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{{Infobox Football club |
AFC Ajax is the most succesful and internationally well known soccer club from the Netherlands. [http://www.ajax.nl]
clubname = Ajax |
[[http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFC_Ajax]]
image = [[Image:Ajax Amsterdam.png|100px|logo]]|
fullname = Amsterdamsche Football<br/ >Club Ajax [[Naamloze Vennootschap|N.V.]]|
nickname = ''Godenzonen (Sons of gods)''|
founded = [[March 18]], [[1900]] |
ground = [[Amsterdam ArenA]],<br />[[Amsterdam]] |
capacity = 51,859[http://www.amsterdamarena.nl/index.php?pointer=1-2-2131-2136-2155] |
chairman = [[John C. Jaakke]] |
manager = [[Danny Blind]] |
league = [[Eredivisie]] |
season = 2005-06 |
position = [[Eredivisie]], 4th |
shirtsupplier= |
shirtsponsors= |
pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=_whitesides|pattern_ra1=|
leftarm1=FFFFFF|body1=FF2020|rightarm1=FFFFFF|shorts1=FFFFFF|socks1=FFFFFF|
pattern_la2=_shouldersonblack|pattern_b2=_thinredsides|pattern_ra2=_shouldersonblack|
leftarm2=ff0000|body2=000000|rightarm2=ff0000|shorts2=000000|socks2=000000|
}}
'''Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax''' ({{Euronext|AJAX}}) also referred to as '''Ajax Amsterdam''', '''AFC Ajax''', or simply '''Ajax''' (pronounced ''Ah-yahx''), is a [[football (soccer)|football]] club from [[Amsterdam]], [[Netherlands]]. The club is historically one of the top-10 football clubs in the world, and one of the three clubs that dominate Dutch football, the other two being [[Feyenoord Rotterdam]] and [[PSV Eindhoven]]. Ajax is one of only four clubs to have won all three major European trophies at least once (the European Champions Cup, the European Cup Winners Cup and the UEFA Cup). They were the first team to win what has become the [[UEFA Intertoto Cup]]. Ajax has also expanded its talent searching program to South Africa and the United States with [[Ajax Cape Town]] and [[Ajax America]] respectively.

==History==
The club was founded in Amsterdam on [[March 18]], [[1900]] by Floris Stempel, Carel Reeser and the brothers Han and Johan Dade. 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 [[John Kirwan (soccer player)|John 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 the exact 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. Loosely inspired by the kit of [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]], Ajax opted for white shorts and white shirt with a broad, vertical red stripe over chest and back, which still is Ajax's outfit. Today, it is one of the most recognised football jerseys in the world.

Ajax dominated European club football during the early 1970's by winning the European Champion Club's Cup in 1971, 1972 and 1973. The success had two main causes: the highly disciplined coaching by [[Rinus Michels]] and the genius of [[Johan Cruijff]]. From the 1960's onwards Ajax had developed the concept of [[total football]], ending the traditional division of labour between defenders, midfielders and attackers. All players were to participate in all aspects of the game, in an organization that would fill gaps when a player moved to a different position.

The club is also famous for its excellent youth program and has introduced a many great footballers - Cruijff being the best example. Its satellite club is the [[Ajax Cape Town]] of [[South Africa]] from where youth players have been drafted into the [[Eredivisie]] squad, such as [[Steven Pienaar]] and [[Aaron Mokoena]]. In 1995, the year that they won the [[UEFA Champions League]], Ajax was the team that could best represent the [[Netherlands national football team|Dutch national team]] in all departments, with [[goalkeeper]] [[Edwin van der Sar]], 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. The team was coached by [[Louis van Gaal]], and also featured foreign stars such as [[Jari Litmanen]], [[Nwankwo Kanu]] and [[Finidi George]]. Its current successes are mostly domestic, notwithstanding some minor successes in the 2002-03 Champions League. Its youth team continues to develop fairly talented individuals like [[Rafael van der Vaart]], [[Wesley Sneijder]], [[Nigel de Jong]], [[Johnny Heitinga]], [[Hedwiges Maduro]] and [[Ryan Babel]] who regularly represent their nation.

