| Full name | Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax NV | ||
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| Nickname(s) | de Godenzonen (the sons of the Gods), Ajacieden, de Joden (the Jews), de Amsterdammers (the Amsterdammers), I Lancieri (The Lancers) | ||
| Founded | March 18, 1900 | ||
| Ground | Amsterdam Arena Amsterdam (Capacity: 52,342[1]) |
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| Chairman | Uri Coronel | ||
| Manager | Frank De Boer | ||
| League | Eredivisie | ||
| 2010–11 | Eredivisie, 1st | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
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Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈaːjɐks]; Euronext: AJAX), also referred to as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam or simply Ajax (after the legendary Greek hero), is a professional football club from Amsterdam, Netherlands. The club is historically one of the three clubs that dominate the Dutch national football league (Eredivisie), the others being PSV and Feyenoord.
Ajax is historically one of the most successful clubs in the world; according to the IFFHS, Ajax were the seventh most successful European club of the 20th century.[2] The club is one of the five teams that has earned the right to keep the European Cup and to wear a multiple-winner badge; they won consecutively in 1971–1973. In 1972, they completed the European treble by winning the Dutch Eredivisie, KNVB Cup, and the European Cup; to date, they are the only team to keep the European Cup and accomplish the European treble. Ajax's last international trophies were the 1995 Intercontinental Cup and the 1995 Champions League, where they defeated Milan in the final; they lost the 1996 Champions League final on penalties to Juventus.
They are also one of three teams to win the treble and the Intercontinental Cup in the same season/calendar year;[3] This was achieved in the 1971–72 season.[4] Ajax, Juventus and Bayern Munich are the three clubs to have won all three major UEFA club competitions.[5] They have also won the Intercontinental Cup twice, the 1991–92 UEFA Cup, as well as the Karl Rappan Cup, a predecessor of the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 1962.[6] Ajax plays at the Amsterdam Arena, which opened in 1996. They previously played at De Meer Stadion and the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium (for international matches).
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The club is also particularly famous for its renowned youth program that has produced many Dutch talents over the years – Johan Cruijff, Edwin van der Sar, Dennis Bergkamp, national team top scorer Patrick Kluivert, and former national team coach Marco van Basten. Dutch national first-team players Ryan Babel, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart, Maarten Stekelenburg, Eljero Elia, André Ooijer, John Heitinga and Nigel de Jong had also came through the ranks at Ajax and all are now playing for top-flight clubs. Ajax also regularly supplies the Dutch national youth teams with local talent. First team regulars Siem de Jong, Urby Emanuelson and Gregory van der Wiel are former youth internationals who made the successful step up to the senior side.
Due to mutual agreements with foreign clubs, the youth academy has also signed foreign players as teenagers before making first team debuts, such as Belgian defensive trio Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld and Thomas Vermaelen (now with Arsenal) and winger Tom de Mul (now with Sevilla), all of whom are full internationals as well as Dutch youth international Javier Martina and Vurnon Anita of the Netherlands Antilles.
Ajax has also expanded its talent searching program to South Africa with Ajax Cape Town. Ajax Cape Town was set up with the help of Rob Moore. Ajax has also had a satellite club in the United States under the name Ajax America, until it filed for bankruptcy. There are some youth players from Ajax Cape Town that have been drafted into the Eredivisie squad, such as South African international Steven Pienaar (now with Spurs) and Cameroonian international Eyong Enoh.
In 1995, the year Ajax won the Champions League, the Dutch national team was almost entirely composed of Ajax players, with Edwin van der Sar in goal; players such as Michael Reiziger, Frank de Boer, and Danny Blind in defense; Ronald de Boer, Edgar Davids, and Clarence Seedorf in midfield; and Patrick Kluivert and Marc Overmars in attack.
Feyenoord from Rotterdam are Ajax's arch rivals. Every year both clubs play the "Klassieker" ("The Classic"), a derby match between the teams from the two largest cities of the Netherlands. The matches are known for their tension and violence, both on and off the pitch. Over the years several violent incidents have taken place involving rival supporters, leading to the current prohibition of away-supporters in both stadiums.
PSV is also considered a rival, but in terms of tension and rivalry, these matches are not as loaded as the duels with Feyenoord. The rivalry has existed for some time with PSV and stems from various causes, such as the different interpretations of whether current national and international successes of both clubs and the supposed opposition between the Randstad and the province.
