New Argentinian goalkeeper Rulli still has to get used to Ajax

Gerónimo Rulli imagined his first game in the Johan Cruijff ArenA quite differently. "For sure they played better with eleven against eleven" admitted Ajax's new goalkeeper after the draw against FC Twente (0-0). "With ten men we had to defend, and that was difficult. It has to be much better."

The 30-year-old goalkeeper from Argentina had to lead a defense that gave away three big chances in the first eight minutes of the match. Rulli got away well when Václav Cerny and Michel Vlap hit the post. And Ricky van Wolfswinkel failed to punish a failed back pass from Devyne Rensch.

Rensch had to leave the field after 35 minutes with a red card after a foul on van Wolfswinkel. The defender could not hide the fact that he rarely played on the left side in the center of defense in the Eredivisie. As a left-back, Calvin Bassey again failed to show why Ajax paid 23 million euros for him. As a right-back, Jorge Sánchez was also nowhere near the level that his predecessor Noussair Mazraoui, who moved to Bayern Munich, often reached.

"I still have to get used to my defenders," said Rulli, for whom Ajax will pay a maximum of 10 million euros to Villarreal. "And I made a few mistakes myself." One of Argentina's substitute goalkeepers at the World Cup once missed a corner kick. He also shot the ball once against Van Wolfswinkel.

Rulli spoke with Lisandro Martínez and Nicolás Tagliafico about a possible move to Ajax. "They were very positive," he told them. "I wonder if it's not strange that I'm moving from La Liga to the Eredivisie. No, of course it isn't. Ajax is a club for me like Real Madrid, Barcelona or AC Milan. A very big club," said the goalkeeper, who is still getting used to the weather in the Netherlands. "In the first few weeks here, all I experienced was rain and wind."

Even though Rulli did not play at the World Cup, he experienced firsthand how important the world title was for Argentina. "We lost a 2-0 lead against the Netherlands and France. That was very difficult. But we kept fighting. And we had Lionel Messi. He made the difference."

The Argentine goalkeeper also wants to fight for Ajax, which has been waiting in vain for five league matches and has an away match against league-leader Feyenoord scheduled for next Sunday. "I know the rivalry between the clubs," said Rulli. "It is very important that we make our fans happy and return to Amsterdam with three points. At the training sessions I see that Ajax has many good players. Especially Jurriën Timber and Francisco Conceição have caught my eye. I didn't know them so well before. "