The Ajax Way: How One Football Club Defines the Modern Game

By Dylan O'Connell

In 1894 a group of friends had an idea and it led to the creation of Ajax, a football club for the people of Amsterdam. More than one hundred years later and that club has become an institution for youth development, a school of ideas that underpins the modern game and a club synonymous with the Total Football ideal.

The Dutch superpower created a way of playing that is now accepted as the norm by European titans AC Milan, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United - as well as a host of national teams.

The Ajax Way tells the full history of the club while looking at the reaches of Total Football: the way of playing perfected by Rinus Michels and Johan Cruyff. It traces the club's rise as a social hub for the people of Amsterdam to the creation of a team that would win three consecutive European Cups in the early 1970s; and added a fourth in 1995 under Louis Van Gaal.

It reveals a host of footballing greats - players and coaches - who have been undoubtedly influenced by Ajax, from early day pioneers through to current day icons Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp. Packed with tactical insight and social history, it is a story that spans three centuries and stretches across the globe, but at its core is Ajax Amsterdam and their roster of stars.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd
• Release date: Apr 29, 2024
• ISBN: 9781801508148

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

THE END OF AN ERA

IT JUST happened.

Plenty of teams had attempted it; to stop this version of Real Madrid from progressing in the Champions League. Every one of them failed and it added to the myth of Los Blancos’ ‘threepeat’. The stakes were raised with each passing year and still they made it through.

They passed every test, with the only real wobble being against Juventus in the 2018 quarter-finals. It was a rematch of the previous year’s final, which Real Madrid won 3-1 in Cardiff. The first leg in Turin finished 3-0 to the Spanish club and the visitors to the Santiago Bernabéu retaliated by scoring three times in an hour. The tie was level and it seemed the impossible was about to happen; a team was going to overturn a three-goal deficit away from home in the Champions League.

Real Madrid simply did what they had been doing for two years. They kept their cool, winning an injury-time penalty which Cristiano Ronaldo converted to send them through to play Bayern Munich in the semi-finals. Once they beat the Bavarians, Liverpool were disposed of in Kyiv on a night that saw Gareth Bale score one of the greatest goals in the history of European football.

That made them the first team since Bayern Munich in the 1970s to win the tournament three times in a row. The immediate thoughts early in the 2018/19 season were of four, something done only once in the competition’s history.

Further incentive was provided by the transfer of Ronaldo to Juventus, as the team seemed to thrive when their credentials were questioned. With their talismanic goalscorer gone, disaster struck during the rebuild under new coach Julen Lopetegui when his team were beaten by Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup.

Real Madrid struggled in the autumn and the coach was relieved of his duties after a 5-1 hammering by Barcelona at the Camp Nou. The team reacted by topping their group in the Champions League and losing just twice between the end of October and the first leg of the round of 16 in mid-February. That set up new coach Santiago Solari and his players for a push to win a 14th star and Ajax were seen as one of the softest draws they could have got.

The Dutch side were back in the Champions League after losing in the play-off round of the 2017/18 Europa League to Rosenborg. That brought everyone back down to earth in Amsterdam after the Dutch side reached the competition’s final during the previous season and lost to a Manchester United team managed by José Mourinho.

The Ajax coach that season was Erik ten Hag, a relative unknown when pitted against the European elite, but a character who knew how football operated at the highest level. The Haaksbergen native had once worked as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Bayern Munich and he was a student of Ajax’s history and philosophy.

‘Louis van Gaal, Rinus Michels and Johan Cruyff, they are the big inspirers’ was how he described it in an article on the Manchester United website. ‘They have the greatest influence at Ajax, but their importance transcends the club. They have influenced football in the world. The three are keys to the philosophy I also follow: attacking football that inspires. I see myself in their tradition.’

The principles of this are possession, movement, vertical attacking patterns and pressing. It’s what worked in the 1970s and the system had been reinvented for the modern game under the coach who was installed at the Amsterdam ArenA in 2017. Some things remained the same, like the need to experiment and try new things, such as Ten Hag trialling a 3-5-2 formation during his first season in charge. He eventually settled on 4-2-3-1, in the same way Michels opted for 4-3-3 after previously using 4-2-4.

