“If people think I’m a softy, they’ve never been in the dressing room with me. Never.”

The jubilation of Ajax’s seven-pointer against Excelsior was drowned out by Alfred Schreuder shortly after the final whistle. At the press conference in the Johan Cruijff Arena, the head coach of the team from Amsterdam showed a side that few people know. Schreuder’s reaction to questions about striker Brian Brobbey was unprecedentedly violent, emotional and visibly irritated.

Schreuder himself went on to gushed about the role his agent would have played at Ajax in the summer transfer window, how he would be a “softie” and his own position as head coach at a time when Ajax are struggling – or too has struggled – with form. . “I don’t let anyone tell me everything here.”

“Unacceptable”

“I read a very strange article last week about it rotting on the couch. Then I think: You have absolutely no understanding of the matter because Brian (Brobbey, editor’s note) has played in him in the last ten games and has been in the starting XI of the competition six times. He came in almost every game, he came in everything in the Champions League.”

“We paid a lot of money for Brian Brobbey, who left on a free transfer. And we’re going to write an article like that? Then you create a mood. That’s unacceptable, I think. That’s just bad. It shouldn’t be.” If you are a journalist, you must have facts. And these facts are not correct.

The head coach does not clarify which article Schreuder means. It appears to be about competition between attackers Brobbey and Mohammed Kudus. Brobbey was bought back by RB Leipzig for almost twenty million euros, but ended up on the bench because Schreuder preferred the regularly dangerous Kudus. Criticism of this choice mounted as Ajax started underperforming in recent weeks.

“I decide who plays, nobody else,” Schreuder reacted angrily. “And if people think the players decide, that’s their problem. I decide. Because people don’t know me at all. I decide who plays.”

“Brian is developing well, is a great talent but needs to become an even better player. Then he can become a top striker in Europe. But I decide when he plays. And not the press.”

“Come with Facts”

Schreuder was also obviously not happy about a story circulating around his agent Milos Malenovic’s role in the last transfer window, when Ajax spent more than €100m on new players. On the TV show Veronica Offside last week, Wesley Sneijder hinted that Malenovic has quite a bit of influence over buying and selection policies.

“Come with facts, truths. My agent would have helped with transfers. That’s true. That’s quite normal. Several agents help in football. Do you know why? Overmars is gone. For all the people at the club, the position was new. There it is normal to get help,” said Schreuder.

“It’s just not allowed at Ajax because it’s a coach’s agent? Big nonsense. It’s perfectly normal for that to happen. But I’m done with it, I can’t shut up.”

“These are just untruths,” Schreuder continued, irritated. “It’s mood-enhancing. It doesn’t help my team. I do everything for my team. It’s disturbing and I don’t need it. You have to write the truth then I’ll answer like a guy. You will learn the truth from me. The players in the dressing room also get the truth from me.”

“Don’t talk nonsense”

When the blood pressure had dropped slightly, the head coach went into more detail about Ajax’s game over the past few weeks. After the 2-1 defeat by Liverpool in the Champions League, things suddenly faltered for the Amsterdam team. Ajax lost the top game against AZ, drew at home with Go Ahead Eagles and were completely overwhelmed at home by Napoli.

“This team needs time. If people think this is going to happen in three months, forget it. Get your coach’s diplomas and coach a team and see what’s happening in the window and do your best preaching. Because you have absolutely no idea.”

“You can’t build a team in three months, it takes much longer. And certainly not when you lose players like we lost. And of course Brobbey could have played, only I decide when he plays,” Schreuder clarifies.

Three months is indeed not long to form a well-established team. But Ajax is Ajax, a top club, and the laws there can be tough. When the results are bad, a new coach is sometimes quickly called for. Schreud preaches patience, the team is still under construction.

“Unfortunate if people don’t understand that… What I’m telling you is the truth of Ajax. What if I don’t find time? I’m not interested either. Then they have to fire me.”

“I won’t let anyone tell me everything here”

Finally, Schreuder briefly addressed the Kudus-Brobbey question. Kudus in the forward: eight goals from eight or nine games. Then you can’t tell me it’s a bad option. Is it Brobbey or Kudus that we lose against Napoli? It’s the quality difference at this point, we haven’t caught up yet.”

“We also evaluate every day. We don’t work ten hours a day, we work sixteen hours a day. This is our life. Our work. We all want to be at the top. Me too in my field. And of course we take ourselves doing me sorry. I also look in the mirror, but I don’t let them tell me everything.”