Ajax vs. Barcelona: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info and Preview
Two of the European Cup's greatest ever teams clash in the Champions League on Wednesday night as Barcelona visit Ajax: The team from whom much of the Catalan club's philosophy is drawn.
Johan Cruyff took the Ajax philosophy with him when he moved to the Camp Nou as a player and continued that approach as coach for the Catalans.
But Barca are now in transition themselves and things are not as balanced as new manager Luis Enrique would like after two very recent defeats.
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The match also sees the return of former Ajax captain Luis Suarez, who has finally started his Barcelona career after his World Cup suspension for biting.
Here are the match details, including the kick-off time, live streams and TV information:
When: Wednesday, Nov. 5, at 7:45 p.m. GMT/2:45 p.m. ET
Where: Amsterdam ArenA, Netherlands.
TV Info: Live on Sky Sports & HD (UK only), Fox (US only)
Live Stream: Sky Go (UK only) Fox Soccer2Go (US only)
The Marriage Of Two Football Clubs
It is fair to say that without the existence of Ajax, the history of Barcelona would have been very different to the one written.
The Dutch way of total football is ingrained in Barca's make-up and has also hugely influenced the Spanish national team—giving them a blueprint for global domination on the world stage.
Even today, Cruyff's fingerprints can be seen across the fabric of the Camp Nou club but things are now starting to change.
After the departure of Pep Guardiola, the guarantees and regularities of success have started to diminish, and Barca realise they are now playing catch-up. This triggered much change over the summer, with a new coach in place and the superstar arrival of Suarez.
And Cruyff himself recently said his piece about his former club, criticising the current direction of team matters at Barca and the political struggles involved, as highlighted by football writers Sergi Dominguez and Lee Roden (h/t Catradio Esports):
Cruyff has always been an outspoken individual but his concerns about Barca are correct. The team have now had three coaches in as many seasons and this is not the kind of stability you associate with the original model of the club.
But the giants have not yet fallen in the Manchester United sense but have just slipped from their lofty position.
They still have a team that is the envy of most clubs in the world, and with a trio of Suarez, Lionel Messi and Neymar, the sky is still the limit.
Enrique needs to prove his way is the correct one and that the glories of the past, where Barca emulated the great Ajax teams of the 1970s, are now consigned to history. Evolution will be important to the Spaniards in the next few seasons, and they have a chance to start that process against a team they will forever have links to.
Match Preview
The eyes of the world will be on Suarez as the public expects him to explode on his return to the Netherlands, where he proved he could become an important talent in European club football.
Suarez is yet to open his account for Barcelona but, after his 31 goals in the Premier League last season, per Squawka.com, so much is expected from the Uruguay talisman.
Indeed, the striker scored a magnificent 111 goals in 159 appearances for the Amsterdam team during his spell with the club, per Soccerway.
Enrique is under immense pressure to get the win against Ajax and his former Barcelona team-mate Abelardo told Barca's official website it will fall in place for the new coach, per Mark Doyle of Goal.com:
"You can see what he has done with his teams [in the past] and Barca have improved in many ways on last season. It’s also better for these defeats to happen early in the season. The team has to go from less to more. He has an extraordinary squad and I’m convinced they’ll win titles this year.
"
Ajax have made their usual standard start to the Eredivisie season and sit in second place in Holland, on 23 points.
They will offer this incarnation of Barcelona a tough challenge but if Suarez and Messi are fit and firing, there can surely only be one winner. Barcelona recently beat Ajax 3-1, but Enrique's team needs to find its form fast and start the transformation into genuine trophy contenders.
Of course, they will be there or thereabouts come the end of the campaign but a defeat for Barca in the Amsterdam Arena will set the alarm bells ringing aloud across the whole of Spain.
