As a human being

The highlight yesterday in the Johan Cruijff Arena did not take place during, but after Ajax-FC Twente. Or actually there were two wonderfully memorable moments, because let's not forget the punch with which Wout Weghorst ended a shot of a cameraman. "I didn't feel like a zoomed-in camera for a moment," said the striker from Borne.

Does he have a disorder? Is Wout Weghorst a narcissist? And if so, what is Willem Vissers? Because the other highlight took place in the Ajax press room where Francesco Farioli was holding what may well be his last press conference as Ajax coach. When Willem Vissers from de Volkskrant got the turn to ask the Italian coach/philosopher something, he said – loosely translated from English – that he, Willem Vissers, had not always enjoyed watching Ajax's football last season, but that he wanted to thank coach Farioli for who he is. And he wanted to leave it at that.

First thought when seeing the images: Is the Ajax press stand now in the sun and did Willem Vissers not wear a cap during the match? Is he now going to openly compliment people at press conferences because he thinks they are good people?

The emotions on Francesco Farioli's face completed this surreal situation.

Understandable of course, you don't get a compliment from Willem Vissers every day. And then a compliment of a different order. Willem Vissers lifted Francesco Farioli above all other trainers, and Willem knows quite a few. In fact, he said that Francesco Farioli was a better person than all the others, a beacon in the football jungle. After that there was an unreal silence, I assume the rest of the journalists were chewing on the back of their pens, biting their tongues because they also wanted to say something nice to Francesco Farioli. You could see them thinking retroactively about all those professional meetings with nice people that they only missed after they had left.

And so it was Willem Vissers again who added a new dimension to sports journalism. Next year Ajax will probably have a new trainer, Willem Vissers has already written that in so many words in his newspaper and with the knowledge we have now we can assume that he has an excellent source. I don't care how this trainer performs, but I am already curious about Willem Vissers' opinion after another football season. Will he clear his throat again to praise him in public? Or will he remain silent as he has done so often, so that we also know enough.

A good trainer, but Willem did not think he was a special person.

Marcel van Roosmalen writes a column on Mondays and Thursdays.