeat. The former Ajax coach would rather have seen Owen Wijndal in the starting XI.
After the match, De Boer questioned Míchel's decision in the Ziggo Sport studio. "So now you put in a left-back who has never played before... I don't want to blame him, because it isn't only his fault, but to start that 19-year-old for the first time in such a hostile atmosphere... I would have preferred to see Wijndal, to be honest."
Having joined from FC Barcelona last summer, Torrents had played very few minutes for Ajax's first team before this match. De Boer questioned the decision to start the Spaniard in an away match like this.
Presenter Sam van Royen asked whether Míchel had made a mistake. "It's always a risk to start a young player in a match like that. You want to start a match like that well, but he has barely played a match yet," said the former national-team coach.
Míchel later faced questions about Jofre Torrents's performance after the defender played a negative part in both goals conceded. "He made a mistake for the second goal, but his performance wasn't bad," the Spaniard replied.
Back in the Ziggo Sport studio, Van Royen pointed to other young players given their chance early under De Boer at Ajax, but the former coach rejected the comparison. "They had proved themselves in the reserves," said De Boer. "They had played enough minutes to be strong and ready for minutes in the first team."
Ajax again lacked the control they should normally show, De Boer felt. "Normally, you force those kinds of moments. It's clear they're not playing well, because how secure you are in possession often shows how good you are as a team."
Torrents's selection wasn't the only problem De Boer identified. "A team that wants to dominate, like Ajax, depends on that above all. They haven't shown it again today, which is why they keep conceding those goals. That really has to stop," warned the former international.
