Ajax, the legendary Amsterdam club, hosts the Volendam club in the Dutch championship on Thursday, November 2, for a high-risk match. The club, last in the ranking, is experiencing a catastrophic start to the season.
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Four Champions Leagues, the most successful team in the Netherlands with 36 championships, legendary players galore (Johan Cruyff, Marco Van Basten and Denis Bergkamp): Ajax Amsterdam is a legendary club in world football. And yet the Ajacides, who reached the semi-finals of the C1 in 2019, are experiencing an unprecedented crisis this season which could send them to the Dutch second division. Ajax has not won a match in the Eredivise, the elite of Dutch football, since August 24. Worse: the club is currently in last place in the championship, with only 5 points in 8 matches, after a heavy 5-2 defeat against rivals and current leaders PSV Eindoven.
The results were no better in the Europa League, including a draw against OM (3-3) and a last place in the group. The break with the fans is therefore deep and worries some former members of the club, such as midfielder Rafael Van der Vaart. “The players must not underestimate the situation. We must consider ourselves a candidate for relegation. It’s very sad, but it’s true,” warned the former attacking midfielder who also spent time with Hamburg and Real Madrid.
The supporters multiply the excesses
Faced with these poor results, the excesses of fiery Ajax fans are increasing, as during the Dutch Classic (De Klassieker) against Feynoord Rotterdam, one of the hottest matches in Europe. While their team was trailing 3-0, supporters threw smoke bombs onto the pitch, pushing the referee to stop the match. Incidents then broke out outside the stadium, forcing the police to intervene.
The supporters, exasperated, blame the management of the club as much as the poor results. A deleterious climate which pushed towards the exit the technical director of the club, Sven Mislintat, responsible for transfers this summer and under investigation for conflict of interest, as well as the coach Maurice Steijn, dismissed at the end of the month of October. A situation which is reminiscent of that, in France, of Olympique Lyonnais in Ligue 1 this season.