ESPN mistranslates Míchel on Brandt’s injury: this is what the Ajax coach said verbatim

Míchel Sánchez has responded to Julian Brandt going off injured during Ajax's hard-fought 1-0 win over AZ. The Spanish coach spoke to ESPN afterwards about the German's injury, but reporter Milan van Dongen did not translate his words entirely accurately.

On Saturday evening, an early header from Tolu Arokodare gave Ajax their first win over AZ in twelve meetings. "AZ are a great side," Míchel began his analysis on ESPN. "We hadn't beaten them for more than five years, and they're a very well-drilled team who have worked in the same way for years."

Míchel believes Ajax's players still need to understand exactly what is expected of them. "We're trying, and the players are at a very high level mentally and in terms of effort," said the Spaniard. "In the first fifteen to twenty minutes, we did a number of things very well and, besides the goal, created several dangerous situations."

After that, Míchel said, the pattern of the match changed considerably. "From that point on, AZ dominated," the coach acknowledged as his side dropped deeper. "If you can't attack well, you have to defend well," he said. He felt Ajax defended strongly, particularly in the first hour.

"The last half-hour felt very long for us," Míchel admitted. "We had to bring on experienced players, such as Steven Berghuis and Daley Blind, even though they are not yet match-fit." The coach was pleased with the three points, which take Ajax to within one point of leaders Feyenoord.

Asked on ESPN why Ajax could not consistently put AZ under pressure with sufficient intensity, Míchel explained: "Once they were able to pass the ball two, three or four times, it became very difficult to press with intensity." He added: "We should have had more control of the ball, because when you attack well, you also defend better."

Brandt went off injured in the 35th minute, with Oscar Gloukh replacing him. Milan van Dongen translated Míchel's Spanish-language answers for ESPN viewers immediately afterwards, but his account of the injury was not entirely accurate. "Yes, he stresses again: the first twenty minutes were good, of course, then Brandt went off, and he says, by the way, that the injury appears not to be serious," Van Dongen said.

In Spanish, the Ajax coach actually said: "Brandt did not feel well and eventually asked to be substituted himself. We're going to assess how serious the injury is. Hopefully it won't be serious, but he did not feel well."