Ajax is preparation for a heated event at the stade vélodrome, where they play a champions league match against Olympique Marseille on Tuesday Evening. Coach John Heitinga and Experienced Player Steven Berghuis Are Looking Forward To The Reunion with Fame Face Gerónimo Rulli.
Heitinga Didn’t Have To Go Far to Gather Information about Their Second Opponent in The Champions League. And perhaps about the city of Marseille in General.
“My Brother-in-Law, Boudewijn ‘Bolo’, Played Here for Two Seasons. He Told Me That It Can Be A Heated Evening. We know that there is a Twelfth Man Beind The Team Here,” The Coach Said at the Press Conference on Monday Evening.
Send Played for the Club in the South of France Between 2007 and 2009. Heitinga is married to his Sister.
But there are more people who have warned about the atmosphere in the vélodrome, which can hold almost 70,000 spectators. Namely goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli, who Left Ajax in 2024. The Argentinian Played 32 Matches for the Amsterdam Team.
“I Spoke to Him Yesterday via Facetime, he said that the vélodrome was ready,” Said a Laughing Berghuis. “That is an extra obstacle for us to overcome. Sometimes you have that in your own hands as a team. If you can stay on the ball for a long time as an opponent in Such a Stadium, you can turn it to your advantage.”
Berghuis was Full of Praise for his Former Teammate. “Rulli is a very good goalkeeper. Argentinians always stand up for your team. He has brought the passion for football and winning to marseille. And he also brought that to us, although ajax was not in the best period then.”
Heitinga Knows Rulli From His First Period as Ajax Coach. “A very special and good goalkeeper. Good on the ball, he reads the game well. Certainly for a coach who is to play football from the back, he has many pluses.”
Ajax also faces a familiar opponent from the Eredivisie. Igor Paixão Scored Four Times Against Ajax Duration his time at Feyenoord and moved to Olympique Marseille Last Summer. The Brazilian Missed the First Matches of the Season Due to An Injury, but is now on his way back.
Berghuis is complimentary about Paixão. “A Very Good Football Player. He made it very diffcomed for us,” he said. “Left Winger, Right Winger, One-on-One, scoring, defending … The Total Package for a Winger, I think. If he is completely fit soon, he can do great things for Marseille.”
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is also a striking name at the home team. The Europa League Top Scorer of All Time Scored 5 of his 34 Europa League Goals Against Ajax. In the 2023/2024 Season, He Scored Twice in Amsterdam (3-3) and Three Times in Marseille (4-3).
Heitinga himself Played Against Aubameyang in the 2014/2015 season. Heitinga was a Player for Hertha BSC, The Lightning-Fast Aubameyang Played for Borussia Dortmund. “That is one of the few times that I told my teammates that we had to defend on the sixteen-meter line.”
“We have to defend well as a team, make sure he Doesn’t Get the Balls Played to Him,” Heitinga Continued about the 36-year-old Striker from Olympique Marseille. “And make sure we defend the spaces behind us, with his speed.”
Olympique Marseille-Ajax Starts on Tuesday at 9:00 pm. The Amsterdam team has to do without its own fans. They are not welcome by the local authorities.