Ajax take on the visitors Telstar in the round 1 match of Dutch Eredivisie. The match will be played on Sunday, August 10th at Johan Cruijff Arena (Amsterdam).
Ajax have, for quite some time by the standards of historic giants, been unable to return to the top of the Eredivisie. In the season before last, the first half of the campaign was an outright disaster, although much was corrected closer to the finish. Then came Farioli, and with him it seemed they would finally catch PSV slipping. But in the home stretch, “the Ajacieden” suddenly hit the brakes, ultimately allowing their Eindhoven rivals to overtake them by just one point — and keep the title. Francesco left, and the new head coach is Heitinga, a well-known former player but still a rookie manager. Henderson and Borna Sosa have also departed, and there have not been many new arrivals. In preseason friendlies, Ajax showed mixed performances, combining big wins with unexpected draws, underlining inconsistency. The pressure on Heitinga is already high, as fans expect a dominant start to erase last season’s disappointment.
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Telstar finally returned to this level. The “Little Lions” were founded back in 1963. In their first decades, they repeatedly — albeit without notable success — played in the Eredivisie. But after relegation in 1978, they never managed to return. Only last season did they finally “make it,” and even then, relatively speaking, thanks to the local competition format. The club finished only 7th in the Eerste Divisie, with 17 wins and 61 points in 38 matches. But that was enough to enter the play-offs. There, Antonio Correa’s men managed to beat the much more experienced ADO Den Haag (1-0 and 2-0), Den Bosch (0-0 and 2-1) and, in the final, Willem II (2-2, 3-1), ultimately returning to the Eredivisie after a half-century absence. Of course, it is hard to say that even with attempts to strengthen the squad they have become a competitive force at this level. Their summer signings came mostly from lower divisions, suggesting survival will be their main target. Preseason results have been modest, with defensive issues still evident against stronger opponents.
If we disregard events from the last century, there remain only a couple of cup encounters — in 2019 and 2024 — both comfortably won by the giant without much trouble. There is only one question: how convincingly will the runners-up defeat the newly promoted underdog in Heitinga’s debut? A handicap of “-2” goals or even “-2.5” could be considered.
Prediction for the match: Ajax to win with -2.0 handicap.
