Ajax goalkeeper Onana suspended for 1 year

NinjaFletch

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Look can someone just make the Rihanna joke so it's not hanging over this thread anymore.
 

onemanarmy

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yeah you’re right, forgot about him. Never seen him play, but he was touted as a top talent. Going to Borussia Dortmund. For me, this all has to do with the fact that youth players get remarkably little playing time under Ten Hag. Ajax has bought A LOT of players over the last years, funded by the transfers of De Ligt and De Jong. It has been very hit and miss if you ask me, and all those players are in the way of academy players getting game time. I just don’t like it at all. Furthermore, it puts a lot of pressure on the business model of Ajax, which has always been about developing players and selling high. This squad is relatively old, certainly by Ajax’ standards and there are quite some first XI/first 15 players with little resell value (Blind, Klaassen, Tadic, Labyad, Promes, Haller). To be fair, I will be happy to see the back of Ten Hag this summer, I think time has come to move on..
You guys should have kept Noa Lang too I think. He looks like a gem of a player, just needed some more time and confidence. Brugge will get a big amount of money for him in a years time.
 

AjaxNL

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You obviously know better than me about what's going on at Ajax, but to me it looks like the club is aiming for a sweet spot between more experienced players who will stay with the club and give the team a stable spine and their youth prodigies, who can fill in the blanks and develop with less pressure. Financially it's immensely important to make the CL group stages each year and players like Haller (ideally) ensure that.
that is exactly what they are aiming at. And I get that (and support it!).And they started out doing that really, really well (before the 2018/19 season, Ajax bought Blind and Tadic and both have been simply amazing). Both had an immensive and immediate impact, made the team significantly better and driving up players’ prices. That was such a superb piece of business and strategy. However, imo, Ajax has gone overboard on that approach. Too many times they have tried to do that exact same thing, i.e.buying more senior players from top competitions, but not only are they now clogging the selection with the sheer amount of said players, leaving little room for the younger talent, also the quality and impact of said players has decreased significantly: Promes, shit player. Klaassen, average player. Haller (jury’s still out), I don’t believe he is all that special. Now they have loaner Idrissi from Sevilla. Neat, technical winger, but no top quality there. I think this is a dangerous game Ajax are playing. Their salary house has gone through the roof, so performances will have to follow suit. But Ajax is struggling the past two seasons. Last season we were on par with AZ when the season was cancelled (but their momentum was far better) and we got eliminated by Getafe in the 1/18EL knockouts. This season we were shit in an average CL poule, are topping the Eredivisie (but not playing all too well) and I am curious what will happen against Lille in the EL.

But hey, all the above is a product of highly increased expectations around Ajax over the last seasons, which in itself is a huge compliment to the way the club is run.
 

Lay

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Onana what’s my name?

Drug cheat.
 

Henrik Larsson

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It's a shocker for sure. There's some stories going around in the Netherlands that the 12 month ban already indicates UEFA is treating him with leniency, since intentionally and deliberately doping yourself would get a punishment of 2 to 4 years.

First question that popped into my mind was definitely why a goalkeeper would use doping. But I guess there's a lot more ways to enhance performance than just improving the running, so there could be a boatload of reasons to take PED's. Stuff that improves explosivity could be nice for a goalkeeper, or maybe he wasn't feeling great after the Covid break and went for something that allowed him to recover faster and put in more training sessions, who knows. A sport like baseball doesn't seem like it has extreme athletic demands at first glance, yet those players seem to use doping a lot.

Like people have said, our very own Fred who by the way tends to put a lot of energy in the matches he plays, was involved at something similar at Shaktar and got a similar punishment I think?

Most people on here have last seen Onana against Liverpool where he made a pretty bad blunder/lapse of judgement for one of their goals. Seems like he was also tested positive around that time in October, so maybe that was in the back of his mind during the match.
 

Oldyella

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This has been a shit week for Ajax fans:

- Onana out for a year (class goalkeeper, really important to the team)
- Haller is accidentally not included in the players list for the EL knock-outs
- Bryan Brobbey, a highly rated yet everything to prove youngster, refusing to sign a contract and leaving on a free at the end of the season
- Quincy Promes transfer to Spartak Moscow looking unlikely, as his court case for an alleged stabbing is complicating matters too much. Promes (shit player) will probably stay at Ajax now, although Ajax already loaned an expensive Idrissi from Sevilla
Bryan Brobbey? feck off is that a real name!
 

