Robin van Persie in the Europa League this week.
Ajax coach Frank de Boer believes Fenerbahce striker Robin van
Persie will be extra motivated for Thursday's Europa League
clash in Amsterdam after being dropped from the Netherlands
squad.
Van Persie was left out of the Dutch party to face Wales and
Germany this month, with Netherlands coach Danny Blind not
convinced by the striker's match fitness following his move to
Turkey in July.
Former Netherlands captain Van Persie was also stripped of the
national team armband after Blind replaced Guus Hiddink and
was involved in their dismal qualification campaign as the Dutch
missed out on Euro 2016.
And De Boer believes the 32-year-old has a point to prove, as
the former Netherlands coach told a media conference: "Now he
will be extra motivated against us.
"Van Persie is a good and often dangerous player. He can
always make the difference so we need to keep him in check."
Back-to-back draws with Celtic and Molde followed by defeat to
Fener in Turkey have left Ajax on the verge of elimination from
Group A.
Fernandao's late winner in Istanbul a fortnight ago means De
Boer is well aware of the need to pick up points at home in this
week's reverse fixture.
"We have to win against Fenerbahce, otherwise it will be almost
impossible to reach the next round," he added.
"If everything goes well, we can also get very far in Europe. But
first let's focus on the group stage.
"Fener will play very compact and we have to do that as well.
But PSV showed us [in their 2-0 Champions League win against
Wolfsburg on Tuesday] that a Dutch club can be very successful
in Europe."
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