Van der Mejde tells us in a conversation with Gazzetta dello Sport He sees parallels between Ajax today and those that happened in 2003, which he also played against Roma at the time. “Yes, partly. The team is full of talent. Take Anthony and Neres. How many other teams have two wings like that? Then you also have Probi, Tadic, Martinez and Klasen. Ten Hag has formed a kind of Dutch Barcelona.” However, Van de Meijde sees one absolute star among Amsterdam. “Ryan Gravenberch. Is eighteen years old and he’s a multi-talented player. If I were a big club, I would have picked him right away.”

On Thursday evening, Ajax and Roma face each other at the Johan Cruyff Arena. “Ajax is the favorite,” says Van der Mejde. “They can win the European League. Their best feature is positional play. The players occupy the entire field and want to dominate the game. Lots of touches and constant pressure and match from the wings: It’s fast and very unpredictable.”