Ajax chief executive Edwin van der Sar has claimed that Alfred Schreuder "has the qualities" to succeed as a manager despite being sacked as Ajax boss amid his links to become the new Leeds United head coach.
Schreuder was spotted by LeedsLive at Elland Road after the 2-0 defeat to Manchester United on Sunday. Michael Skubala led the team once again but it now seems that the club may well have found their permanent replacement for Jesse Marsch.
Some scepticism was met when Schreuder's name was first mentioned due to the fact that he was sacked as Ajax manager just over two weeks ago following a six-month spell in charge of the Dutch club. However, Van der Sar has claimed that the 50-year-old has what it takes to succeed at other clubs, despite his struggles in Amsterdam.
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“I didn’t think it could wait another day,” Van der Sar told Dutch outlet Ziggo Sport when asked about Schreuder's sacking. “Then you would have to send Alfred to the press, ESPN, the NOS [Dutch broadcaster], the press conference.
"Then you also get the typical questions. Will you still be here tomorrow? Do you still think that the club has confidence in you? Why do you think you haven’t won in seven games? I thought it was unnecessary to think about it one more night, so I stood there.
“He has worked hard and he has done his best. It didn’t work out and that’s a pity, because he has the qualities. The fact that it has not worked at Ajax does not mean that he cannot perform at other clubs.
“We were able to tick that box ourselves," Van der Sar explained when asked about how the club decided to part ways with Schreuder last month. "We’ve been looking at it for the past few weeks, of course. We hoped for a good restart after the winter, but the results and the field game didn’t get any better.
"So if you don’t see the performance that we expected against Volendam [Schreuder's last game in charge, a 1-1 draw], then I think you should protect the trainer and think about the club’s interests."
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