The remarkable club journeys of 3 Ajax heroes from their 4-1 win over Real Madrid
Ajax produced one of the finest performances of the UEFA Champions League this season to dump 13 times champions Real Madrid out of the competition. Their quality of play and attacking football mesmerized football fans from all over the world.
The team fielded by Eric ten Hag is an exceptional mix of experience and youth and left the defending champions in tatters. While most of the players were a product of their famed youth academy, others who had played in a number of clubs before becoming part of this thrilling mix.
Let's look at the club careers of two of them and their manager.
#1 Dušan Tadić - The Creator of Magic
He created chances, dribbled around Madrid's defenders like they were dolls, assisted two goals and topped it all with an astonishing screamer. Dusan Tadić was an absolute pleasure to watch in the false nine role and looked completely different from his time at Southampton.
Born in Serbia, he started playing for local club AIK Bačka Topola and later on joined FK Vojvodina, where he had the chance to play against some of the heavyweights of European football such as Atlético Madrid. He showed glimpses of his enormous potential when he scored in 2009-2010 UEFA Europa League qualifying phase against Austria Wien when he only 20 years old.
In 2010 he transferred to FC Groningen, and ironically, his debut was against his current club Ajax in which he provided an assist in a 2-2 draw. He finished that season with 22 assists, third highest in whole Europe, behind only Lionel Messi and Mesut Ozil. In 2012, he transferred to FC Twente, where again his debut was against his previous club, where he scored two goals.
He moved to Southampton in 2014 under manger Ronald Koeman and had a decent career with the Saints where he scored 20 goals in 134 appearances. His playmaking abilities were on full display as he equaled the Premier League record for providing four assists in a single game. He would later on became only the fourth player to provide three or more assists in more than one Premier League game.
His impressive displays earned him a transfer to Ajax where he got the chance to dismantle Real Madrid in front of the whole world.