Ajax’s Dusan Tadic has no regrets about comments before defeat to Feyenoord

Dusan Tadic has no regrets about his pre-Classic statements, Voetbal International reports. Following the 2-3 at the Johan Cruyff Arena, Feyenoord captain Orkun Kokcu voiced his displeasure with the Ajax players, who he perceived to have “talked a lot” prior to the highly anticipated match.

The win for Arne Slot’s side extends their lead at the top of the Eredivisie table to six points with eight games left of the domestic season. The hosts took a 2-1 lead into half-time before John Heitinga saw his side lost it thanks to goals from midfielder Sebastian Szymanski, 23, and defender Lutsharel Geertruida, 22. 

Kokcu, 22, was delighted to be part of the win in Amsterdam but is keen to move on after all the talk from his opponents. 

He said: “Personally, I’m kind of done with it. They talk all day before the game, think they’re always the best. At Feyenoord it is ‘deeds not words’, and we showed that today.”

It appears the midfielder was referring to the words of Tadic, who had confidently declared Ajax the favourite for The Classic.

At the press conference, Tadic, 34, was asked to respond to Kokcu’s comments but does not regret what he said ahead of the match. 

He said: “No, I think that’s normal, if you’re Ajax. We have become champions in the last four seasons. 

“If you have the most trophies in Dutch football and you play at home, in front of your own fans, then you are the favourite. Then it doesn’t matter who our opponent is.”

“We know that Feyenoord is a good team with a good coach. They do many things well as a team, but the match could have gone either way,” Tadic admitted, adding that the atmosphere in the Ajax dressing room was not great. 

“When you lose these kinds of matches, it’s always tough and there are a lot of emotions. Now there will be an international break, which will give us time to recover, also mentally.”

GBeNeFN | Tom Phillips

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