After their success with the 1995 Champions League, Ajax has since struggled to rediscover its European form but first they will need to dominate the Eredivisie. Players such as [[Shota Arveladze]] and [[Brian Laudrup]] have won over the fans in the late 1990s but have yet to make their abundance of talents count in major tournaments. Most recently in 2005, popular coach, [[Ronald Koeman]] resigned after Ajax's defeat to [[AJ Auxerre]] in the [[UEFA Cup]] tournament despite having a squad packed with international experience, declaring himself drained of any inspiration to further guide the team to any success. This resignation was also the aftermath of Koeman's long-standing spat with then football director [[Louis van Gaal]] who had questioned Koeman's managerial abilities after Ajax's dry spell in the domestic league which even saw them languishing in fifth position at the beginning of 2005. Koeman's replacement was widely tipped to be as of a manager with vast experience, so it may come as a surprise when former Ajax-player [[Danny Blind]] was unveiled as their new coach, with virtually no top-level manager experience although he had worked with Koeman as a technical coach and advisor. The season may also witness the restructuring of the club with key players [[Rafael van der Vaart]] and [[Nigel de Jong]] joining [[Hamburger SV]], while four others ([[Hatem Trabelsi]], [[Tomas Galasek]], [[Steven Pienaar]] and Maxwell) have already revealed that they will leave the club at the end of the 2005-2006 season. The recent addition of [[Klaas Jan Huntelaar]] from [[SC Heerenveen]],as well as the improved play of [[Markus Rosenberg]] are reasons that the fans still have hope for success in the coming years.

==Stadium==
[[Image:Amsterdam ArenA.JPG|thumb|[[Amsterdam ArenA]]]]
Ajax's first stadium was built in 1911 out of wood and was simply called The Stadium. Ajax later played in the stadium that was built for the [[1928 Summer Olympics]], held in Amsterdam. This stadium, designed by Jan Wils, is simply known as the [[Olympisch Stadion (Amsterdam)|Olympic Stadium]]. In 1934, Ajax moved to [[De Meer Stadion]] in east Amsterdam, where they would play until 1996. De Meer stadium was an unusually small stadium for such a large club, but the small stadium also created a cozy atmosphere. During big European fixtures the club would often play at the Olympic Stadium, where the capacity was higher.

In 1996, Ajax moved to a new home ground in the southeast of the city known as the [[Amsterdam ArenA]], that was built at the cost of $134 million. The stadium is capable of holding approximately 52,000 people. The average attendance in 2004/05 was 48,600 people. The Arena has a retractable roof and was the example for other modern stadiums built in Europe in the following years. In the Netherlands, the Arena has earned a reputation for having a terrible grass pitch. The condition of the grass is caused by the roof that, even when open, takes away too much sunlight and ventilation from the ground.

The much loved De Meer stadium was torn down and the land was sold to the city council.

==Rivalry==
Although Ajax has fought with [[PSV]] for the championship in recent years, its main rivalry is with [[Feyenoord]], culminating every year in the "[[Klassieker (Ajax-Feyenoord)|Klassieker]]". It is a match between the two largest cities of the Netherlands, one of which identifies with artists and creativity (Amsterdam) and one with hard work (Rotterdam). There have been many clashes between the supporters of both clubs, of which the Beverwijk clash in 1997 was the most infamous, leading to the death of Ajax supporter Carlo Picornie.

Fans of [[FC Utrecht]] think of Ajax as its most hated opponent as well. Ajax fans do not really care about this rivalry, although recently, following a few defeats, Utrecht has become more hated by Ajax fans as well.

==Honours==
===International===
*'''[[European/South American Cup|European/South American Cup (Intercontinental Cup)]]: 2'''
** 1972, 1995

*'''[[UEFA Champions League|European Champion Club's Cup / Champions League]]: 4'''
**1971, 1972, 1973, 1995.

*'''[[European Cup Winners' Cup]]: 1'''
**1987.

*'''[[UEFA Cup]]: 1'''
**1992.
*'''[[European Super Cup]]: 3'''
**1972 ''(not official by U.E.F.A),'' 1973, 1995.

*'''[[Intertoto Cup]]: 1'''
**1962 ''(not official by U.E.F.A),'' .

