On 30 May 1973, Ajax beat Juventus 1-0 in front of 89,000 people at the Marakana in Belgrade to win their third consecutive European Cup. Johnny Rep’s fifth-minute header was enough to…
Tag: ajax
On 12 September 2000, Ajax were playing Belgian side Gent in a UEFA Cup knockout match. Eighty-two minutes had gone; the Dutch side were 4-0 up going into the final stages of…
Largely famous for his audacious ‘deal dribble’, Kerlon was actually a talented footballer in his own right. So why did his career flounder?
In King Lear, when the hapless footman Oswald is tripped up by a duke and called a “base football player”, the audience is expected to sneer and snicker. Indeed, in the 16th…
As featured on Guardian Sport Despite its obvious and very pragmatic function, the humble umbrella has proven itself more foe than friend to football managers. The modern game’s umbrella-related history is short and…
“With so many great players in one team, you make art. You don’t mean to but you do.” These were the thoughts of one of the crucial cogs in the Dutch totaalvoetbal…
Ajax Amsterdam are one of the most successful football clubs in the world and the most famous of the Netherlands’ club sides. Famed for their highly successful youth academy, the early to…
Wheeling away in celebration, Patrick Kluivert attempts to take his top off only to think better of it halfway through. It’s the 85th minute in the 1995 Champions League final and he’s just…
SET TO THE BACKDROP of a harsh and heavy winter sky, a January evening spectating at the Johan Cruijff Arena can feel an unforgiving endeavour. The air’s damp chill – aided by…
TRADITIONALLY, ‘while Amsterdam dreams, Rotterdam works’ – or so the saying goes. Extending the stereotype, Ajax Amsterdam often appear to mirror their hedonistic city’s defiant confidence. It appears – wrongly – as…
THE CAMP NOU SIGHED IN UNISON as Samuel Umtiti hobbled off the pitch against Celta Vigo. With Argentine stalwart Javier Mascherano already out injured, the Blaugrana returned to worrying about centre-backs, as…
BACK WHEN I WAS NINE YEARS OLD, we had a family vacation in England. As we were walking down the street in Cobham, Surrey, my father spotted a couple of Chelsea players,…
The date is 13 June 2014. It is the 44th minute at the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador, Brazil, and the Netherlands are playing defending champions Spain in their first group stage match…
TO SOME, HE’S ONE OF THE BEST MANAGERS OF THE PAST TWO DECADES, willing to sacrifice style for substance and flair for formality. To others, he’s an unnerving disciplinarian, an expert at…
To a child falling in love with football right now, there’s a world of difference between FC Barcelona and Ajax Amsterdam. Barcelona play in a popular league with megastars in every position,…
Illustration by Federico Manasse The multifarious sphere of footballing history encompasses many greats. Some prove greatness via a trophy cabinet, some gain notoriety for a single goal or piece of skill, some…
Illustration by Federico Manasse If you didn’t know who he was, you would perhaps take one look at Nwankwo Kanu and think he was anything but a footballer. His appendicular skeleton looks…
Zlatan Ibrahimović arrived at Ajax as a gangly target man but would with the platform to become of the best strikers ever seen in European football