Tonight, Gym welcomes the legendary club Ajax Amsterdam for a preliminary round of the Champions League that promises to be epic.
A full stadium, renewed teams, immensely high stakes… Everything is in place for an unforgettable evening.
OGC Nice is preparing to host Ajax Amsterdam after easily securing their qualification last season. During the draw on July 14th, observers and supporters feared the worst. But the people of Nice stepped up.
The ticket office opened the next day, Saturday, July 15th. And by Sunday evening, all the tickets were sold out. OGC Nice will indeed be able to count on their twelfth man this Wednesday night.
As Greg Massabo, a key figure in the Populaire Sud, said: “Ajax, it piques the pride. It’s a myth, one of the ten biggest clubs in the world, a team that has revolutionized football. Facing them elevates everyone’s level of motivation: players, supporters, partners. We dream of seeing Ajax bite the dust. It has to be on fire; it has to be like the Bombonera. We have three tiers, just like at Boca Juniors! Anyone coming to admire Ajax or sip a drink in the suite should stay home! We want a stadium in unison. It will be 35,011 Nice fans against 11 Ajax players!” (Nice-Matin).
THE OPPONENT
Revised? Weakened? Not at all! While it has had some tweaks this summer, the Ajax squad will mainly consist of the elements that led the club to the final of last season’s Europa League. The backbone hasn’t changed and is built on strong foundations.
It’s on the bench that Ajax Amsterdam underwent its main change during the offseason. After leading the club to the final of the Europa League, Peter Bosz joined Borussia Dortmund this summer. To succeed him, Ajax appointed Marcel Keizer on June 17th.
In the footsteps of the great Frank de Boer, Ronald Koeman, and Louis Van Gaal, among others, the club from the Dutch capital decided to trust one of its former players.
The former defender has extensive knowledge of the club’s young talent, having coached Jong Ajax (the reserve team) last season.
He will have the dual objective of qualifying the Ajacides for the Champions League and leading them to an Eredivisie title, which has eluded them since 2014 (they were runners-up last season, one point behind Feyenoord Rotterdam).
THE NICE SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Cardinale, Benitez, Clémentia
Defenders: Le Marchand, Dante, Dalbert, Jallet, Souquet, Sarr
Midfielders: Tameze, Marcel, Koziello, Lees-Melou, Seri, Walter, Eysseric
Forwards: Srarfi, Balotelli, Pléa
THE AJAX SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Onana, Van Leer, Van Bladeren
Defenders: Veltman, De Ligt, Sanchez, Viergever, Zeefuik, Dankerlui
Midfielders: Van de Beek, Ziyech, Eiting, Schöne, De Jong
Forwards: Huntelaar, Neres, Younes, Dolberg, Kluivert
WORDS, WORDS…
Vincent Koziello: “We feel good, eager, focused. We are looking a bit at how Ajax plays and preparing tactically because physically we did what was needed beforehand. We’re excited, plus there will be quite a crowd. We will experience the warm atmospheres of Nice evenings again, which is great!”
Dante: “What will be our strength? The warmth of the supporters and the desire to achieve something historic. As soon as we feel them behind us, it will do us good, it’s a plus, and we thank them for filling up the stadium to push us. The whole people and city want to succeed in reaching the Champions League, we know that.”
Lucien Favre: “All the players are delighted to play in the European Cup. It’s a Q3, a knockout match. We have to manage that well. There’s the return leg, of course, but we need to be 100% focused on tomorrow’s match, not think further and not say ‘if, if, if’. We’ve watched Ajax, their way of playing. Even if players don’t watch it much, it’s up to us to inform them about their key strengths, what they do, how they press, at what height, how they play with the goalkeepers at the start… All of this to find weaknesses in their system. We have to be focused, in the right way, but we will not change our philosophy, no matter the team we face. We’ll need to be focused but also relaxed, because we have to play.”