===National===
*'''Dutch championship: 29'''
**1918, 1919, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1937, 1939, 1947, 1957, 1960, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2004
*'''[[KNVB Cup|Dutch Cup]]: 16'''
**1917, 1943, 1961, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1979, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2006
*'''Dutch supercup (from 1996 ''Johan Cruijff-schaal'' ([[Johan Cruijff]] Shield): 5'''
**1993, 1994, 1995, 2002, 2005.
'''Private Tournaments:'''

*'''[[Amsterdam Tournament]]: 4'''
**2001, 2002, 2003, 2004

==Players and managers==
===Current squad===
{{Fs start}}
{{Fs player|no=1|nat=Netherlands|name=[[Maarten Stekelenburg]]|pos=GK}}
{{Fs player|no=2|nat=Tunisia|name=[[Hatem Trabelsi]]|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=3|nat=Czech Republic|name=[[Zdeněk Grygera]]|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=4|nat=Netherlands|name=[[Johnny Heitinga]]|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=6|nat=Czech Republic|name=[[Tomás Galásek]]|pos=MF}} (captain)
{{Fs player|no=7|nat=Argentina|name=[[Mauro Rosales]]|pos=FW}}
{{Fs player|no=8|nat=Netherlands|name=[[Hedwiges Maduro]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=9|nat=Greece|name=[[Angelos Charisteas]]|pos=FW}}
{{Fs player|no=10|nat=South Africa|name=[[Steven Pienaar]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=11|nat=Netherlands|name=[[Ryan Babel]]|pos=FW}}
{{Fs player|no=12|nat=South Africa|name=[[Hans Vonk (footballer)|Hans Vonk]]|pos=GK}}
{{Fs player|no=15|nat=Belgium|name=[[Thomas Vermaelen]]|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=17|nat=Greece|name=[[Yannis Anastasiou]]|pos=FW}}
{{Fs mid}}
{{Fs player|no=18|nat=Netherlands|name=[[Wesley Sneijder]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=19|nat=Netherlands|name=[[Urby Emanuelson]]|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=21|nat=Netherlands|name=[[Olaf Lindenbergh]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=22|nat=Spain|name=[[Juan Francisco García|Juanfran]]|pos=DF|other=On loan from Besiktas}}
{{Fs player|no=24|nat=Sweden|name=[[Markus Rosenberg]]|pos=FW}}
{{Fs player|no=25|nat=Netherlands|name=[[Klaas Jan Huntelaar]]|pos=FW}}
{{Fs player|no=27|nat=Armenia|name=[[Edgar Manucharyan]]|pos=FW}}
{{Fs player|no=28|nat=Morocco|name=[[Nourdin Boukhari]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=29|nat=Romania|name=[[Nicolae Mitea]]|pos=FW}}
{{Fs player|no=30|nat=Netherlands|name=[[Kenneth Vermeer]]|pos=GK}}
{{Fs player|no=31|nat=Ghana|name=[[Emmanuel Boakye]]|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=32|nat=Netherlands|name=[[Vurnon Anita]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=33|nat=Netherlands|name=[[Robbert Schilder]]|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=38|nat=Netherlands|name=[[Jeffrey Sarpong]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs end}}

'''Players on loan'''
{|
{{Fs player|no=|nat=Belgium|name=[[Tom De Mul]]|pos=|other=on loan to [[Vitesse Arnhem]]}}
{{Fs player|no=|nat=Netherlands|name=[[Victor Sikora]]|pos=FW|other=on loan to [[NAC Breda]]}}
|}

