Martha thrilled with Ajax debut: 'Couldn't believe it when I was on the field'

Martha surprisingly earned a starting position last Thursday from coach John van 't Schip, who, in the absence of the injured Borna Sosa, preferred the Rotterdam-born player over Gastón Ávila and Anass Salah-Eddine. After 96 matches for Jong Ajax in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie, the young talent finally had the opportunity to showcase his skills with the first team. It was a long-cherished dream come true.

"It's a dream for every boy," Martha said in an interview with ESPN on Friday night. "I couldn't believe it when I was on the field. The realization only hit me the next day. I was really happy about it." He admitted to feeling nervous as he stepped onto the field. "But when the match started, it was all about focus. I didn't feel nervous anymore, it was just about enjoying playing. It was really great."

Martha received a lot of support from his teammates, who told him to just do his thing. "In the end, it went really well. The interaction with Bergwijn was great. He took the inside, and I took the outside. Then, I got cramps. I didn't want to take any risks because they had quite a fast right winger. It was best for me to come off, and someone came in with enough energy to stop their counter."

So, Van 't Schip decided to substitute Martha after an hour and bring in Salah-Eddine as his replacement. The twenty-year-old left-back, originally a right-winger, believes that nerves played a significant role. "I think it was mostly nerves. I could have played the full ninety minutes. I've had this happen before, but this time I thought, 'I need to be smart because I can't afford to make mistakes at this level.'