By the spring of 2019, Ajax were a fine-tuned outfit with a settled starting XI. Dušan Tadić was the focal point of the attack, with the striker signed in the summer of 2018 from Southampton. Frenkie de Jong and Donny van de Beek were the engines in the middle of the park. André Onana was the goalkeeper who could pass the ball out and start attacks from inside their own penalty area.

After qualifying for the Champions League proper, Ajax’s fluency helped them emerge from a group featuring Benfica, Bayern Munich and AEK Athens. It was an impressive achievement, but other teams had done that in recent seasons and faded once they entered the business end of the competition. Celtic, for example, followed that exact route in 2012 and leapfrogged Benfica to reach the round of 16. That’s where the Scottish giants’ run stopped, Juventus sweeping them aside over two legs.

This Real Madrid team were adept at wrecking Champions League dreams. Wolfsburg learned it the hard way as they won 2-0 at home in Germany, only to lose 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu during the 2015/16 season. PSG thought they had a chance in 2018 after they brought in Neymar from Barcelona, yet the Parisians were hammered 5-2 over two legs.

Ajax went under the radar that spring and many observers expected Real Madrid to make light work of them, even though they had drawn twice with Bayern Munich during the group stage.

Ten Hag’s squad were going through a renaissance domestically; they were in pursuit of their first league title since 2014 and goals were plentiful at the Amsterdam ArenA. But that was in the Eredivisie, which is not considered one of the big five leagues in Europe. Real Madrid, on the other hand, had not lost to a Dutch team since 1995.

Los Blancos went to Amsterdam for the first leg in February and Karim Benzema made it 1-0 in the 59th minute. After Hakim Ziyech equalised for the home side, Marco Asensio guided in a low cross and the first leg finished 2-1 to the holders. The game had played out exactly the way people imagined it would.

The only cause for concern for Real Madrid going into the return leg was that Sergio Ramos was suspended. They still had two away goals, which it was felt would more than make up for the defender’s absence.

Ten Hag knew his players were up against it when they arrived in the Spanish capital; he admitted as much when speaking to the media.

‘We’re going to have to produce a big performance and work as a team for the 90 minutes,’ he said. ‘We’re here to try and progress in the competition. It’ll be a great game and let’s hope that we achieve our target.’

That target was a distant dream when their campaign began, not in the group stages but in the second qualifying round against Austrian side Sturm Graz. Ajax navigated the qualifiers with ease and made a return to the Champions League proper for the first time since 2014. A lot had happened since then and it only heightened the sense of occasion for the visit to the Santiago Bernabéu.

Under the lights, the kids were all right as they matched the home side and scored four goals. This wasn’t a snatch and grab win with a low block; Ten Hag’s players made a statement that radiated across the continent.

It started in the seventh minute, when the team broke after surviving a period of prolonged pressure and Tadić pulled the ball back inside the area. Ziyech sidefooted home with his first touch and it was 2-2 on aggregate.

Ajax remained disciplined in their push for a second goal and the players made sure everything counted. Their main outlet was quick transitions and one of these created the ideal conditions for David Neres to hit the back of the net in the 17th minute.

Suddenly, it was Real Madrid who needed to score but Ajax kept going, regardless of their newfound advantage and Ziyech twice threatened before half-time with a shot which was comfortably stopped by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and a dangerous cross.

Ajax didn’t slow down once the game restarted and continued to create chances. The first fell to Ziyech and an attempt from distance by the winger went narrowly wide before Van de Beek forced a low save from Courtois. Real Madrid tried to get back into the game but offered little threat and were stunned when Tadić collected a pass and steadied himself inside the area before rolling the ball in.

The home team regained some composure and Asensio pulled one back. Then Tadić was brought down and, from the resulting free kick, Lasse Schöne curled it into the net from a wide position on the left.

It finished 4-1 on the night, 5-2 on aggregate, and Ajax were through to the Champions League quarter-finals. The Daily Telegraph called it the ‘end of an era’ and The Guardian proclaimed: ‘Real Madrid’s reign is over.’

