Ajax manager Frank De Boer is in a defiant mood ahead of the new campaign, stating the club’s targets must be to win back the Eredivisie and reach the Champions League group stage.
- By Michael Statham
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“I have the conviction that we can and should be champions,” declares De Boer in an interview with Ajax TV, “I have a lot of confidence in it, the team is starting to take shape nicely. Attractive football is always the approach here.”
Ajax won 4 titles in a row between 2011 and 2014 until last season when PSV stole the crown in fine fashion. This summer the board in Amsterdam have been busy recruiting new talent – Nemanja Gudelj, Johnny Heitinga, Mitchell Dijks, Yaya Sanogo, Amin Younes plus a permanent deal for Arkadiusz Milik represent the transfer business done so far. De Boer added, “we have strong competition and two players for each position throughout the squad. In terms of level it will not matter much between the players, the players have to lift each other to a higher level.”
The draw for the Champions League third-round qualifiers is 12:00 CET on Friday. Ajax’s potential opponents include Rapid Vienna (Austria), Sparta Prague (Czech Republic), Young Boys (Switzerland), Panathinaikos (Greece) and Fenerbahçe (Turkey). De Boer is hoping to avoid Fenerbahçe, “That has all to do with the new striker that they have there.” The Ajax manager, of course, was talking about Robin van Persie, who moved to Turkey this week.