Schuurs on Juventus' Strength and Ajax's Road Ahead

Peer Schuurs shared his thoughts with Sky Sport after the Europa League match against Juventus. He expressed happiness at returning to the field in Turin, his former club's city, following a lengthy knee injury. However, he also conveyed disappointment with the significant 5-0 defeat.

Schuurs described his feelings about playing in Turin again, noting it felt like home and mentioning he had contact with former Torino teammates like Vlasic and the club's physiotherapists.

Regarding his physical condition, Schuurs acknowledged that after three years without playing, he needs more time and rhythm. He felt the difference in level and recognized the need to gradually build his fitness back up.

He spoke candidly about the difficulty of overcoming his injury over the past few years. For him, football is his life, and being unable to play was mentally challenging. He experienced nearly two years of pain, which occupied his thoughts daily and made him unhappy. He mentioned that his family also found this period very difficult but expressed a desire to move past those feelings.

Addressing the match itself, Schuurs stated that Ajax knew it would be a tough game against Juventus. He admitted that Juventus proved too strong for them on this occasion. Despite the loss, Schuurs emphasized the team's need to move forward, highlighting that they still have seven more games in Europe and are determined to win their next one.

Schuurs' post-match comments to Sky Sport:

"Yes, of course, thank you very much. I am certainly happy that I could come in, but if we lost 5-0, it's not good."

When asked about hearing from his former Torino teammates, he confirmed, "Yes, yes, yes. I heard from Vlasic, still a friend, and others. The physiotherapists, Moretti, almost everyone were also there. In short, it's truly home here in Turin."

On his physical recovery: "Yes, of course. When you haven't played for three years, I still have to wait a bit, because I want to go too fast. That's how I am, I always want to move forward, but for the knee, I still need some time. Even today I felt this, another level, and I immediately felt that I still need some rhythm."

Reflecting on the injury's difficulty: "No, in general, overcoming the injury in these years was very, very, very difficult, because for me, football is my life and when you can't do this, it's mentally very difficult. I had almost two years of a lot of pain, and when you feel pain, I thought about the pain every day, and so I wasn't happy. It was also very difficult for the family, but I also want to forget that feeling."

On facing Juventus: "Yes, of course. We knew that today was a very difficult game, we know it. They are strong and we saw that they are too strong for us, but we have to move on. We still have seven games in Europe and we want and must win the next one."