Pasveer was meant to start against Go Ahead Eagles, but due to his back injury, he ultimately couldn't play. "I was ready to go out, and then my back went. It was quite painful. On Monday, I couldn’t even get out of bed. After so many matches, many on bad pitches, I think I started compensating, with this unfortunate result."
The Ajax player was disappointed by his injury. "You want to play every match, and I felt like I was in good form. You want to control everything yourself and stay with the team. So it’s frustrating to have to watch."
Matheus
Brazilian goalkeeper Matheus replaced Pasveer and made his debut for Ajax on Sunday against Go Ahead Eagles. "He made a good impression, he’s a nice guy and he’s eager to learn." However, there is still a language barrier, as Matheus mainly speaks Portuguese. He is taking English lessons to improve communication. "The language is still difficult for him. It’s hard to have conversations, so we mainly communicate with gestures for now. He’s really working hard on it, which is definitely impressive."
Clean sheets
Ajax has kept thirteen clean sheets in the Eredivisie this season, ten of which were credited to Pasveer. "I want to keep a clean sheet and do my job well. I certainly don’t do it alone. It’s about making sure we don’t concede goals."
He acknowledges that there’s still progress to be made. "At Ajax, you always have players who can score, so that’s already a good start. The football isn’t super attractive yet, we know that ourselves. We’re working on it, but it takes time. It’s important to first tighten up the defence and build from there. And gain the confidence to score more."
Eintracht Frankfurt
Ajax’s European journey continues: on Thursday, the Amsterdam side will play the first leg of the round of 16 in the UEFA Europa League at home. "European nights at the Johan Cruijff ArenA are always special. We want to get through to the next round. We’re going to give it our all and go for the win."
The opponent, Eintracht Frankfurt, is currently third in the Bundesliga. Pasveer expects a physically strong team. “German football is known for its physical play with a lot of intensity. We’ll see how they play on the field and try to analyse their tactical plan."
