De Boer faces up to unimaginable scenario
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
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The mood of the coaches was very different as Frank de Boer tried to come to terms with AFC Ajax's elimination at the hands of a Real Madrid CF side who did coach José Mourinho proud.
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Frank de Boer, Ajax coach
This is obviously a huge blow. Before the match we had a lot of faith that we'd get through in the Champions League. For us, the players and the fans [elimination] is not a scenario you can think about before the match. I thought it was an even game in the first half. We had the majority of the ball possession ... maybe they were looking to profit from some mistakes we made. It was a real setback to go in 2-0 behind at half-time, but I saw the score in Zagreb at that time was 1-0; then in the dressing room I heard it was 7-1 [to Olympique Lyonnais].
It turned into a scenario that one cannot imagine but that still happened. Tomorrow we can mourn, then on Friday the players have a free day to clear their heads. On Saturday we have to build again for Sunday's game against RKC Waalwijk. In that game we'll have to play well again, but hopefully score this time. And I want to pay a big compliment to our fans who kept on supporting us when they heard it was 7-1 in Zagreb.
José Mourinho, Madrid coach
This game shows that we fully respect what Real Madrid stands for in the world of football and that we respect our profession and always play seriously. We weren't interested in knowing if Ajax or Lyon were looking to qualify behind us. We played our own game and in my opinion we played an excellent first half.
In the second half we weren't at the same standard but there were many players out there who aren't used to playing a lot and so keeping the rhythm up after the break wasn't easy. We defended well and winning is always important. Nobody was injured and practically all of the players who don't regularly play did so. They deserved it. We are a very united group.
I was immensely happy to see that when I turned on my phone after the game there were SMS messages from the players back home congratulating us. This shows how united we are. [The game against Barcelona on] Saturday is one game more. We have little time between then and now. We will get back to Madrid and start to prepare; that's how life normally is for us. We are playing well, winning games and we are confident but every game has its own story.