Brophs

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He took wife’s medication; he didn’t intend to cheat; it wouldn’t make him play better. Quite a few ticks in today’s game of bullshit bingo.
 

Jimble

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what on earth would doping do to help a keeper? It's not like they are performing lung busting sprints half the match so need the recovery. It doesn't make your arms longer, or your hands bigger. Maybe it makes you jump higher, or react quicker.

Surely if it was just a case of bulking up, they'd have him hit the gym.

Silly silly silly
 

do.ob

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that is exactly what they are aiming at. And I get that (and support it!).And they started out doing that really, really well (before the 2018/19 season, Ajax bought Blind and Tadic and both have been simply amazing). Both had an immensive and immediate impact, made the team significantly better and driving up players’ prices. That was such a superb piece of business and strategy. However, imo, Ajax has gone overboard on that approach. Too many times they have tried to do that exact same thing, i.e.buying more senior players from top competitions, but not only are they now clogging the selection with the sheer amount of said players, leaving little room for the younger talent, also the quality and impact of said players has decreased significantly: Promes, shit player. Klaassen, average player. Haller (jury’s still out), I don’t believe he is all that special. Now they have loaner Idrissi from Sevilla. Neat, technical winger, but no top quality there. I think this is a dangerous game Ajax are playing. Their salary house has gone through the roof, so performances will have to follow suit. But Ajax is struggling the past two seasons. Last season we were on par with AZ when the season was cancelled (but their momentum was far better) and we got eliminated by Getafe in the 1/18EL knockouts. This season we were shit in an average CL poule, are topping the Eredivisie (but not playing all too well) and I am curious what will happen against Lille in the EL.

But hey, all the above is a product of highly increased expectations around Ajax over the last seasons, which in itself is a huge compliment to the way the club is run.
I think most clubs who aren't at the top of the food chain, but want to grow, face this problem. Players who can be expected to be top performers without an asterisk will always have someone who offers them more than your club can. So to get such a player most of the time you either have to live with certain limitations, say Klaassen, who - judging by his time in Bremen - appears to have a very good work ethic/rate and is a natural leader, but not exactly a gifted midfield maestro. Or you have to take a gamble on someone who flopped elsewhere, say Haller, who was out of Ajax's reach after his great season at Frankfurt and only dropped back into it (and looking at the fee, just barely), after he flopped at West Ham. I don't think you can expect signings like Tadic to be the norm.
It's the same for wages: agents know when you have a bit of room in your budget and they won't hesitate to demand their share. When your revenue goes up your wage bill is sure to follow. All you can do is try to keep the ability to downsize quick enough if you miss your targets.
 

duffer

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what on earth would doping do to help a keeper? It's not like they are performing lung busting sprints half the match so need the recovery. It doesn't make your arms longer, or your hands bigger. Maybe it makes you jump higher, or react quicker.

Surely if it was just a case of bulking up, they'd have him hit the gym.

Silly silly silly
Recovery from injury, ability to train longer and/or harder. There's plenty of reasons a goalie would benefit from it.

As for "hitting the gym" they do that as well as taking PEDs.
 

sun_tzu

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He took wife’s medication; he didn’t intend to cheat; it wouldn’t make him play better. Quite a few ticks in today’s game of bullshit bingo.
indeed he took his wifes medication

A medication prescribed for hypertension which for some reason he decided to take for pain relief?... presumably without consulting the club doctor or referring to any list of allowed medications

And by some coincidence this same medication is banned for athletes as it happens to be a masking agent ... I mean what are the odds of that?

Why is furosemide banned in sports?
Diuretics are banned in all sports because they can cause rapid weight loss and can act as masking agents (to hide the effects of other prohibited substances) both in and out of competition. ... For diuretics, the primary permitted therapeutic use is for hypertension (WADA, 2008b).
lets see how his appeal goes and if they think taking a banned medication prescribed to somebody else for a symptom not actually treated by said medication is a valid excuse ... I'm doubtful myself

Looks like hes gonna get a years holiday where he can sign a bosman contract to me
 

SAFMUTD

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indeed he took his wifes medication

A medication prescribed for hypertension which for some reason he decided to take for pain relief?... presumably without consulting the club doctor or referring to any list of allowed medications

And by some coincidence this same medication is banned for athletes as it happens to be a masking agent ... I mean what are the odds of that?




lets see how his appeal goes and if they think taking a banned medication prescribed to somebody else for a symptom not actually treated by said medication is a valid excuse ... I'm doubtful myself

Looks like hes gonna get a years holiday where he can sign a bosman contract to me
Exactly such a poor excuse.
 