===Players who once played for Ajax===
{|
|-
|valign="top" width="25%"|
*[[Frank Arnesen]]
*[[Shota Arveladze]]
*[[Tijani Babangida]]
*[[Marco van Basten]]
*[[Dennis Bergkamp]]
*[[Horst Blankenburg]]
*[[Danny Blind]]
*[[Frank de Boer]]
*[[Ronald de Boer]]
*[[Cristian Chivu]]
*[[Johan Cruijff|Johan Cruyff]]
*[[Edgar Davids]]
*[[Dick van Dijk]]
*[[Finidi George]]
*[[Arie Haan]]
*[[Barry Hulshoff]]
|valign="top" width="25%"|
*[[Zlatan Ibrahimović]]
*[[Nigel de Jong]]
*[[Wim Jonk]]
*[[Nwankwo Kanu]]
*[[Piet Keizer]]
*[[Wim Kieft]]
*[[Patrick Kluivert]]
*[[Ronald Koeman]]
*[[Ruud Krol]]
*[[Brian Laudrup]]
*[[Michael Laudrup]]
*[[Søren Lerby]]
*[[Tscheu la Ling]]
*[[Jari Litmanen]]
*[[Maxwell Cabelino Andrade|Maxwell]]
|valign="top" width="25%"|
*[[Sanjit Mallick]]
*[[Benni McCarthy]]
*[[Andy van der Meyde]]
*[[Rinus Michels]]
*[[Ahmed Hossam|Mido]]
*[[Kiki Musampa]]
*[[Arnold Mühren]]
*[[Gerrie Mühren]]
*[[Jan Mølby]]
*[[Johan Neeskens]]
*[[John O'Brien]]
*[[Sunday Oliseh]]
*[[Jesper Olsen]]
*[[Marc Overmars]]
*[[Petri Pasanen]]
*[[Stefan Petterson]]
*[[Steven Pienaar]]
|valign="top" width="25%"|
*[[Johnny Rep]]
*[[Frank Rijkaard]]
*[[Edwin van der Sar]]
*[[Clarence Seedorf]]
*[[Frank Stapleton]]
*[[Wim Suurbier]]
*[[Sjaak Swart]]
*[[Ignacio Tuhuteru]]
*[[Rafael van der Vaart]]
*[[Gerald Vanenburg]]
*[[Velibor Vasovic]]
*[[Aron Winter]]
*[[Richard Witschge]]
*[[Jan Wouters]]
|}

===List of Ajax Managers===
{|
|-
|valign="top" width="25%"|
*[[Danny Blind]] (2005 - present)
*[[Ruud Krol]] (interim, 2005)
*[[Ronald Koeman]] (2001 - 2005)
*[[Co Adriaanse]] (2000 - 2001)
*[[Hans Westerhof]] (interim, 2000)
*[[Jan Wouters]] (1999-2000)
*[[Morten Olsen]] (1997-1999)
*[[Louis van Gaal]] (1991-1997)
*[[Leo Beenhakker]] (1989-1991)
*[[Kurt Linder]] (1988)
|valign="top" width="25%"|
*[[Johan Cruijff]] (1985-1988)
*[[Aad de Mos]] (1982-1985)
*[[Kurt Linder]] (1981-1982)
*[[Leo Beenhakker]] (1979-1981)
*[[Cor Brom]] (1978-1979)
*[[Tomaslav Ivic]] (1976-1978)
*[[Rinus Michels]] (1975-1976)
*[[Hans Kraay]] (1974-1975)
*[[George Knoebel]] (1973-1974)
*[[Stefán Kovács]] (1971-1973)
|valign="top" width="25%"|
*[[Rinus Michels]] (1965-1971)
*[[Vick Buckingham]] (1964-1965)
*[[Jack Rowley]] (1963-1964)
*[[Joseph Gruber]] (1962-1963)
*[[Keith Spurgeon]] (1961-1962)
*[[Vic Buckingham]] (1959-1961)
*[[Karl Humenberger]] (1954-1959)
*[[Walter Crook]] (1953-1954)
*[[Robert Thomson]] (1950-1953)
*[[Walter Crook]] (1948-1950)
|valign="top" width="25%"|
*[[Robert Smith]] (1947-1948)
*[[Jack Reynolds]] (1945-1947)
*[[Dolf van Kol]] (1942-1945)
*[[Wim Volkers]] (1941-1942)
*[[Vilmos Halpern]] (1940-1941)
*[[Jack Reynolds]] (1928-1940)
*[[Stanley Castle]] (1926-1928)
*[[Harold Rose]] (1925-1926)
*[[Jack Reynolds]] (1915-1925)
*[[John Kirwan (soccer player)|John Kirwan]] (1910-1915)
|}

==Trivia==
===References to Jews===
''Reference: [http://www.ajax-usa.com/desk/ajax-and-the-jewish-issue.html Ajax and the Jewish issue]''

The Ajax fans have the very remarkable tradition of using [[Jewish]] and [[Israeli]] symbols to express their allegiance. Regularly, the supporters wave large [[Star of David]] flags and scream ''Joden! Joden!'' ("Jews! Jews!") to fire up their team. Die-hard Ajax supporters call themselves "F-Siders" or "Joden" -- Dutch for "Jews" -- a nickname that reflects the team's and Amsterdam's Jewish roots. The nickname for Ajax fans dates back to before World War II, when Amsterdam was home to many of the Netherlands' 140,000 Jews and the Ajax stadium was located near a Jewish neighborhood. Most Dutch Jews were killed in the Holocaust, and little remains of Amsterdam's old Jewish quarter. But the tradition survived.

