NOS Voetbal•vandaag, 09:21
Sosa thought about leaving after the Mislintat case: ‘Feeling that they would rather lose me than be rich’
Borna Sosa has had a turbulent first six months at Ajax. The Croatian international speaks out for the first time about the Mislintat case in an extensive interview with the NOS. “I had the feeling that some people looked at me differently after Sven’s departure.”
Sosa is at a training camp with Ajax in Cádiz, Spain this week. The Amsterdammers are licking the wounds – they prefer to call it a new start – from a dramatic first half of the season, in which the club was even in last place in the Premier League for a while.
Major demise
The 25-year-old Sosa also played one of the leading roles in the great demise of the Amsterdam team. Technical director Sven Mislintat, appointed in the summer, came under pressure in September after a conflict of interest in Sosa’s transfer.
What exactly happened with the Sosa deal is explained in the video below:
Mislintat bought Sosa through a business partner for Ajax: ‘You put yourself in a difficult position’
Since then, Mislintat has kept quiet. The German is awaiting the investigation. Sosa resigned more than three months after the dismissal of Mislintat, whom he already knew from his time at Stuttgart and who brought him to Ajax.
The stories that appeared after the investigation into Mislintat particularly disturbed him. For example, Mislintat is said to have urged Sosa to have the transfer deal done by agent Arthur Beck.
I had the feeling that they would rather lose me than be rich.
Borna Sosa
“I was shocked. Especially when they started writing things in the newspapers that are completely untrue. People judged things that, as I know, Sven did not do.”
Sosa denies that Mislintat has pushed for a change of agent. “This was completely my own decision. It was very difficult for me to see them blaming him for everything. Ultimately, the pressure became too much for him to continue here. I was sad about that. He definitely did.” not deserved. I don’t see what he has done so badly for Ajax.”
Perhaps the disappointing fifth place and the distance behind PSV and Feyenoord? “Maybe… But on the other hand, after just a few months he had to leave. It’s impossible to convey all your ideas in such a short time. Even top coaches like José Mourinho and Pep Guardiola need time. The first thing Jurgen Klopp said when he joined Liverpool: give me time.”
Pro ShotsBorna Sosa at the training camp in Spain
Mislintat’s departure was also a blow for Sosa himself. Despite the support of his compatriots and teammates Josip Sutalo and Jakov Medic – “nice to have people who speak the same language at a new club and in a new environment” – he had the feeling that he no longer counted at Ajax.
“When Mislintat left, I was suddenly no longer drafted. That was really difficult for me. Because then I thought: they think the rumors are true. I have no idea if it was a coincidence. But he left the picture, and I with him. For a certain period of time. I didn’t know what was happening to me. It was a mess anyway.”
Early departure
It got Sosa thinking. An early departure haunted his mind.
“I had the feeling that they would rather get rid of me than be rich. I also had a lot of questions. That’s normal, at that time I didn’t know how the club worked. Then I had a conversation with the director and other people within the club. club and they said that they had full confidence in me. And that they still saw me as an important player. I believed that and now I see that it is true.”
While many teammates sought out the sun in Dubai, Sosa opted for his home country of Croatia this winter, where he had time for his other great passion: chess.
Sosa played chess against Croatian grandmaster during the winter break: ‘That was fun’
Sosa wants to forget this black page in his career as quickly as possible. Despite the fact that he has played more often than not under new coach John van ‘t Schip, he is convinced that he is the number one in the left back position.
“Normally yes,” he says with a smile. The Flankengott, a nickname he received in Germany because of his many good crosses, played as a starting player in the semi-finals at a World Cup in 2022, but was not yet able to really convince at Ajax. Yet he still sees himself succeeding in Amsterdam and wants to look up with Ajax.
“I came as a national team player and, especially with the World Cup in mind, expectations were perhaps higher than for other players. But the situation we were in was difficult. I came in during Ajax’s worst ever start. came into a new environment and it takes a while to settle in. In the situation we were in, that was perhaps even more difficult.”
Trainer John van ‘t Schip about Sosa:
“We now expect more from Sosa and we also want to see more. He is a boy who came in at the last minute and then it takes some time. Hopefully he can now show more in a somewhat quieter working environment.”
2024-01-06 08:21:59
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