Ajax Amsterdam was found on 18 February,1900 when a group of friends got together in their spare time.In a century,this group rose to one of the world’s most famous clubs known for its attractive football. Ajax had to spend 10 seasons in 2nd division football before they were first promoted to ’Eridivise’.But 3 seasons later they were relegated for the 1st and the last time in their illustrious history.Fate changed quickly with Jack Reynolds taking over as coach who in his stint of 35 years showed Ajax their winning ways.Their first obtrusion was when they won their 1st title in 1918 and have rarely stayed away from the top of their tables ever since.

HONOURS:

National Cup Wins-15

1st division-17
National Championships-28
Euro Cups-71,72,73,95
Cup Winner’s Cup-87
UEFA Cup-92
Euro Super Cup-73,95
World Cup-72,95

Current Details:

Coach- Ronald Koeman
Financial Status- good
Sponsors- ABN AMRO(shirt),Adidas(clothing)
STADIUMS- Wooden Stadium, Amsterdam North, Small Pitch, De Meer, Olympic stadium

Current scenario

But surely,with teams like Real Madrid,Manchester United stealing the show these days Ajax has taken a back seat.They aren’t the force they used to be.So,what has lead to the decadence of their performance.

1. Financial needs of the club:All said and done monetary interests are nowhere as big as ’The English Premiership’ and ’La Liga’ owing to the hype and sponsorship monopoly there.So,Ajax has to resort to selling of players, offload players rather than improve to keep their financial status in check.

2. Players’ craving for money and fame: Any Ajax player having established himself as even a bit of a player craves for fame and glamour in the bigger leagues.One could say they do lack commitment.

3. Fear of loss and abandonment: With the rise of a player’s status,rises his monetary value.The club has constant doubt whether they’d be able to keep paying him that much,rather than sell. Besides,due to fear of player abandoning them at becoming famous, at the end of his contract, they prefer to sell him in the middle of his contract rather than in the end when they might have to sell him for free. As such the really good players are drained away.

THE AJAX OF TODAY THAT COULD’’VE BEEN

Davids, Bergkamp, Seedorf, Kluivert, Overmars, The De Boers, Bronckhorst and Makai. Well,consider the no. of match winners in that former Ajax list and you’ll see how Ajax drainage of players have led to the prevention of Ajax rising to the top of the football world, the latest case being their influential skipper Christian Chivus.

IS THERE HOPE FOR AJAX?

Well,the answer is a vehement yes and this is why.Most of the hope would be attributed to their youth academy,probably the most consistent if not the biggest with the production of quality players over the years-Marco Van Basten, Kieft, Cruijiff, Rijkard, Bergkamp and Kluivert to name a few. Exactly the reason why the club’s performance is still very commendable.

THE PROMISING CURRENT LINE UP

Ajax has always believed in attacking play with their 4-3-3 style of play,their organised attack and defence doesn’t really face much competition from the rest of the world.

THE VAN TRIO

Rafael Van Der Vaart in midfield,Van Damme at he back and Van der gun to spear the attack,all of them equally efficient in their play can blow away any team’s hope to smithers to go with an excellent counterattack move.

THE REST OF AJAX

To assist Van Der Gun,of course, you have the young and prolific striker Ibrahimovic with good vision and pace.And of course the experience of Sikora and Wamberto in the front.

MIDFIELD

With the cunning,able and delicate moves of Litmanen and Van Der Vaart,the forwards can hardly complain of support for ’’attack-MAXIMUM’’.And of course with gradual and stable builders like Sneijder and Pienaar chances of an opposition breakthrough are always minimum.

DEFENCE

Add to it the skillful defence of O’Brien,Maxwell,De Jong and Escude even capable of initialising moves,one can hardly call it an average team.

ARE THEY CAPABLE OF BEATING THE BEST?

Very much so,with such a productive youth academy and the fine play they produce on field they are very much on the right track.No noticeable communication problems on field either and one must say already,they are very near their target.They have had a very strong monopoly over the domestic arena for quite some time now and weren’t far away on the European front either.AC Milan may have edged them out by a goal in the quarters, but what was very clear was that it were they who caused the eventual champions more problems than Inter in the semis and Juventus in the finals. Ajax would’ve known they were not far away and things can only get better. I for one,wish this capable team the BEST in their quest to be the BEST.

Who is your favorite sports player in this field?

David Beckham