This is what happens when you are overatted from Day 1 From Barcelona wonderkid to Ajax flop - where next for Bojan? The attacker seemed destined for greatness after an impressive start at the Catalans, but has since been unable to justify the hype Nevertheless, with the departure of Rijkaard at the end of that season, things started to go downhill for Bojan. He never managed to fully convince new coach Pep Guardiola of his qualities and he eventually opted to leave the Camp Nou side for Roma in the summer of 2011 in an attempt to relaunch his career. Sadly enough, his spell at the Giallorossi did little to get things back on track as he failed to impress at the Serie A side. Bojan completed just four league games all season as Roma had to settle for seventh spot in the table and they happily accepted a loan offer from AC Milan at the end of a frustrating 2011-12 campaign. But San Siro would not prove to be the right place to flourish for Bojan either, with the Spaniard ending up on the bench much more than he would have imagined when the Rossoneri first came calling. It was therefore little surprise that both Roma and Milan decided against retaining the Linyola- born forward, leaving him no other option but to return to Barcelona. Despite his relatively poor performances in recent years, there was still plenty of interest in Bojan last summer and he eventually decided to accept a one-year loan offer from Ajax, a deal which seemed to make sense for both parties at first sight. The Eredivisie giants were keen to add some firepower to their attack after the departures of Miralem Sulejmani, Ryan Babel and Derk Boerrigter and Bojans versatility made him the ideal addition for head coach Frank de Boer. For Bojan, meanwhile, Ajax appeared to be the perfect destination due to their possession-based style of play and their domestic dominance in the past few seasons. The Amsterdam sides philosophy is quite familiar to that of Barcelona and their attackers generally get plenty of chances, thus creating seemingly ideal circumstances for the 23-year-old to flourish. However, things have once more turned out differently for Barcelonas one-time rising star. Bojan has netted just twice – both of which were Ajaxs fourth goal in 4-0 wins - in 17 Eredivisie appearances, while setting up four more. What is even more worrying than his meagre output, however, is that he has in no way stood out in what is generally considered a relatively weak league. Whereas many expected Bojan to thrive in Holland, he has actually been underwhelming in the majority of his games, even looking out of his depth on a number of occasions, and Netherlands legend Wim van Hanegem was quick to hit out at the attacker earlier this season. Phillip Cocu must have been very happy that Bojan joined Ajax rather than PSV. He simply lacks vision, is always complaining and comes across as an annoying person. There are more than enough better players around in the Eredivisie, Van Hanegem stated after yet another disappointing display from the forward. Bojans unimpressive displays also mean Ajax are unlikely to make his stay at the club permanent once his loan deal expires at the end of the season and his recent struggles give him every reason to start worrying about his future. It seems out of the question that another big club from one of Europes top leagues is willing to take a gamble on the struggling forward and even mid- table sides in La Liga will think twice before making a move for Bojan. He might therefore have to settle for a future in a country like Greece or Turkey, with clubs such as Olympiakos, PAOK, Panathinaikos, Galatasaray or Fenerbahce perhaps willing to give him one last chance - clubs many players would be delighted to join, but by no means what Bojan will have dreamed of when he first burst onto the scene.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 12:53:44 +0000
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