The new man!

News report is now up on Ajax USA:
http://www.ajax-usa.com/news/2003-2...joins-ajax.html

Have your say in this thread.

I perfect signing all together. Only 18 months contract, not too short for him not to care, not too long for it to bee a burden. Experienced, nows life in Holland. Seems to have adequate skills - and plays in the position we REALLY need someone in NOW!

Great job Ajax! I know he's going to score against PSV if he gets to play.

I hate it when the club make big mistakes and then spends money on such losers. The guy is already 30 and doesn't even score that much in the Eredivisie.

Let's hope he'll do the job.

Personally, I think it's a good move to get this guy. He has skills and will be a good complement to the squad. With our injury situation we need a guy with some experience on the pitch. What I've seen of him, he is poised and knows how to distribute the ball. We'll wait and see, but I have a good feeling about this guy.

Yeah, an 18-month contract was really good. Now there is a substitute when one of our strikers is missing and the other one has a crap game. I haven't seen the guy play, so I can't really give my opinion on whether he's a good signing, but an experienced (skilled?) striker who knows Holland seems to be a good signing.

Ithink this is a good signing ,we only have him for 18 months and I read that the maximum transfer was around the 300000 Euros. He can start repaying this on Sunday v PSV

Wow!Yiannis will play for Ajax!I never expected this to happen.Another former OFI Crete player wears the red-white shirt of "Aiantas"!!!

Yiannis is a very nice guy that will not cause problems to the team.Anyone can see that this is an emergency transfer.Yiannis is a good player.I know him very well from his years in Greece.He is strong and he likes to play with his back facing the nets.He is an ok player.You can see that he is nothing special from the fact that he only played in the National Team 5 times as a substitute while other Greek strikers of his age(Nikolaidis,Machlas) have around 40 appearances in the NT.But at this point Ajax made the best choice.

I remember the time when Koeman had to choose among his strikers.Now he doesn't have anyone available.Well,that's bad luck...

Well... You never know how a new striker will fit into the Ajax system. Will it work or will it not? That question is impossible to answer, even for the coaches and technical directors at Ajax. I mean: I suppose they expected things to work with Gabrich, Sibon and Machlas - and it didn't. Not at all (Sibon, Gabrich) or not really (Machlas).

So we'll just have to wait and see with Anastasiou.

All I know is that I thought he was absolutely great almost every time I saw him play against Ajax with Roda. Headstrong, physically powerful, strong on the ball, intelligent, good passing and (most importantly) he almost always scores from the real chances he gets.

I have a good feeling about him. The value of mt feelings? Ah, I don't know. I had a very bad feeling about strikers such as Gerald Sibon and Ivan Gabrich from the start. I also felt very bad about the signing of Brian Laudrup and the return to Ajax of Witschge, Winter and Verlaat. I guess I was right.

On the other hand: I felt very good about Machlas and Kinkladze. I was sure they were going to be great, but I was dead-wrong.

Oh well... For now my intuition is all I have - and it tells me we made a good move here.

One thing is for sure.It was a great move.If all Ajax strikers were fit,i don't think that Yannis would be an Ajacied right now.And we all know that(even though Koeman says he was always interested in Yannis-gimme a break Ronald please).

In Greece Yannis was never considered to be a TOP class striker,but you never know how he will fit in the Ajax system.Machlas on the other hand is one of the best Greek strikers but never gave the fans what they expected(even though i strongly believe that this happened because of his high salary.If Nikos had a contract similar to Anastasiou's everyone would be happy about his performance as a starter AND as a supersub.)

I'm really happy because maybe Greek TV channels will start broadcasting Ajax games again.LOL!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Geo
Machlas on the other hand is one of the best Greek strikers but never gave the fans what they expected

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I tottaly agree in everything you said.Especially the last part.We DO need Anastasiou and i am sure he will do pretty good.You can't expect to have a perfect season without any injuries,and it is not wise not to have any backups.
I also agree about Machlas' career part.Nikos did good in Amsterdam in my opinion,and if it wasn't for his high salary he would be still be part of the team.It is pretty clear to me that Koeman had instructions from the board to remove Nikos from the team.His salary was extremely high for Ajax.I mean i can't see ONE SINGLE REASON why Nikos wasn't good enough for Ajax and Yiannis is(and everyone in Greece agrees with me).

ELA RE YANNAREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE !!!

Now i have one more Ajax shirt to buy...LOL!

