Ajax is linked to Benfica in the eighth finals of the Champions League. The meeting with the Portuguese top club will be a special reunion with former defender Jan Vertonghen. Vertonghen exchanged Tottenham Hotspur in 2020 for an adventure in Lisbon.
Ajax defender Daley Blind played with Vertonghen in Amsterdam for years and is therefore looking forward to meeting the Belgian again. “We immediately texted that we thought it would be nice to meet again. That is something to look forward to,” Blind said on Ajax’s social media channels. Ajax and Benfica also faced each other in the autumn of 2018: the team of coach Erik ten Hag collected four points in the group stage against O Glorioso, who finished in the group under Ajax.
It turned out to be the start of a fantastic campaign, followed by memorable diptychs against Real Madrid, Juventus and Tottenham Hotspur. “What struck me in 2018 was that they played technical and neat football from the back with some very fast wingers,” said Blind. Blind knows one thing for sure: “It is certainly not a team that you should underestimate. It will be difficult, but of course there are opportunities”, Blind concludes.
Monday’s draw was a special one. Ajax was initially linked to Internazionale, but because the Manchester United ball had ended up in the wrong box, the entire draw had to be restarted. Then Benfica came out as an upcoming Ajax opponent.
