As the former Tottenham Hotspur man scored only the second hat-trick of his senior career, the frustration amongst the watching supporters and pundits was borne out of the feeling that performances like this have been relatively few and far between.
On his day, a man who left the Premier League giants in a £25 million deal a couple of windows ago is not only of the biggest names in the league, but also one it’s most talented players.
The issue is, during much of the last two years, he hasn’t really performed like it.
“You see him do this far too little,” was the reaction of Kees Kwakman, the former Eredivisie ace speaking to ESPN after Ajax captain Steven Bergwijn hit the back of the Almere City net three times in a remarkable seven-minute spell on Sunday.
“Make that action or shoot on goal, if you are so fast and strong. The physical qualities he has, and also his technical (ability), then you should do that much more often.
“It was really fantastic.”
Former Tottenham man Steven Bergwijn hits rapid hat-trick
Bergwijn, who took his tally to 13 goals for the season while scoring every one of Ajax’s goals in that 3-0 win, sums up the struggles of his side, to some extent. During a season in which the perennial champions have fallen so far below their usual standards, the Dutch international has become something of a posterboy for fans’ frustrations.
An expensive, experienced player performing well below his best. Sunday’s thumping win – albeit against limited opposition with the damage of a dreadful season already done – was a reminder of what Ajax, and Steven Bergwijn, can be.
“This is simply a quality player,” says Karim El Ahmadi, the one-time Aston Villa midfielder who won the Dutch league with Feyenoord in 2017. “If this boy is really fit, I think he is one of the better players in the Eredivisie.
“I really think he might still be of value at the European Championships.”
The concern, El Ahmadi says, is not with Bergwijn’s ability but with his fitness levels. He fears that the Netherlands international has been negatively effected by leaving the intensity of the Premier League for a division where Ajax frequently come up against teams that, in terms of quality, would maybe struggle in the English Championship.
“(When Bergwijn joined Ajax from Tottenham), you saw that he still had that Premier League fitness,” El Ahmadi argues. “Then he came back, then he was great. After that, I actually saw very little of him.
But what I saw today is a player with extra qualities. A weapon.”
Ajax star’s future uncertain
Bergwijn’s hat-trick could hardly have been better timed really, with the European Championships only a month away and Ronald Koeman yet to pick his Oranje roster.
It remains to be seen whether one-time PSV Eindhoven forward gets the nod, with his future at club level uncertain too. Bayern Munich were interested in January, having already snapped up his former Spurs team-mates Harry Kane and Eric Dier, while those deep-pocketed Saudi Arabian clubs continue to sniff around.
Bergwijn, however, is in no mood to leave Ajax after their worst season in generations. Destined to finish fifth, with only one way to go, Bergwijn’s story at the Johan Cruyff Arena is not finished yet.
“I have said before that I am in the right place here. I am happy at Ajax and in Amsterdam,” the 26-year-old tells Ajax Life. “It does depend on the right plan, the right policy. The Ajax DNA must return and we must play again for the prizes.”
“I wasn’t always fit this season. I also got a small (injury). Those kinds of things happen in a season. You have to deal with that. If I’m 100 percent fit, everyone knows what I can do.
“With that first goal (vs Almere City), we played well through the middle, where my quality lies. Once that comes in, you play even more freely.”
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