The problem is that in an increasingly bizarre way, opposing supporters use [[anti-semitism]] to express their antipathy towards Ajax. On the other side, the hardcore Ajax fans are proud of their outsider image as "Jews" and feel encouraged to show more Israeli/ Jewish signs. The ''real'' Jews who support Ajax are split on this matter. Dutch authorities have tried to tone down the Jewish symbols of support for Ajax, hoping to lead to a decrease of anti-semetic counter-incidents. However, the head of the European Board of Jewish Deputies has signalled his support for the F-siders, noting that anti-semetism in Europe would be lessened if more non-Jews identified with Jewish culture.

As of 2006, an evaluation on this matter is still highly debatable.

==See also==
*[[Dutch Football League teams]]

==External links==
{{Commons2|Ajax Amsterdam}}
;Official
*[http://www.ajax.nl/ Ajax.nl - Official website of AFC Ajax] (Dutch)
*[http://english.ajax.nl/ Ajax.nl - Official website of AFC Ajax] (English)

;Unofficial
* [http://www.ajaxforum.nl/ AjaxForum.nl - Forum of Ajax Amsterdam](Dutch)
* [http://www.ajaxextra.nl/ AjaxExtra.nl - Dutch fansite of AFC Ajax] (Dutch)
* [http://www.ajaxusa.com/ Ajax USA - American fansite of AFC Ajax] (English)
* [http://www.ajaxamsterdam.de/ AjaxSupporters.de - German fansite of AFC Ajax] (German)
* [http://www.ajaxenfrance.com/ Ajax en France - French fansite of AFC Ajax] (French)
* [http://www.epitch.co.uk/eredivisie/ajax/ Ajax News] (English)
* [http://www.ajaxpoland.com/ Polish Ajax info site] (Polish)
* [http://www.ajaxportal.com/ Ajax Portal] (Hungarian)
* [http://www.superajax.com/ Superajax.com - Russian fansite of AFC Ajax] (Russian)

{{Champions League 2005/06}}
{{Eredivisie}}

[[Category:Dutch football clubs]]
[[Category:Sport in Amsterdam]]
[[Category:Companies listed on the Euronext exchanges]]
[[Category:Companies of the Netherlands]]
[[Category:1900 establishments]]
[[Category:G-14 clubs]]
[[Category:Ajax Amsterdam]]

[[ar:أياكس أمستردام]]
[[bg:Аякс Амстердам]]
[[cs:AFC Ajax]]
[[da:Ajax Amsterdam]]
[[de:Ajax Amsterdam]]
[[es:Ajax Amsterdam]]
[[fr:Ajax Amsterdam]]
[[ko:아약스 암스테르담]]
[[it:AFC Ajax]]
[[he:אייאקס אמסטרדם]]
[[hu:Ajax Amsterdam]]
[[nl:AFC Ajax]]
[[ja:アヤックス・アムステルダム]]
[[no:Ajax Amsterdam]]
[[pl:Ajax Amsterdam]]
[[pt:AFC Ajax]]
[[ru:Аякс Амстердам (футбольный клуб)]]
[[fi:AFC Ajax]]
[[sv:AFC Ajax]]
[[vi:Ajax Amsterdam]]
[[zh:阿積士]]

Revision as of 16:03, 9 May 2006

Ajax
logo
Full nameAmsterdamsche Football
Club Ajax N.V.
Nickname(s)Godenzonen (Sons of gods)
FoundedMarch 18, 1900
GroundAmsterdam ArenA,
Amsterdam
Capacity51,859[1]
ChairmanJohn C. Jaakke
ManagerDanny Blind
LeagueEredivisie
2005-06Eredivisie, 4th

Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (Euronext: AJAX) also referred to as Ajax Amsterdam, AFC Ajax, or simply Ajax (pronounced Ah-yahx), is a football club from Amsterdam, Netherlands. The club is historically one of the top-10 football clubs in the world, and one of the three clubs that dominate Dutch football, the other two being Feyenoord Rotterdam and PSV Eindhoven. Ajax is one of only four clubs to have won all three major European trophies at least once (the European Champions Cup, the European Cup Winners Cup and the UEFA Cup). They were the first team to win what has become the UEFA Intertoto Cup. Ajax has also expanded its talent searching program to South Africa and the United States with Ajax Cape Town and Ajax America respectively.

