Ajax: The Meanest Defence in Europe

Forget about Terry and Carvalho. Spare me the case of Lucio and Samuel. Keep Puyol and Pique to yourself. The most successful defensive partnership in Europe is plying its trade at the Amsterdam Arena.

Who are they?

Tobias Alderweireld. Gregory van der Wiel. Jan Vertonghen. Maarten Stekelenburg. Not exactly names that roll of the tongue, but these young footballers are at the heart of what could possibly be the stingiest – and certainly the most underrated – defence in Europe’s top flight.

Consider this: Ajax has allowed just four goals at home over this past season. Four goals.  (Terry and Carvalho let in that many against Manchester City!) Ajax’s rock-solid defence has been the foundation for a very strong second half of the season – which included a run of six consecutive clean sheets – and has seen them jump from outside bets for the Dutch title to just one point off the pace of current leaders FC Twente.

Many had predicted that Ajax’s fortunes this season would suffer after Arsenal lured away their captain and center back, the Belgian Thomas Vermaelen, over the summer. In fact, Vermaelen’s departure has allowed his two former Belgian compatriots – Vertonghen and Alderweireld – to shine. Meanwhile, Van der Wiel, with his electric turn of pace, has played himself into the Dutch squad over the past season. And goalkeeper Stekelenburg’s accomplished displays have allayed some concerns about Holland’s World Cup prospects following Edwin van der Sar’s recent international retirement.

Surely, it won’t be long before other top clubs come sniffing around for these fearsome foursome. In fact, van der Wiel has already attracted interest from Arsenal and Manchester City. Vertonghen was reportedly on Barcelona’s radar screen over the winter break. No doubt, Stekelenburg would be of interest to clubs like Manchester United and Arsenal, who are desperate to resolve their long-term goalkeeping situations.

In recent years, Ajax has been little more than a production line for the continent’s biggest clubs – especially Real Madrid (Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Wesley Sneider, Rafael van der Vaart, etc.)  But if the club are going to scale Europe’s heights, like they did more than a decade ago, they need to make sure they hold onto their star performers – starting with their solid back line.

Unknown Soldier - Gregory van der Wiel has been inspirational for Ajax