Yet, despite all the praise for Ajax, almost everyone knew this wasn’t the start of something truly special for the Amsterdam club. The continent’s big spenders were watching on and already weighing up which of these Ajax players they wanted to sign in the summer. The discussion was of an inevitable breakup, even though Ajax were fighting for an historic treble.

CHAPTER 2

THE OLD LADY

THE QUARTER-FINAL draw paired Ajax with Juventus, a team hell-bent on becoming European champions for the first time since 1996 to end years of hurt in the Champions League after a string of lost finals and near misses. It started in 1997 with a defeat to first-time finalists Borussia Dortmund and history repeated itself in 1998, with Real Madrid winning the trophy at the Amsterdam ArenA.

Five years later, Juventus were back in the final and AC Milan got the better of their domestic rivals in a penalty shoot-out after a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford. What made the night worse for the Old Lady was that the coach in the opposition dugout was Carlo Ancelotti, who had been fired by the Turin club in 2001.

It took them 12 years to make it back to that stage of the competition and there was no joy during a treble-chasing season under Max Allegri, Barcelona winning 3-1 in Berlin. Juventus were again finalists in 2017 but Real Madrid once prevailed over them, this time 4-1 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

The sense of frustration generated by these setbacks manifested itself in one signing in the summer of 2018. Cristiano Ronaldo was brought in for one reason and one reason only – to win the Champions League. It was called the ‘deal of the century’ in TV and newspaper advertisements and Juventus were priced as one of the tournament’s favourites.

The Old Lady went about their business with due diligence during the group stage and finished top after playing Manchester United, Valencia and Young Boys. Juventus were paired with Atlético Madrid in the next round and they didn’t let a 2-0 first-leg deficit disrupt their rhythm. Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in Turin and put his side through to the quarter-finals, where Ajax awaited.

For Ten Hag and his players, the Champions League tie added two more games to a stacked fixture list after the March international break. Ajax’s immediate focus was the league and they followed up their success in Madrid by beating Fortuna Sittard 4-0 at the Amsterdam ArenA. PEC Zwolle were up next and the team from the northeast of the Netherlands were beaten 2-1 at home.

This put Ajax top of the league on goal difference before the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals at the Amsterdam ArenA. Outside the Netherlands, this counted for little ahead of the meeting with Juventus, the majority of pundits concerned only with discussing Ronaldo’s fitness as he battled a thigh injury.

The forward recovered and started against an Ajax team who lined up in the same 4-2-3-1 formation used every week in the Eredivisie. Although Juventus had an early opportunity when Federico Bernardeschi shot over the bar in the second minute, Ajax persevered and created the majority of the chances during the first half. Ziyech hit one long-range shot wide and Van de Beek was only just off target after collecting a pass from Tadić.

It was all going according to plan until Ronaldo turned in a diving header in the 44th minute. The goal separated the two teams at the break and it meant Ajax had to score twice to secure the home win which seemed essential if they were to have a realistic chance of going through to the semi-finals.

David Neres took it upon himself to get his team back in the game. At the start of the second half, he pounced on a mistake by João Cancelo and broke down the left wing. The forward got inside the area and fired a shot into the far corner, giving goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny no chance. Ajax were emboldened by the equaliser but failed to capitalise on their momentum. Neres went the closest to getting a second goal, having an effort ruled out for offside.

The game finished 1-1, meaning Ajax had to score in Turin while trying not to concede. Juventus had not lost at home in the league that season and Manchester United’s 2-1 success in Turin was the only home Champions League game the Old Lady had failed to win.

Ten Hag put thoughts of the second leg to one side and prepared for a league game with Excelsior. His players enjoyed a 6-2 victory at the ArenA ahead of the vital game in Turin three days later.

Despite Juventus being clear favourites after their draw in Amsterdam, coach Allegri played down expectations ahead of the game. ‘We need to have a lot of respect for Ajax in defence and be precise in our movements,’ he said.

When the game began, everything that could have gone wrong from an Ajax point of view happened in the opening half an hour. An injury forced Noussair Mazraoui out of the game in the 11th minute and Juventus midfielder Emre Can almost made it 1-0 by charging down an André Onana goal kick. One of the home team’s next chances fell to Ronaldo from a Miralem Pjanić corner and he headed in to give Juventus a 2-1 aggregate lead at half-time.

