Oh, Ajax! What a Name. What Memories.
Cruyff in the 1970s and 1990s, the “voetbal totaal”, the total soccer , in which there was no defender and striker, but everyone made everything.
Ajax is the memory of a club that dominated the times of Europe, not the money, the success decided. In 1971, 1972 and 1973, he won the European Cup, the masters, the incomparable Johan Cruyff was always there. Ajax on later built a young talent Department, the style was forming, and attracted just in the nineties, a host of observers, whose study in Amsterdam.
in 1995, won this Ajax in the Champions League against Milan, and a year later it was again in the Final and lost it against Juventus. Then the team broke apart. The Bosman judgment had a bleed out of the Club. The players took it there, where the big money lured.
European-Ajax was pushed to the edge, his Name still stands for the difficulties, the training Association has in comparison to the giants of Madrid, Milan, Munich or Manchester. Ajax was in the Champions League again and again, but never in the middle of it, and often there was not even more up in the group stage, but failed already in the qualification of Teams like Rapid, Slavia Prague, Copenhagen or Celtic.
To
in 2003 back it was for the last time in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Now it is back to this level, and again the opponent from Italy. At the time, he was called Milan, and now Juventus with a Ronaldo. “Of course, Juventus favorite is,” says Erik ten Hag, “but there are always possibilities.”
The 49-year-old Ajax coach knows what he is talking about. His team has shown in the quarter-finals, as she threw Real Madrid out of the competition, the winner of the last three sweeps. At home they lost 1:2, but the game made it to the Gala. You disassembled the opponent and won at the Bernabéu 4:1. The football world marveled at a team that is on average 24 years old.
grow up, That in the case of Ajax, indicated two years ago with the arrival in the Final of the Europa League. Peter Bosz was the coach that fits Think, despite the 0:2 against Manchester United with his storm-and-stress-romantic heir to Johan Cruyff’s, and that in the defense of Matthijs de Ligt dispatch and in midfield also Frenkie de Jong, is also a symbol of the history of the club: De Ligt was 17, De Jong 19.
Two frosted faces
De Ligt and De Jong are two milk-faced men who stand for the dawn of Ajax, but not only: they also stand for the hope of the proud footballing nation, Holland, to return to its old strength. “We want to bring our players back,” said Edwin van der Sar, “the people like Ajax. Our coaches, starting with the U-11, know what a Club we are.” Van der Sar was in 1995, when the Triumph in the Champions League in the goal, today he is the CEO.
Ajax, named after a warrior from Greek mythology, in addition to Juventus, Bayern, Chelsea and Manchester United are one of five Clubs that have won all three European competitions. It is Holland’s record Champions and record Cup winners. At the Moment it is leading the championship, with a goal ratio of 100:26.
International, it is nevertheless a light-weight, with 92 million euros in sales. The transfer bill is doing something extra, but looks good. 2014 bought it for 2.8 million euros, Arkadiusz Milik, and two years later it sold it for 32 million to Napoli. Or Davinson Sanchez: for $ 5 million, from Colombia brought for 40 million to Tottenham passed on.
comparisons with Beckenbauer and Cruyff
Or De Ligt and De Jong, who has been with Beckenbauer or Cruyff compared. De Ligt is from the own youth, and is probably a Transfer for 70 million to FC Barcelona. De Jong came in as an 18-Year-old for 10 million from Tilburg, in the summer it goes definitely with a 5-year contract to Barcelona. He will cost at least 75 million. It is precisely the fine-grained De Jong of the type that the Dutch love football is-intelligent, brave, technically shod, pass safely, with an Overview blessed.
Transfers as the two youngsters are very good for the business model of Ajax, and not necessarily for the continuity in the work of coach Ten Hag. He must always start again from the beginning. And he has a few other players who end their career in the Johan-Cruyff-Arena. As André Onana, 23, Cameroonian, goalkeeper; Noussair Mazraoui, 21, Moroccans, rights defenders; Kasper Dolberg, 21, and Dane, attacker; David Neres, 22, Brazilian, winger; Hakim Ziyech, already 26, Moroccans, superior technician in the midfield.
A place close to the Elite
“What we do is, hopefully, enough to conquer a place close to the Elite,” says CEO Van der Sar. Close to the Elite, he says. He knows how far away that is. Juventus uses about four times more and is still with 395 million euros, only on the 11th place of the financially strongest clubs in Europe.
Van der Sar and not to forget, what difficult to have a laid back way of Amsterdam alone this season. Against Sturm Graz, Standard Liege and Dynamo Kiev, they had to survive three rounds before they were even in the group stage. As they were against Bayern Munich, Benfica and AEK Athens undefeated. At the Bernabéu, the triumphal procession followed.
And tomorrow comes the opponent, from Turin, who has set winning the Champions League to the goal. “Juventus is more than Ronaldo,” said Ten Hag. But he also knows that Juventus is not least Ronaldo. (Editorial Tamedia)
Created: 10.04.2019, at 17:21
