Despite dream debut: Ajax legend takes aim at ex-BVB star Brandt | OneFootball

After his dream debut for Ajax Amsterdam, Julian Brandt is making headlines right away. Club legend Rafael van der Vaart, however, still had some sharp criticism for the former BVB star.

Julian Brandt has made an almost perfect start in the Eredivisie. The long-time Borussia Dortmund professional scored his first goal in his very first league match for Ajax Amsterdam. Club legend Rafael van der Vaart, however, warned against praising the German newcomer too highly too soon. In the 2-0 win over PEC Zwolle, Brandt came on in the 61st minute.

Deep into stoppage time, the 30-year-old put the finishing touch on the result: after a counterattack, Brandt first played the ball to Mika Godts, got it back inside the box, and slotted home from close range to make it final. These were not Brandt’s first competitive minutes for his new club. The 48-time Germany international had already featured in Conference League qualifying.

After seven years at BVB, Brandt left Dortmund in the summer and then signed a three-year contract in Amsterdam. Despite the successful start, van der Vaart is not a fan of excessive euphoria surrounding the new arrival. When Brandt’s style of play was compared to his own on the NOS Football Podcast, the former Ajax star responded bluntly: “Oh, come on, he doesn’t even reach twenty percent of what I was.”

Van der Vaart has clear words for former BVB star Brandt

Van der Vaart still sees Brandt as a reinforcement. “He is very calm and the first impression is very good. You can also see how he helps the young players,” the former Netherlands international explained.

Photo: IMAGO

What particularly bothered the 43-year-old were the reactions to Brandt’s transfer. Given its own stature, Ajax by no means needs to make itself look small. “I also have to say that the people who were absolutely thrilled by the transfer irritated me.”

Van der Vaart had previously described Brandt as “a bit of a fair-weather footballer” and made it clear who, in his view, should be grateful for the move: “Ajax is a very big club: he should be happy to play there.” From a sporting perspective, though, Brandt has delivered the perfect response for the time being. In his Eredivisie debut, the former Dortmund man made sure with his goal that his start at Ajax could hardly have gone any better.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.