Berghuis breaks silence: Ajax under Sánchez has escaped the 'coin flip' era — but the Eredivisie title race remains an open gamble

The match against Telstar last weekend was not a memorable event in Ajax's history. A victory against a lower-tier opponent, with Steven Berghuis scoring one goal and providing two assists — pedestrian statistics if placed in the context of Champions League or even a tense Eredivisie match. But for Berghuis, for those who watched Ajax endure their worst season in a decade, that match carried an entirely different meaning. It was not a destination. It was the starting point of a story I had been waiting for since the previous season ended in irredeemable chaos. Guangzhou taught me that money cannot buy matches, but it can buy the person standing beside you. Ajax, though no longer the financial empire it once was, still has enough foundation to attract figures capable of changing a system. And Míchel Sánchez, the Spanish coach that Dutch media nicknamed "the Spaniard lost in Amsterdam," might be the missing piece that Johan Cruyff once dreamed of in his final tactical blueprints. I am not saying this to glorify anyone. I am saying it because Berghuis — a player who went through three coaches in one season — has spoken out, and his words must be weighed on an analytical scale, not buried beneath superficial statistics. Background: The Season of Coin Flips To understand why Berghuis's statement matters, we must return to last season — one of the darkest chapters in Ajax's history since they began rebuilding under Erik ten Hag. The club sacked two head coaches in a single season. Each replacement promised a brighter future. Each replacement sank deeper into instability. This is not a story of a talent-deficient team. Ajax last season possessed a squad far from poor — if not among the top of the Eredivisie. The problem lay elsewhere: nobody knew what kind of football the team was supposed to play. Berghuis, in an interview with the club channel that I rewatched three times to capture every nuance of his phrasing, described last season with an extremely vivid image. He said: "You did not really know what to expect." This is a shocking statement from a veteran player like Berghuis — someone who has played in multiple environments, from Feyenoord back to Feyenoord, then to Ajax. When a 33-year-old player in the twilight of his career publicly admits he does not understand where his team is heading, that is no longer a tactical issue. It is a structural management issue. I was born to say what others think but dare not speak. Last season at Ajax was not a personnel failure. It was a vision failure. The two coaching dismissals were not because those coaches were incompetent — Heitinga, Grim, García, each had their own professional identity — but because the club never gave any of them enough time and space to build something meaningful. This is the "burn the torch then replace the torchbearer" management model — and it caused Ajax's Johan Cruyff-style home-field advantage to crumble in the very league they once dominated. Core Analysis: From Chaos to a Clear Plan The first thing to establish: Míchel Sánchez is not a tactically proven genius backed by data. I have no xG, PPDA, or any modern metrics to draw hard conclusions about his system. This is an information limitation that any analyst must acknowledge. But I have something more valuable than any number: direct testimony from a player who experienced both phases — chaos and stability — within the same season. Berghuis says that under Sánchez, he knows "if we do this, Ajax will win." This short sentence, nearly overlooked in mainstream reports, contains a deep tactical layer of meaning. In modern football, the difference between a top team and a mid-table team does not lie in player quality — it lies in the clarity of the pre-match plan. A mid-table team can have 11 good players. A champion team has a plan that all 11 players understand and trust. The "this" that Berghuis mentions most likely includes core elements: pressing intensity, transition speed, and set-piece design. These are areas where Dutch clubs have long been world-renowned for development — but under the interim coaches of last season, all were disrupted. Each new coach brought their own philosophy, forcing the team to relearn from scratch after every change. This is a structure-destruction model — and it cost Ajax their Johan Cruyff home-field advantage in the very league they once controlled. Evidence? The match against Telstar showed Berghuis with 1 goal and 2 assists — not the numbers of a superstar, but the numbers of a player who knows his role within the system. The difference is: last season, similar numbers could appear randomly. This season, they appear as the inevitable result of a correctly executed plan. Contrarian Angle: The Title Race is a Trap, Not a Target This is where I play my edge — and where I can be refuted. According to current consensus, Ajax is on the road to recovery, Sánchez brings stability, and this season's Eredivisie title race will be the most exciting in years. Technical director Jordi Cruyff has made it clear: he wants the team to "go all out for the title." This is an orthodox, reasonable, entirely understandable stance from a sporting perspective. But I disagree — and here is why. Berghuis, in what may be his final elite season, said the opposite of what the club announced. He stated that what matters is "being competitive and having the feeling that you are on top of your opponents, regardless of the result." This is a controversial statement, but it contains a philosophy I have seen succeed in unexpected places. When a team focuses on process over results, results often come naturally. When a team treats the title as the only objective, the pressure breaks them. Croatia taught me that lesson. In 2026, the whole world laughed when I picked them to reach the final. I did not pick Croatia because