Ajax captain Dusan Tadic was left with minor injuries after being targeted by a violent robbery by two men near his home in Amsterdam.
Tadic has become a key player for the Dutch giants since joining them four years ago from Southampton. He has helped them to win three Eredivisie titles in that time, with Ajax again looking well placed to challenge despite the departure of manager Erik ten Hag.
But Tadic's preparations for the new campaign have been hit by a scary blow when he was the victim of a violent crime. According to De Telegraaf, Tadic was met at his house by two armed men, who were wearing helmets.
It is stated that they were likely targeting the Serbian international for his watch. The incident is said to have happened in the night between 27 July and 28 July and started when they approached Tadic as he got out of his car.
The Ajax star attempted to flee as he immediately realised that something was not right. He was chased by his attackers, with a scuffle ensuing between Tadic and the two robbers, with one of them being slapped by the footballer.
The incident came a day after Tadic had scored in Ajax's 3-1 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in a pre-season friendly. He has since started two of their last three games, notching an assist in a win over Fortuna Sittard last week.
He wore plasters on his right hand in the Johan Cruyff Shield defeat to PSV Eindhoven which took place days after the attempted robbery. His assist against Sittard was his 118th in the Eredivisie, which makes him statistically the league's best player of the last 22 years.
His decision to carry on playing and make such a difference to his team is all the more impressive in light of the news of the attack he was subjected to. And his performance saw him hailed by Ajax team-mate Brian Brobbery.
"He was made for it and it doesn't surprise me. I know Tadic can put the balls in front of the goal. If I'm in the right place at the right time, I can tap the ball in. We had a hard time in our game. We did well in the second half and in the end we take the three points with us. If you come in and you score and give an assist, then it is a great substitute," he said.
Ajax star Remko Pasveer also hailed his club's captain as they made a winning start to the new campaign. And the goalkeeper is confident that the team will only improve when they face Groningen this weekend.
"It didn't go well in the first half. In the second company we create more chances and we play a better positioning game. The pace was too low, so we had little space to get in front of the goal," he said.
"The cooperation went well. I have known Dusan and Antony for a long time and during the training I see that Bergwijn is incredibly good. The first game is always a search. The result is the most important. It is a good reaction after Saturday, we did that well."