The following clubs are currently affiliated with AFC Ajax:
The following clubs were affiliated with AFC Ajax in the past:
In 1900, when the club was founded, the emblem of Ajax was just a picture of an Ajax player. In 1928, the club logo was introduced with the head of the Greek hero Ajax. The logo was once again changed in 1990 into an abstract version of the previous one. The new logo still sports the portrait of Ajax, but drawn with just 11 lines, symbolizing the 11 players of a football team.[11]
Ajax originally played in an all black uniform with a red sash tied around the players' waists, but that uniform was soon replaced by a red/white striped shirt and black shorts. Red, black and white are the three colours of the flag of Amsterdam. However, when, under manager Jack Kirwan, the club got promoted to the top flight of Dutch football for the first time in 1911 (then the Eerste Klasse or 'First Class', later named the Eredivisie), Ajax were forced to change their colours because Sparta Rotterdam already had exactly the same outfit. Special kits for away fixtures did not exist at the time and according to football association regulations the newcomers had to change their colours if two teams in the same league had identical uniforms. Ajax opted for white shorts and white shirt with a broad, vertical red stripe over chest and back, which still is Ajax's outfit.
Ajax's shirts have been sponsored by TDK, and by ABN AMRO from 1991 to 2008. AEGON has replaced ABN AMRO as the new head sponsor for a period of at least seven years.[12] On 1 April 2007, Ajax wore a different sponsor for the match against Heracles Almelo: Florius. Florius is a banking program just launched by ABN AMRO who wanted it to be the shirt sponsor for one match. The shirts have been manufactured by Umbro (1989–2000) and Adidas since 2000 (until at least 2010).[13]
Ajax' first stadium was built in 1911 out of wood and was simply called "The Stadium". Ajax later played in the stadium built for the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics. This stadium, designed by Jan Wils, is known as the Olympic Stadium. In 1934, Ajax moved to De Meer Stadion in east Amsterdam, designed by architect and Ajax-member Daan Roodenburgh. The stadium could accommodate 29,500 spectators and Ajax continued to play there until 1996. For big European and national fixtures the club would often play at the Olympic Stadium, which could accommodate about twice the number of spectators.
In 1996, Ajax moved to a new home ground in the southeast of the city known as the Amsterdam ArenA This was built by the Amsterdam city authority at a cost of $134 million. The stadium is capable of holding approximately 52,000 people. The average attendance in 2006/07 was 48,610, rising in the next season to 49,128. The ArenA has a retractable roof and set a trend for other modern stadiums built in Europe in the following years. In the Netherlands, the ArenA has earned a reputation for a terrible grass pitch caused by the removable roof that, even when open, takes away too much sunlight and fresh air. During the 2008–2009 season groundstaff introduced an artificial lighting system that has finally reduced this problem considerably.
The much-loved De Meer stadium was torn down and the land was sold to the city council. A residential neighbourhood now occupies the area. The only thing left of the old stadium are the letters AJAX, nowadays in place on the façade of the youth training grounds De Toekomst, near the Amsterdam Arena.
Ajax is popularly seen as having "Jewish roots", although not an official Jewish club like the city's nl: WV-HEDW Ajax has had a Jewish image since the 30s when the home stadium was located next to the Jewish neighbourhood of Amsterdam and opponents saw many supporters walking through this neighbourhood to get to the stadium.[14] Ajax fans (few of whom are actually Jewish[15]) responded by embracing Ajax's "Jewish" identity: calling themselves "super Jews", chanting "Jews, Jews" ("Joden, Joden") at games, and adopting Jewish symbols such as the Star of David and the Israeli flag.[15][16] Some sources say that Ajax fans began doing this after seeing Tottenham Hotspur fans employing similar symbolism.[17][18] This Jewish imagery eventually became a central part of Ajax fans' culture.[16] At one point ringtones of "Hava Nagila", a Hebrew folk song, could be downloaded from the club's official website.[15] Beginning in the 1980s, fans of Ajax's rivals escalated their antisemitic rhetoric, chanting slogans like "Hamas, Hamas/Jews to the gas" ("Hamas, hamas, joden aan het gas"), hissing to imitate the flow of gas, giving Nazi salutes, etc.[15][17] The eventual result was that many (genuinely) Jewish Ajax fans stopped going to games.[15] In the 2000s the club began trying to persuade fans to drop their Jewish image.[17][19]
As of July 6, 2011.[20]
For recent transfers, see List of Dutch football transfers winter 2010–11 and List of Dutch football transfers summer 2011.
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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As of the 2007–08 season, no player would wear the number 14 shirt at Ajax, since the club decided to retire the shirt out of respect for legend Johan Cruyff.[21] Cruyff himself laughed off the tribute saying the club had to let its best player play with number 14.[22] Spanish midfielder Roger was the last player to wear the number.
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Main Article: List of AFC Ajax players
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| Achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Feyenoord |
European Cup 1971, 1972, 1973 Runners-up: Panathinaikos, Internazionale, Juventus |
Succeeded by Bayern Munich |
| Preceded by Milan |
Champions League 1995 Runner up: Milan |
Succeeded by Juventus |
| Preceded by Dynamo Kyiv |
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Winner 1987 Runner up: Lokomotive Leipzig |
Succeeded by KV Mechelen |
| Preceded by Internazionale |
UEFA Cup 1992 Runner up: Torino |
Succeeded by Juventus |
Below is a table with Ajax's domestic results since the introduction of the Eredivisie in 1956.
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