Midfield balance
The Volendam native was flanked in midfield by Youri Regeer and Davy Klaassen. The latter sparked wild celebrations in the stands of the Johan Cruijff ArenA with the opening goal. Regeer, meanwhile, played a relatively understated but hugely important role in the victory.
Distance covered
The statistics show that Ajax’s number six covered 10.99 kilometres against Feyenoord. That made Regeer the player who ran the most distance of anyone on the pitch. He was also successful in his individual duels, winning all four of his one-on-one battles with Feyenoord players. Steur, for his part, had covered the most ground of all Ajax players up to his substitution in the 74th minute, reaching 8.8 kilometres by that point.
After Mika Godts, Steur also covered the most metres carrying the ball towards Feyenoord’s goal. Godts recorded 125 metres with the ball at his feet, while Steur reached 116 metres. All other Ajax players stayed below the 100-metre mark.
Impact on the ball
But did Steur make good use of the ball when carrying it forward? Absolutely. The youngster registered the most ‘carries’ of any Ajax player. A carry is defined as moving at least five metres with the ball at your feet, and Steur recorded 21 of them.
He was also extremely accurate in his passing. No fewer than 94 per cent of the teenager’s passes found their target in his first start in the VriendenLoterij Eredivisie. Statistically, that made him Ajax’s best passer on the day, and that in his very first Klassieker. "I did feel a bit nervous beforehand, but once the match starts, that feeling goes away for me," he said calmly after the win.
Steur was also the most effective Ajax player in Feyenoord’s half. Fifteen of his passes were completed on the opponents’ half, more than any other Ajax player. Godts also showed great accuracy there: all thirteen of his passes in Feyenoord’s half reached a team-mate.
For The Future
The young midfielder is, of course, a product of Ajax’s own academy. At seventeen years and 337 days, he became one of the youngest Ajax players ever to make his first start in a Klassieker. Only Piet Keizer (17 years and 236 days) and Nwankwo Kanu (17 years and 238 days) were younger.
Steur was also the twenty-fifth Ajax player to make his first start in the Eredivisie against Feyenoord. The midfielder, who had already made his first European start in the UEFA Champions League match away to Qarabağ FK, is following in the footsteps of his coach Fred Grim. Other Ajax greats, such as Barry Hulshoff and Daley Blind, also made their first Eredivisie starts for Ajax against Feyenoord.
Five teenagers in De Klassieker
At seventeen, Steur was one of the youngest players on the pitch. He was not the only teenager representing Ajax in De Klassieker. Rayane Bounida (19), Jorthy Mokio (17), Aaron Bouwman (18) and Don-Angelo Konadu (19) are all still teenagers as well. It marked the first time since 2001 that five teenagers played for Ajax in a Klassieker. Back then, the line-up included Rafael van der Vaart, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Abubakari Yakubu, John Heitinga and Maxwell.
With his goal for 2-0, Mokio also wrote his name into the history books. After Kanu (17 years and 238 days), Mokio is the youngest goalscorer ever in a Klassieker in the VriendenLoterij Eredivisie, scoring at the age of 17 years and 289 days.
