‘This was the best Ajax I’ve played against in years’

Alireza Jahanbakhsh came away impressed by Ajax at the end of September, the Iranian said in an interview with Het Algemeen Dagblad.

Just before the international break at the end of September, Ajax hosted Excelsior at the Johan Cruyff ArenA.

Ajax fired 33 shots at Excelsior goalkeeper Stijn van Gassel's goal but the Amsterdam side still had to settle for a 2-2 draw.

Now sitting an impressive seventh with 11 points from seven matches in the VriendenLoterij Eredivisie, Excelsior were the subject when AD asked Jahanbakhsh about the secret behind the Rotterdam side's success.

“The coach (Ruben den Uil, ed.) sets the bar very high and demands a lot from us. We often hear that we are very fit as a team. He believes that if you carry out your tasks well as an individual, you can perform well as a collective. And if you are also that fit and play with your heart, then you get results like these,” said the former player of, among others, Feyenoord and AZ.

As an example, the winger pointed to the match against Ajax. “They had difficulty with our high press, maybe they had underestimated us a little. We came very close to a win.”

He finished with a striking verdict. “But honestly: this really was the best Ajax in years. And I should know because I have played against the club very often,” he concluded.