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11 Ajax players test positive for COVID-19 ahead of Midtylland trip

Ajax will travel to Midtylland for Tuesday's Champions League game with a squad of only seventeen...



11 Ajax players test positive...
Soccer

11 Ajax players test positive for COVID-19 ahead of Midtylland trip

Ajax will travel to Midtylland for Tuesday's Champions League game with a squad of only seventeen after eleven players tested positive for coronavirus.

First-choice goalkeeper André Onana, Davy Klaasen, Dusan Tadic and Ryan Gravenberch - who all started last week's 2-2 draw with Atalanta - are among those absent from the squad heading to Denmark.

18-year old striker Brian Brobbey and 20-year old goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen are all included.

UEFA rules state that matches can still go ahead once a team has thirteen available players, meaning Tuesday night's game is not yet in danger.

It's a further blow, however, to Ajax's hopes of getting out of Group D in the Champions League. Last week's draw in Bergamo followed a 1-0 defeat at home to Liverpool.

Meanwhile, the Amsterdam giants have been mourning the death of long-time Ajax coach Tonny Bruins Slot.

He'd been an assistant at the club starting in 1982, and taking over from Aad de Mos, helped them win the 1984-85 Eredivisie as interim manager.

He later worked alongside Johan Cruyff at Barcelona, and was on the bench at Wembley when the club lifted the European Cup for the first time in 1992.

Bruins Slot would link up with the goalscorer on that night - Ronald Koeman - for stints at Benfica, PSV and AZ before returning to Ajax as chief scout in 2010.

Director of Football Marc Overmars said, "Even though Tonny had been ill for some time, we are still very shocked at the club now that he has passed away.

"He was very loved by all of us here at Ajax. The last analysis he made for Erik ten Hag and his staff was of Liverpool, but until last week's Atalanta he kept sending messages with tips and directions.

"Even though things were not going so well for him and he had been working more and more from home for months, also due to corona of course, he continued to work for us.

"He looked different to football than most people around us, referring often to his years with Johan Cruyff.

"Tonny had Cruyff way of thinking. No wonder they have so much and so long And so he gave a different perspective on scouting and analysis. We learned a lot from him. That made him unique.

"For every trainer he has worked with at Ajax, he devoted himself fully to the success of our first team, Tonny gave directions and tips down to the smallest details. We will miss him."

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Ajax Champions League Covid-19 Eredivisie Liverpool Midtylland UEFA Champions League