they had Ramos or Ronaldo. I picked them because they had a system — a versatile 4-2-3-1 — that no one wanted to see. Modric, Rakitic, Perisic, Mandzukic were not the world's best players. But they understood their roles within the system better than any other team at the World Cup. That is why they reached the final. Back to Ajax. This season's Eredivisie title race is a trap. PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord have strengthened their squads. The pressure to "win the title" from the board could become a psychological burden for a team just emerging from chaos. If Ajax sets "win the title" as the target from day one, they will create unnecessary pressure on Sánchez — who is only beginning to build his system. Instead, if the team focuses on becoming the team that "dominates opponents" in every match — as Berghuis suggested — they can build a more sustainable foundation, rather than collapsing under the weight of expectations. This is my hot take: Ajax should not talk about the title in the first three months of the season. They should talk about the process. And if the process is correct, the title will come as a natural by-product. If not, at least they will not break young players and the new system with premature title pressure. Complicating Factor: Viktor Tsygankov and the Position Battle No analysis of Ajax's situation is complete without mentioning Viktor Tsygankov. The club signed the Ukrainian winger late in the transfer window — a move I read as a two-sided signal. Side one: Tsygankov is a quality player. He is a direct threat to Berghuis's position, and his presence forces Berghuis to maintain peak performance. In football, healthy competition is a catalyst for improvement. This is positive. Side two: signing Tsygankov late in the window reveals something about Ajax's internal situation. The club has a depth problem in wide attacking positions — and they know it. People need data to predict. I only need to look at the crowd and go the opposite way. The crowd says Tsygankov is "tremendous reinforcement." I say he is a symptom of a problem: Ajax did not prepare well enough for the season, and they had to scramble to fill the gap. This is a medium risk — not high, not low. Berghuis is still the most experienced player in Ajax's attacking midfield. But if Tsygankov integrates quickly and Sánchez begins rotating to manage fitness, Berghuis's position is no longer guaranteed. And for a 33-year-old, losing a starting spot is not just a sporting issue — it is a psychological one. Risks: What Could Break the Plan Every system has breaking points. For Ajax under Sánchez, I identify three main risks to monitor. First: last season's coaching instability created cracks in the dressing room that may not be fully healed. Berghuis said he needed "some calm and clarity" — this is the language of someone who has been wounded. In football, psychological wounds do not heal in a week. They linger beneath the surface, waiting for the moment when pressure peaks. Second: the sample size is too small. The win against Telstar was a match against a lower-tier opponent. Data from such matches is insufficient to conclude that Sánchez's system works effectively at the Eredivisie level. When Ajax faces PSV or Feyenoord, when they confront high-intensity pressing and opponents who have studied their system in detail, everything could change. Third: pressure from the board. Jordi Cruyff wants the title. This is a legitimate objective. But if results do not come in the first 10 rounds, will the club show patience with Sánchez, or will the history of two dismissals repeat itself? This is the question I raise — not to spread panic, but to prepare for the worst-case scenario. The Big Picture: Where Does Ajax Stand in the Eredivisie Ecosystem? The Eredivisie is no longer a one-team show for Ajax. PSV has built a formidable squad with depth. Feyenoord under Arne Slot has proven they can compete seriously. AZ Alkmaar and FC Twente are no longer teams to overlook. This season's title race has no clear gap between contenders — it is a competition among nearly equal teams. In that context, the best thing Ajax can do is not create additional pressure for themselves. They already have enough from last season. Sánchez needs time — not weeks, but months — to build a truly functional system. And Berghuis, as the most experienced player in the squad, can become the adhesive between the new system and the young generation gradually maturing. From the perspective of someone who has followed European football for 18 years, Ajax this season resembles a team learning to stand up after a severe fall. They are not in a hurry. They are not making bold declarations. They are simply focusing on each step, each match, each tactical decision. This is an approach I respect — and also one I predict will deliver surprising results for those who do not expect too much from them. The whole world laughed when I picked Croatia. In the end, I was the last to laugh. Not because I was lucky — but because I saw what others refused to see. For Ajax, I am not saying they will win the title. I am saying they are heading in the right direction — and that is more important than any trophy in September. Testable Prediction: If after 15 rounds, Ajax maintains tactical consistency — not necessarily leading the table — then Sánchez's model has succeeded at the foundational level. If Berghuis maintains his position and performance, he will become an inspiring story of resilience amid crisis. And if Tsygankov integrates well, Ajax will have squad depth sufficient to compete in all three competitions — Eredivisie, KNVB Cup, and Europa League if they fall into that bracket. If everything collapses? Then at least we will have a clear lesson about not building expectations too quickly on a chaotic foundation. And that is also valuable information — information about what not to do, as important as information about what to do.