History

The club was founded in Amsterdam on March 18, 1900 by Floris Stempel, Carel Reeser and the brothers Han and Johan Dade. 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 John 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 the exact 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. Loosely inspired by the kit of Arsenal, Ajax opted for white shorts and white shirt with a broad, vertical red stripe over chest and back, which still is Ajax's outfit. Today, it is one of the most recognised football jerseys in the world.

Ajax dominated European club football during the early 1970's by winning the European Champion Club's Cup in 1971, 1972 and 1973. The success had two main causes: the highly disciplined coaching by Rinus Michels and the genius of Johan Cruijff. From the 1960's onwards Ajax had developed the concept of total football, ending the traditional division of labour between defenders, midfielders and attackers. All players were to participate in all aspects of the game, in an organization that would fill gaps when a player moved to a different position.

The club is also famous for its excellent youth program and has introduced a many great footballers - Cruijff being the best example. Its satellite club is the Ajax Cape Town of South Africa from where youth players have been drafted into the Eredivisie squad, such as Steven Pienaar and Aaron Mokoena. In 1995, the year that they won the UEFA Champions League, Ajax was the team that could best represent the Dutch national team in all departments, with goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, 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. The team was coached by Louis van Gaal, and also featured foreign stars such as Jari Litmanen, Nwankwo Kanu and Finidi George. Its current successes are mostly domestic, notwithstanding some minor successes in the 2002-03 Champions League. Its youth team continues to develop fairly talented individuals like Rafael van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder, Nigel de Jong, Johnny Heitinga, Hedwiges Maduro and Ryan Babel who regularly represent their nation.

After their success with the 1995 Champions League, Ajax has since struggled to rediscover its European form but first they will need to dominate the Eredivisie. Players such as Shota Arveladze and Brian Laudrup have won over the fans in the late 1990s but have yet to make their abundance of talents count in major tournaments. Most recently in 2005, popular coach, Ronald Koeman resigned after Ajax's defeat to AJ Auxerre in the UEFA Cup tournament despite having a squad packed with international experience, declaring himself drained of any inspiration to further guide the team to any success. This resignation was also the aftermath of Koeman's long-standing spat with then football director Louis van Gaal who had questioned Koeman's managerial abilities after Ajax's dry spell in the domestic league which even saw them languishing in fifth position at the beginning of 2005. Koeman's replacement was widely tipped to be as of a manager with vast experience, so it may come as a surprise when former Ajax-player Danny Blind was unveiled as their new coach, with virtually no top-level manager experience although he had worked with Koeman as a technical coach and advisor. The season may also witness the restructuring of the club with key players Rafael van der Vaart and Nigel de Jong joining Hamburger SV, while four others (Hatem Trabelsi, Tomas Galasek, Steven Pienaar and Maxwell) have already revealed that they will leave the club at the end of the 2005-2006 season. The recent addition of Klaas Jan Huntelaar from SC Heerenveen,as well as the improved play of Markus Rosenberg are reasons that the fans still have hope for success in the coming years.

Stadium

File:Amsterdam ArenA.JPG
Amsterdam ArenA

Ajax's first stadium was built in 1911 out of wood and was simply called The Stadium. Ajax later played in the stadium that was built for the 1928 Summer Olympics, held in Amsterdam. This stadium, designed by Jan Wils, is simply known as the Olympic Stadium. In 1934, Ajax moved to De Meer Stadion in east Amsterdam, where they would play until 1996. De Meer stadium was an unusually small stadium for such a large club, but the small stadium also created a cozy atmosphere. During big European fixtures the club would often play at the Olympic Stadium, where the capacity was higher.

In 1996, Ajax moved to a new home ground in the southeast of the city known as the Amsterdam ArenA, that was built at the cost of $134 million. The stadium is capable of holding approximately 52,000 people. The average attendance in 2004/05 was 48,600 people. The Arena has a retractable roof and was the example for other modern stadiums built in Europe in the following years. In the Netherlands, the Arena has earned a reputation for having a terrible grass pitch. The condition of the grass is caused by the roof that, even when open, takes away too much sunlight and ventilation from the ground.

