DINAMO - AJAXIt Could Not Have Been WorseThe draw in Monaco determined that Ajax would be Dinamo's opponent in the first round of the UEFA Cup. People at the club are not pleased.
Alan Eder
Ivona Barić
KreÅ¡o Kokić Dinamo Zagreb is Croatia's only remaining representative in European competitions. The club got the most difficult possible opponent, Ajax Amsterdam, for the last qualifier before UEFA League groups are formed.
The first match will be played at Maksimir stadium on September 20 and the return match at the Amsterdam ArenA on October 4.
Coach Branko Ivankovic, who was not particularly pleased, told us how the Dinamo camp reacted to the draw.
- I do not need to talk about Ajax because you are all very familiar with it. They are one of the best teams in Europe, they were European and world champions. We got the most difficult opponent possible, there will certainly be another spectacle in Zagreb, to which we are looking forward. We are aware of the difficulty of the task, aware that we have a team that can play with anyone, which we proved in the duels against Werder. We will do everything in our power against Ajax to get as good a result as possible, to cheer up our supporters and for all of us to enjoy the games that are ahead of us together.
Dinamo players carry good memories of Ajax from 1998 and the Champions League, but things may be a lot more difficult this year and the players are definitely faced with a difficult task.
- The spectacle will stir interest as it did with Werder and, according to my information, Ajax has 12 - 13 players in the national team, mostly from the Netherlands. The team that was a favourite in the Champions League game cannot let itself be knocked out of Euro cups. We will enter those games full of zeal and desire, we will prepare the best way we can. The players will be well disposed and ready for those games.
Ajax is one of the biggest disappointments in the third round of the Champions league qualifiers. For the second successive year, the Dutch club has not gone through to Europe's most elite competition and has competed in European competitions in the UEFA Cup.
- I wanted Ajax the least, the French were equally unpleasant, Blackburn also, as well as Braga. Palermo plays exceptionally well. Ajax had an exceptionally good start and that guarantees a football spectacle. On Sunday, Rajko Magic and I are going to record them in the duel against Groeningen.
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