Inter vision haunts Koeman

Before his side's UEFA Champions League game against Internazionale FC, AFC Ajax coach Ronald Koeman said that an Italian side are at their most dangerous just as you really feel in control. Little did the charismatic Dutchman know that his words of experience would come true at the San Siro.

Crespo on target
To the home crowd's surprise, Ajax took the Group D game to Inter straight from start and most of the 45,784 spectators must have been waiting for the Amsterdam side to put the final touch on a superb display of modern attacking football, when Hernán Crespo stretched out his leg to convert Matias Almeyda’s inviting cross and deal the visitors the harshest of fates.

'Unfair result'
"We controlled the match but Inter used their first chance," said Koeman afterwards. "But that's football. We had three or four chances before Inter scored and didn't make the most of them. I want my players to preserve their concentration in situations like this so we can prevent this from happening again. The result is not fair and it hurts to lose."

Inexperience tells
In the days leading up to the match Koeman had stated that there still is a long way to go before Ajax can recapture their former status as one of Europe's foremost sides - judging from his young team's inexperience in making the most of their opportunities, the former Dutch international seems to have a point, but should take heart from a promising performance.

'We can still qualify'
Koeman added: "It's not many sides who force Inter to play counterattacking football in their backyard. Of course, my players are incredibly disappointed in the dressing room right now but in a few days they will realise what a fantastic effort we made here and that should give them confidence to continue the positive development. We can still qualify - the teams in our group are very evenly poised and it will be excitement until the end."

Six pointer
Héctor Cúper was obviously a relieved man after the match but was far from happy with his players' performance. The Inter coach said: "I am satisfied with the result but not with the way we played. We only played well in limited periods. During the first half we were nervous and missed easy passes. Our pressing failed, leaving Ajax in control. We could have lost three points today and instead we gained three, so honestly this win is worth six points."

Defining moment
The Argentinian coach felt that the defining moment in the match was when Alvaro Recoba came on for the otherwise impressive Emre Belözoglu. "I could not find space for Recoba in starting lineup because Ajax are strong on the break," Cúper said. "However, when he came on he added incredible power to our left side and I definitely consider playing Recoba alongside Hernán Crespo and Christian Vieri in the matches to come."