The much loved De Meer stadium was torn down and the land was sold to the city council.

Rivalry

Although Ajax has fought with PSV for the championship in recent years, its main rivalry is with Feyenoord, culminating every year in the "Klassieker". It is a match between the two largest cities of the Netherlands, one of which identifies with artists and creativity (Amsterdam) and one with hard work (Rotterdam). There have been many clashes between the supporters of both clubs, of which the Beverwijk clash in 1997 was the most infamous, leading to the death of Ajax supporter Carlo Picornie.

Fans of FC Utrecht think of Ajax as its most hated opponent as well. Ajax fans do not really care about this rivalry, although recently, following a few defeats, Utrecht has become more hated by Ajax fans as well.

Honours

International

National

  • Dutch championship: 29
    • 1918, 1919, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1937, 1939, 1947, 1957, 1960, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2004
  • Dutch Cup: 16
    • 1917, 1943, 1961, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1979, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2006
  • Dutch supercup (from 1996 Johan Cruijff-schaal (Johan Cruijff Shield): 5
    • 1993, 1994, 1995, 2002, 2005.

Private Tournaments:

Players and managers

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Netherlands NED Maarten Stekelenburg
2 DF Tunisia TUN Hatem Trabelsi
3 DF Czech Republic CZE Zdeněk Grygera
4 DF Netherlands NED Johnny Heitinga
6 MF Czech Republic CZE Tomás Galásek (captain)
7 FW Argentina ARG Mauro Rosales
8 MF Netherlands NED Hedwiges Maduro
9 FW Greece GRE Angelos Charisteas
10 MF South Africa RSA Steven Pienaar
11 FW Netherlands NED Ryan Babel
12 GK South Africa RSA Hans Vonk
15 DF Belgium BEL Thomas Vermaelen
17 FW Greece GRE Yannis Anastasiou
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 MF Netherlands NED Wesley Sneijder
19 DF Netherlands NED Urby Emanuelson
21 MF Netherlands NED Olaf Lindenbergh
22 DF Spain ESP Juanfran (On loan from Besiktas)
24 FW Sweden SWE Markus Rosenberg
25 FW Netherlands NED Klaas Jan Huntelaar
27 FW Armenia ARM Edgar Manucharyan
28 MF Morocco MAR Nourdin Boukhari
29 FW Romania ROU Nicolae Mitea
30 GK Netherlands NED Kenneth Vermeer
31 DF Ghana GHA Emmanuel Boakye
32 MF Netherlands NED Vurnon Anita
33 DF Netherlands NED Robbert Schilder
38 MF Netherlands NED Jeffrey Sarpong

Players on loan

— Belgium BEL Tom De Mul (on loan to Vitesse Arnhem)
— FW Netherlands NED Victor Sikora (on loan to NAC Breda)

Players who once played for Ajax

List of Ajax Managers

Trivia

References to Jews

Reference: Ajax and the Jewish issue

The Ajax fans have the very remarkable tradition of using Jewish and Israeli symbols to express their allegiance. Regularly, the supporters wave large Star of David flags and scream Joden! Joden! ("Jews! Jews!") to fire up their team. Die-hard Ajax supporters call themselves "F-Siders" or "Joden" -- Dutch for "Jews" -- a nickname that reflects the team's and Amsterdam's Jewish roots. The nickname for Ajax fans dates back to before World War II, when Amsterdam was home to many of the Netherlands' 140,000 Jews and the Ajax stadium was located near a Jewish neighborhood. Most Dutch Jews were killed in the Holocaust, and little remains of Amsterdam's old Jewish quarter. But the tradition survived.

The problem is that in an increasingly bizarre way, opposing supporters use anti-semitism to express their antipathy towards Ajax. On the other side, the hardcore Ajax fans are proud of their outsider image as "Jews" and feel encouraged to show more Israeli/ Jewish signs. The real Jews who support Ajax are split on this matter. Dutch authorities have tried to tone down the Jewish symbols of support for Ajax, hoping to lead to a decrease of anti-semetic counter-incidents. However, the head of the European Board of Jewish Deputies has signalled his support for the F-siders, noting that anti-semetism in Europe would be lessened if more non-Jews identified with Jewish culture.

As of 2006, an evaluation on this matter is still highly debatable.

See also

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Official
Unofficial

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