Captain Matthijs de Ligt says there is still more to come from his young Ajax side after they continued their remarkable Champions League run by beating Juventus.
The Dutch club ended their 22-year wait for a Champions League semi-final appearance by shocking Juventus, with central defender De Ligt, the Ajax captain at just 19 years of age, heading the winner in a 2-1 victory in Turin.
Ajax are the first team in Champions League history to make the semi-finals after surviving three qualifying rounds, and will now meet Manchester City or Tottenham in the last four.
"I can't describe what kind of emotion we have at the moment," De Ligt told BT Sport 3 after Ajax had added Cristiano Ronaldo's Juventus to their list of Champions League victims, having previously eliminated holders Real Madrid.
"It's unbelievable what we achieved, we are a squad from the Netherlands and we show the world what we can do.
"We are never satisfied."
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 16, 2019
"There's so much potential in this team, we are all still quite young and you see us grow every game."
You can see why Matthijs de Ligt is the captain of this Ajax team...
Cool, calm and collected after such a monumental for the club 👏 pic.twitter.com/841dbroMaQ
"We showed it in the Bernabeu (against Madrid), we showed it against Bayern Munich (at the group stage) and now we showed it against Juventus.
"But we are never satisfied and the next game is also going to be important, we'll see what happens. There is so much potential in our team and we are all still young. You see us grow every game."
Ronaldo headed Juventus into a 28th-minute lead with his 126th goal in the competition and his ninth in seven meetings against Ajax.
But Donny Van De Beek levelled six minutes later and De Ligt's winner midway through the second half rewarded Ajax's superiority.
"It was a great corner kick," De Ligt said. "I jumped and I know I can jump high and head the ball well. That was the perfect moment to score.
Fearless at the home of the Italian champions. 👊
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 16, 2019
From back to front in the blink of an eye, Ajax are playing some of the best football in Europe right now. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/eUVgfGli9T
"We had so many chances to score at the end, it is 2-1 but it could be 3-1 or 4-1. The only thing we lack is that we have to score more, but that is a big compliment to us as a team."
Ajax will definitely meet English opposition in their first Champions League semi-final since the 1996-97 season and the days of Edwin van der Sar, Jari Litmanen and Marc Overmars.
But asked whether he wanted to play City or Spurs, De Ligt said: "At the moment I don't have any preference.
"We will see who is coming to the semi-final and then we have to show the same."
"He's the best young centre-half on the planet!"
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 16, 2019
Rio Ferdinand is full of praise for Ajax and their young captain Matthijs de Ligt ✖️✖️✖️
What a team 👏 pic.twitter.com/j32EqfTmYm
Allegri won't leave Juve
Manager Massimiliano Allegri insisted his future remains in Turin after Juventus failed to make the last four of the Champions League for the second successive season.
"Ajax clearly deserved the victory, especially in the second half," Allegri said at his post-match press conference.
"They had a bit of luck with their quick equaliser but they played very well after the break.
"I always say that in order to win the Champions League you need to be at peak form when it counts.
"In the last month we have been struggling with several injuries - even tonight we were missing important players - so it was not easy to reach top form.
"I already talked with the president, I will remain at Juve next season and we are already planning the next campaign."
