Thanks to two late goals scored by Branco van den Boomen and Steven Berghuis, Ajax ended the UEFA Conference League match against Bodø/Glimt in a 2-2 draw. The return in Norway will take place next week.
The two matches against Bodø/Glimt in the knockout round play-offs of the UEFA Conference League will be the thirteenth and fourteenth duels against a Norwegian opponent in Europe. The first one took place over sixty years ago. An overview:
Shortly before the press conference leading up to the match against Bodø/Glimt, Ajax trained at sports complex De Toekomst. The attending journalists noticed that several Ajax players were back on the training field. Coach John van 't Schip addressed the personnel situation at Ajax during the press briefing.
Steven Pienaar played 133 matches for Ajax's first team at the start of this century. The South African often danced his way through the opponent's defense. We visited the 41-year-old Pienaar in the UAE, where he has been a youth coach at Sharjah FC since this summer.