Ajax Amsterdam are looking for a new manager after announcing on Thursday that the club will not be renewing the contract of interim manager John Heitinga after a series of failures.
“Ajax have informed John Heitinga that the club is looking for a new head coach for the first team,” Ajax said in a statement. The 39-year-old former defender replaced Alfred Schreuder in January, sacked due to disappointing results.
It is the second high-profile change at the Amsterdam club this week, following Edwin van der Sar’s announcement on Tuesday that he was stepping down as chief executive.
As a reminder, Ajax failed to qualify for the Champions League after finishing third in the Dutch league, behind Feyenoord Rotterdam and PSV Eindhoven. “John stepped in at a difficult time to help the club and he did so with total conviction,” said Ajax director of football Sven Mislintat, adding that the club were “very grateful” to him.
“But I have come to the conclusion that Ajax now needs a more experienced coach,” he added, quoted in the statement. Heitinga initially had promising results, winning seven league games and Ajax climbed from fifth to third in the table.
But it got complicated later with in particular the elimination in the Europa League against Union Berlin in February. This third final place was the final straw for the club, double champion of the Netherlands in title and crowned four times in its history in C1. Ajax struggled after Erik ten Hag left for Manchester United in April 2022. “A difficult time”, admitted Sven Mislintat, adding that John Heitinga could stay at the club in another role.