There was no great shake-up ahead of the restart. Ajax did what they had been doing from the opening whistle and their reward came when a Ziyech shot fell to Van de Beek in the 34th minute and the midfielder took this opportunity to give Ajax the away goal they craved.

It didn’t stop there. The Amsterdamers were relentless and continued to carve out openings. Neres pretty much ran the show and he created opportunities for Van de Beek and Ziyech, with the Moroccan international drawing a stretched save from Szczęsny.

There was no let-up, with the goalkeeper then called upon to put a Van de Beek shot out for a corner. Juventus could only put together one sequence at the other end of the pitch during this spell and Moise Kean had to watch as the ball went out for a goal kick.

All the pressure paid off when Lasse Schöne set up Matthijs de Ligt to head Ajax into the lead in the 67th minute. Juventus had no response and the Amsterdamers became the first Dutch club to reach the Champions League semi-finals since PSV in 2005.

The immediate reaction wasn’t about the result, but how it was achieved. De Volkskrant, one of the biggest newspapers in the Netherlands, highlighted the work done by Ten Hag while singling out the failure of Ronaldo:

Juventus-Ajax was an intense fight, a fight that had to end in bitterness for one and euphoria for the other. Ajax won, just like in Madrid against Real. It is unbelievable. Ajax knocked Cristiano Ronaldo out of the tournament, the king of the Champions League who was summoned to Turin to win the cup here, too. Ajax was better and much fitter. Trainer Erik ten Hag almost always fields the same team, but the players are in a great flow and think they are invincible.

There was no time to dwell on what happened in Turin. Ajax were in Groningen that Saturday for a league game. Suddenly it wasn’t about winning the league or a cup double. A sleeping giant of European football had been awakened and a treble was a real possibility.

CHAPTER 3

HEARTBREAK

ECONOMICALLY, AJAX were the outlier when the draw was made for the Champions League semi-finals.

They had spent just €125 million in the five years leading up to the 2018/19 season, a meagre sum when pitted against what Liverpool and Barcelona used to remain competitive and challenge for the biggest trophies on the planet.

Ajax were also the first team from outside Europe’s top five leagues to make it to the Champions League semi-finals since PSV during the 2004/05 season. That was a moment in time, as it was at the tail end of an era which saw a colourful collection of clubs make it to the competition’s latter rounds. Porto were the only one of these who won the trophy and they did so by defeating Monaco in the 2004 final with a squad managed by Mourinho.

Ajax were paired with Tottenham Hotspur, a team experiencing a similar rush of blood to the head under Pochettino. No one expected them to get as far as they did, as their route to the semi-finals involved ties with Borussia Dortmund and a quadruple-chasing Manchester City. Spurs passed every test and their passage to the semi-finals was secured when a late Raheem Sterling goal was ruled out over an offside in the build-up at the Etihad.

Underneath all of this was a run of form which saw the club pick up just one Premier League point from a possible 15 through February and March. Spurs’ European journey was one of the few reasons to be positive but they didn’t have Harry Kane or Son Heung-min for the semi-final first leg in London. One was injured and the other was suspended, complicating the task for Pochettino. Harry Winks, Serge Aurier and Erik Lamela were also sidelined, whereas Ten Hag had no selection issues.

Ajax, lining up in their usual 4-2-3-1 formation, took the lead in the 15th minute when Neres picked out Schöne and he played a quick pass to Ziyech. The winger took two touches and set up Van de Beek to finish neatly into the corner.

Ajax dealt with a number of Spurs chances in the second half and they got the win in London. Ten Hag and his players went straight back to Amsterdam and that weekend they beat Willem II 4-0 in the KNVB Cup Final.

The first trophy of the season had been secured and now it was all about making sure Spurs didn’t do the unthinkable and come back in Amsterdam. There was a real sense of occasion, as it was the first time all season Ajax would play a Champions League knockout second leg at home and the city buzzed with excitement in the lead-up to kick-off.

All Ten Hag said was: ‘The most important match for Ajax in this arena. We don’t need any external motivation.’

People making their way to the Amsterdam ArenA were acutely aware of the link between this generation and the teams of old. There was a real feeling of living history surrounding this edition of Ajax and