Ajax resume league action on Saturday at 21:00 after the international break. The Japanese defender Tomiyasu had already been forced to miss Japan’s international fixtures. In contrast to the potential absences, there was positive news regarding Ko Itakura. ''He has trained with the team over the past two days. He is certainly closer to being available for the match than the other three.''
Game plan against FC Twente
The Spanish coach kept his cards close to his chest regarding the game plan against FC Twente. ''I’m not going to discuss my tactics here. That would make the opponent wiser than necessary. But we always want to play attacking football, win matches and entertain the crowd at the Johan Cruijff ArenA.''
The match against the side from Enschede is immediately an important one when it comes to the standings. Ajax are fourth, while FC Twente are fifth. If the visitors win, they will overtake Ajax. In addition, Ajax are still in contention for second place, which would secure direct qualification for the UEFA Champions League.
''That’s why I first and foremost want to win Saturday’s match'', García stated. ''After that, we’ll look further ahead. Of course, we want to finish as high as possible in the league. But FC Twente are one of the strongest teams in the competition at the moment. They have lost only one of their last eighteen Eredivisie matches. It’s a team full of confidence.''
Ajax themselves drew 1-1 with Feyenoord before the international break. ''We analysed the match and showed what we believe can be improved'', García explained. ''We wanted to win at De Kuip, but we didn’t manage to do so. Now we have to look ahead.''
Godts and Šutalo
Still, after a question from the press, the coach reflected on the past few days, during which players returned to Amsterdam after international duty. ''Players like Mika Godts and Josip Šutalo returned later. They can train with the squad for two days. But that should not be an excuse for Saturday.''
The players who remained in Amsterdam were given a friendly match against FC Volendam, which ended 2-2. ''We use that to keep all players at the same level in terms of fitness'', García concluded.
