AZ beat Lazio 2-1 to advance to the quarter-finals of the Conference League. Midfielder Tijjani Reijnders is proud of this achievement: “I just had a small moment of awareness in the locker room. You were eliminated by Bodø/Glimt in this round last year.”
Coach Pascal Jansen is equally proud but already thinking ahead: “We play so many matches that it’s special, but the after party is short. We are already thinking about our next game against FC Twente.”
victory is not excluded
Reijnders was not surprised by the win: “We showed that last week. It says enough about our qualifications and I’m proud that you can be a part of it. They knew that Lazio was Lazio in the draw, but we were always confident. Great, but we also want to be part of the next giveaway. Of course we can go too far in the Conference League.”
Jansen also believes: “Quarterfinals don’t have to be an end. Anything is possible, so winning the final is absolutely out of the question. Come next.”
Jansen also praises his players, including Sven Mijnans and Reijnders. “Mijnans is something very special as long as it’s with us. But that says enough about its qualities. Reijnders is also special with all the attention he receives from the outside world.”
Reijnders unaware of Ajax’s involvement
This outside attention is related to Ajax’s interest in Reijnders. The midfielder says he doesn’t know anything yet: “It’s not good for me to read all this. Now I’m concentrating from A to Z and don’t want to be distracted. Aries calls it a big compliment. I’ll look into it over the summer, but I’ve re-signed it here.”
Greek forward Vangelis Pavlidis was also not surprised by the progress of AZ: “I know our qualities, the team played well.
The forward also complimented 18-year-old defender Wouter Goes, who plays well in central defence: “He’s a good player but he needs to stay calm. He has a future, a lot of injuries behind him and he tried his luck. He is really good.”
Pavlidis scored against Lazio, as he did last week, and above all the assumption came to the fore: “This is half the goal. Jesper Karlsson’s pass is also good. You do that 1000 times in practice and then you do it, I’m glad because after the goal it was an easier game for us.”
Pavlidis certainly doesn’t want to say whether AZ is among the favourites: “We lost to Bodø/Glimt last year, so this win means nothing.”
Source: NOS
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
