As a result, Kinkladze played in an unfamiliar left-wing position. His league debut for Ajax came in a 2--0 win against Willem II on 23 August 1998, but starts were a rare occurrence. To compound matters, manager Morten Olsen was sacked early in the season, and a disagreement with replacement Jan Wouters resulted in Kinkladze losing _his_ place in the team, with Richard Knopper the preferred backup for Litmanen. <sep>, Pronoun: his