Lynty

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What sort of enhanced performance could a keeper expect to receive from PEDs. Benefit isn't worth the risk.

I expect he's tried to mask a bit of blow
 

Luffy

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Yeah, right. He had to explain those frequent trips to the loo. Only two choices were open to him; fabricate a doping story, or come clean about being addicted to onanasm.
 

Sean_RedDevil

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This has been a shit week for Ajax fans:

- Onana out for a year (class goalkeeper, really important to the team)
- Haller is accidentally not included in the players list for the EL knock-outs
- Bryan Brobbey, a highly rated yet everything to prove youngster, refusing to sign a contract and leaving on a free at the end of the season
- Quincy Promes transfer to Spartak Moscow looking unlikely, as his court case for an alleged stabbing is complicating matters too much. Promes (shit player) will probably stay at Ajax now, although Ajax already loaned an expensive Idrissi from Sevilla
Yep crazy last few days for the club :eek:
 

Wittmann45

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Recovery from injury, ability to train longer and/or harder. There's plenty of reasons a goalie would benefit from it.

As for "hitting the gym" they do that as well as taking PEDs.
The difference between being great and making lots of money compared to never actually reaching your potential probably isn't that big of a gap. Like you said, it isn't about getting huge, its also about recovering from injuries, which are constant, and gaining even the smallest bit of edge. For example, Dee Gordon, a baseball player that weighs about 150 pounds, was caught taking PEDs. In his first few years in the MLB he was highly regarded but became a rotational player who was not really reaching his potential. A few years into his career he becomes a bit of a star, signs a $50 million contract, and then gets popped for PED use. He was probably always going to be better than his first few years in baseball, even without the PEDs, but it is impossible to say what he would become without them. He was a small dude who used PEDs to become faster and recover from injuries. The difference between being a $50 million player and a player who never reached his potential was razor thin.

Either way, even if the most likely benefit of PEDs in this case is with fitness and recovery from injuries/training, how wouldn't being stronger help being a goalkeeper? Are people that blind to thinking that strength and speed do not matter for goalkeepers or do they just not want to think that footballers also use PEDs like every other world class athlete? There aren't any more Neville Southalls around. A professional bowler got caught using steroids - there probably isn't a sport it hasn't touched
 
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AkaAkuma

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His reasoning was that the packets for aspirin and his wifes medicine were similiar.

Im a regular guy, we have a place for aspirin, a medical box for emergency use then a box containing prescribed medication. Its all seperate. Are other people similiar?

Id expect a pro athlete to take better precautions.
 

smi11ie

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His story is possibly true but more than likely horseshit. Let's be honest...integrity and football rarely make good bedfellows.
 

Brophs

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Bloody wives. Forever leaving their masking agents, I mean, diet pills, in the aspirin packet.
 

Sparky_Hughes

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His reasoning was that the packets for aspirin and his wifes medicine were similiar.

Im a regular guy, we have a place for aspirin, a medical box for emergency use then a box containing prescribed medication. Its all seperate. Are other people similiar?

Id expect a pro athlete to take better precautions.
Everything is just lumped into one drawer at my place
 

Dave Smith

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He should have just got a dodgy Asthma diagnosis if he wanted to improve his performance...

So many asthmatic players these days it would never have been picked up

on an unrelated note was it 64% of liverpool players who have asthma?... which is about 50% more than the British Cycling team and about 5 times the national average ...

but yeah I think we can all agree that when it comes to sport

Wonder if he will now have to give handjobs for crack?
 

Cloud7

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This has been a shit week for Ajax fans:

- Onana out for a year (class goalkeeper, really important to the team)
- Haller is accidentally not included in the players list for the EL knock-outs
- Bryan Brobbey, a highly rated yet everything to prove youngster, refusing to sign a contract and leaving on a free at the end of the season
- Quincy Promes transfer to Spartak Moscow looking unlikely, as his court case for an alleged stabbing is complicating matters too much. Promes (shit player) will probably stay at Ajax now, although Ajax already loaned an expensive Idrissi from Sevilla
Did Promes get convicted? What became of that?
 

SAFMUTD

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I've never mistaken one medicine for another in my entire life, one would expect a professional to be careful with it.

But hey all these poor players mistaking their wives pills poor them, sounds bullshit to me.
 

Red the Bear

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So hes done an interview and beg my pardon ,is he suggesting that he ate his girlfriends pregnancy pills ? Or got them like a std? A Very strange thing to say
 
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