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Donny van de Beek Knew That It Wasn't A Coincidence When He Scored In The 34th Minute

Donny van de Beek Knew That It Wasn't A Coincidence When He Scored In The 34th Minute

"It's something very special."​

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar

In a heartfelt interview following Ajax's remarkable victory against Juventus, Donny van de Beek referenced 'Appie' Nouri's shirt number.

His great friend Abdelhak Nouri played with the No.34 shirt on his back before being forced to retire.

Nouri tragically collapsed during a friendly match which resulted in severe and permanent brain damage.

But he's in the thoughts of Ajax players including his former teammate Van de Beek who scored versus Juventus in the 34th minute - the same number associated with his friend 'Appie', and he knew that it wasn't a coincidence.

Image: PA
Image: PA

"I looked up at the scoreboard after I had scored, saw it was the 34th minute and simply knew that wasn't coincidence. It's something very special. I will never forget this again," he said after his side's 3-2 aggregate win over Juventus.

What's more, four ex-Ajax youngsters are all wearing No.34 in tribute.

Philippe Sandler, who spent time with Nouri as a youngster in the Ajax youth academy, asked for No.34 upon signing for Manchester City from PEC Zwolle as he wanted to honour him.

AS Roma's Justin Kluivert, Napoli's Amin Younes and Fiorentina's Kevin Dijks are also paying tribute to their friend by wearing his number for their respective clubs.

The former went a step further by holding up a Roma shirt with 'Nouri 34' on the back when he scored his first Champions League goal for the Italian club at the Stadio Olimpico.

Will Ajax go all the way in the Champions League? Watch this space.

Featured Image Credit:

Topics: Football News, Donny van de Beek, Football, Ronaldo, De Ligt, Ajax, Juventus, Champions League

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado, and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Darren Till, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

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