I thought he did ok in the P$V game on Sunday.He held the ball up well and and looked strong and difficult for defenders to play against.Menno said to me before the game he is really good at one-on-ones with the keeper and so he proved by taking his goal really well(shame the linesman thought he was offside).
We will have to see if he proves to be a better bubble than Maklas but hes made a reasonable start.

I think Yannis Anastasiou will prove to be a bargain.I believe he is more mobile and more able to create for himself than Nikos Machlas was. He played pretty well with his back to goal,showed creativity with the aforementioned chest pass, and took his chance like a striker should.

An aside: I must admit to a bias in the players favor . I had a minute or two to chat with him after requesting and receiving an autograph on Tuesday 2/3/04,his first training day.He seemed very happy to be at Ajax. He was smiling the whole time. He told me he was glad to be with such a great club and that he looked forward to playing for Ajax.

[QUOTE=Geo]ELA RE YANNAREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE !!!

Avto pou tou eipa sto "Arena Day." Trans: That is what i told Yianni on Arena day.

He seemed chuffed at the idea of some obviously non-greek guy speaking greek to him.

Personally I thought he played quite well, given the situation. You could tell that he was unfamiliar with the players, but he learned pretty quickly. He played several really nice touches which put his teammates in more attacking positions. IIRC his chest pass played a crucial role in the buildup to the second goal.

He also seemed a bit hard done by the referee a few times, but that could have been said by many players on that day.

With all that speed and skill around him, he has the potential to be a very crucial lynchpin in the Ajax attack.

My prediction is that he will fit in quite well with the speedsters around him. Of course this information, plus $3.48 will get you cheap cup of half-caf mocha latte at starbucks.

Article on Anastasiou from UEFA.com:


Ajax's new 'Greek god'
Thursday, 12 February 2004
By Berend Scholten

On his first day at AFC Ajax, Ioannis Anastasiou was taken on a tour of the Amsterdam ArenA by team manager David Endt. On the way to the dressing rooms, they ran into assistant coach Tonny Bruins Slot. Giving the Greek striker a friendly pat on the shoulder, he smiled and said: "We have a true Greek god with us now. Ajax was a Greek god, so it's a perfect match."

Seasoned striker
In a team where young players have thrived in recent years, the decision to sign a 30-year-old might be seen as something of a surprise. However, with injuries biting hard in Ajax's battle for the Dutch title, coach Ronald Koeman and sporting director Louis van Gaal went straight for Anastasiou.

'Best option'
"Ioannis was the best option for us," said Koeman. "He adds quality where we have the most problems. He has everything needed to be successful as an Ajax No9. He brings scoring ability with him and - what is very important for a young team like ours - experience."

Youth opportunities
Injuries to first-choice forwards Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Wesley Sonck have stretched Ajax to their limits, as Van Gaal explained: "Last week we had to pick a 17-year-old, Ryan Babel, up front and he did an excellent job. But he has just turned 17, and since we already have so many young players in our team, you have to make sure they don't drown."

Surprise move
If bringing Anastasiou to Ajax was a sensible move for Koeman and Van Gaal, it was something of a surprise to the player. He was turning out for Roda JC on the evening of Friday 31 January, scoring in a 3-1 win against AZ Alkmaar, when he first heard that Ajax were interested. Within three days he had signed.

Media frenzy
"Greek radio, television, newspapers - everyone called me," said Anastasiou. "It was extremely hectic. And then, after signing the contract, everything had to be arranged. I did not get much sleep, but I slept well." The switch from the calm of Roda's Kerkrade home to the frenzy of Amsterdam would be intimidating for many players, but not for Anastasiou. "I am used to that, because I experienced something similar at [RSC] Anderlecht," he said.

Anderlecht history
Anastasiou left the Belgian giants in 2000 after struggling to win a first-team place. While some have suggested that succeeding at Ajax would be the perfect way to prove a point to his old club, Anastasiou does not entertain such thoughts.

Second chance
"This is not revenge," he said. "Four years ago when I was at Anderlecht, I just had bad luck in having Tomasz Radzinski and Jan Koller ahead of me. Anderlecht let me go easily and I am grateful to them for that. Now I have another chance to prove myself at a top club. I am counting on having better luck at Ajax."

Great opportunity
Certainly, with his two main rivals for a place in the starting lineup injured, Anastasiou has a perfect opportunity to impress, but there is no room for complacency. "When the other strikers are fit to play again, Ioannis will be in competition with them," said Koeman.

Worthy effort
Ajax's 'Greek god' has plenty of work ahead, then, but a chance to shine with one of Europe's most prestigious clubs should make the effort worthwhile.