The 104th final of the KNVB Cup will not go down in the books because of the sparkling football. Irritations, posturing behavior and riots resulted in a grueling match, in which PSV won against Ajax after penalties. This is what the morning newspapers ‘The Day After’ write.
PSV took the penalty kicks slightly less badly than Ajax. ‘It means that the season in Eindhoven will get some of the shine that is completely lacking in Amsterdam,’ writes the Algemeen Dagblad. Becoming a champion has been out of the question for both finalists for a while now. But with a cup – in addition to the previously won Johan Cruijff Scale – PSV still has something tangible left over from this football year. A season of total failure remains for Ajax.’
‘Last year PSV – Ajax was also the final poster. Only in part of the second half could this edition somewhat match the quality of that game. At the time, the mutual rivalry was also great. And sometimes the game boiled over, but there was no such fierce and disrespectful hacking at each other as now. One minute there were five or six PSV players standing in a circle around referee Dennis Higler. The other minute the referee was attacked by a tangle of Ajax players.’
‘Lesson 1: act normal’
De Volkskrant is disgusted by the play by the players of Ajax and PSV. ‘For a long time, the actors in their spaghetti western provoked the public and the sport to the limit. Twisted faces. Any kind of fun seemed to have disappeared from the game. (…) Anger, indignation and misbehavior were elevated to the norm, at a time when the KNVB is trying to clean up bad behavior in the stands with heavy penalties. Would footballers understand that they play a role in the whole game, that their behavior may be contagious?’
‘The new trainer of Ajax, whether John Heitinga or someone else, should start lesson 1 in June, if necessary in the school benches: act normal. Go play football. Get up after common home, garden and kitchen offenses. Don’t pretend that hitting the grass with your hand is the last convulsion after the head and torso have been separated. “If the cup final made anything clear, it was mainly how justified Feyenoord’s upcoming championship is.”
‘CRISIS at Ajax, still enough for PSV’
Algemeen Dagblad sees that ‘Conference League specter’ has come a little closer for Ajax. Edwin van der Sar bluffed at the end of 2021 by stating that he would leave if Ajax ended up in the Conference League. But the ambitious club from Amsterdam, which dominated nationally in recent years and stunted European, is closer than ever after the new blow.’
Ajax continues to look at itself every week. “In the CRISIS with capital letters, the eyes will be on the management in the coming days,” said De Telegraaf, which focuses on Heitinga’s future as Ajax trainer. It is an open secret that Edwin van der Sar and his colleagues intended to give Heitinga a fair chance as head coach next season. (…) Now it will become clear whether the backs of the board will be kept straight or whether the club management will opt for the path of least resistance given the sentiment in Amsterdam.’
‘Incidentally, there is a chance that Van der Sar will leave the field anyway. At least if he is a man of his word’, the morning newspaper also refers to Van der Sar’s ‘Conference League statements’. According to Valentijn Driessen, Ajax is following a ‘deadly course’. ‘At Ajax, one line after another snaps in a dramatic season that is hardly unparalleled. (…) In more than fifteen months, a sporting and financial success story has turned its neck and the end is not in sight for the time being.’
‘The almost certain loss of the national title remains a huge disappointment in a season in which the favorite Ajax has missed it, but if PSV succeeds in finishing second, Van Nistelrooij can add a sufficient mark to his report in combination with the cup win. ‘ concludes De Telegraaf.
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