Ajax coach Heitinga purrs over Chelsea’s depth and ability
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Soccer Football - UEFA Champions League - Olympique de Marseille v Ajax Amsterdam - Orange Velodrome, Marseille, France - September 30, 2025 Ajax Amsterdam coach John Heitinga REUTERS/Manon Cruz
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LONDON - Ajax Amsterdam coach John Heitinga sounded more like a fan than an ambitious adversary as his side prepared to take on Chelsea in the Champions League at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
Ajax have made a poor start to the group phase this season, losing 2-0 at home to Inter Milan and then being hammered 4-0 at Olympique de Marseille in their second fixture, and are not given much chance of success away to Chelsea.
"I know the Premier League well, of course," Heitinga, who was assistant coach at Liverpool last season and at West Ham United before that, told a press conference on Tuesday.
"I know Chelsea's strengths and weaknesses. They have a lot of power, a lot of speed. Positional shifts, with fullbacks coming into midfield.
"This season, for example, they beat Liverpool. They're a team you have to be on your guard for over the full 90 minutes.
"Just to give an example - Jorrel Hato, one of our best players at Ajax last season, is on the (Chelsea) bench and hardly plays. I think that says a lot about Chelsea's quality, because Jorrel was a game-changer for us.
"When I came here (to Chelsea) as an Everton player I was up against a team with Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, John Terry," Heitinga recalled. "These are special matches, we have to enjoy them, especially with the 2,000 travelling fans."
But Heitinga insisted Ajax were not going into the game with a losing attitude.
"We never go onto the pitch thinking we're already expecting a defeat," he added. "This is definitely a match where we have to look at the gameplan. That plan has to be good."
Ajax, and their coach, have been under some early-season pressure not only because of the ease with which they were beaten in their two Champions League games but also due to setbacks in domestic competition.
A 2-0 home loss to AZ Alkmaar on Saturday has left Ajax fourth in the Dutch league, nine points adrift of leaders Feyenoord after their opening nine matches of the campaign.
Chelsea lost their opening Champions League game 3-1 at Bayern Munich before a 1-0 home win over Benfica. REUTERS
