FlashFocus: Ajax's freefall, nadir and their rocky road back to the top
On February 6th 2022, news came out that rocked Amsterdam. Marc Overmars, the legendary winger, at the time Ajax's successful technical director, had displayed disturbing behaviour, including sending 'dick pics' to a female colleague, resulting in his dismissal. That exit was a negative turning point in Ajax's story.
Successful coach Erik ten Hag left for Manchester United after that season. In his place, Alfred Schreuder was appointed, who was sacked as early as January 2023 due to poor results. A major problem was the failure to appoint a new technical director. Ajax sold hundreds of millions worth of players but failed to reinvest the money in players who could continue Amsterdam's success.
Jong Ajax coach Johnny Heitinga was appointed interim coach after Schreuder's dismissal, but their eventual third-place finish was a disappointing decline from previous seasons.
A toxic turning point
In April 2023, Sven Mislintat was appointed technical director. Heitinga was thanked for his efforts and made way for Maurice Steijn. In hindsight, it might have been a better idea to combine ammonia and bleach than Steijn and Mislintat.
That summer, another string of star players left the club and Mislintat spent more than €100 million on replacements. The players brought in did not match Steijn's wishes at all and the start to the league season went disastrously.
In a sea of poor results and rumblings in the corridors, the only bright spot in that period was the news that Alex Kroes, AZ's successful general manager, would be brought over in March 2024 to replace the departed Edwin van der Sar.
The first half of the 2023/2024 season saw three moments that could each be seen as the low point in Ajax's history. The first was a symbolic low. On September 24th, 2023, the Klassieker in the Johan Cruijff ArenA against Feyenoord was permanently stopped with Ajax 3-0 down in the 62nd minute after fireworks were thrown onto the pitch several times. Twenty minutes later, the main entrance of the ArenA was stormed and vandalised by hooligans. Police managed to dislodge the rioters before a truly dangerous situation could arise.
Mislintat was sacked that day, but a new low point soon followed on October 29th. Literally, the lowest of points. Away at PSV, Ajax lost 5-2. It was the 10th match in a row without a win and resulted in the Amsterdammers occupying a historic last spot in the league table at the end of that weekend. By then, Steijn had already been sacked and John van 't Schip was appointed in his place.
The Myth of Sisyphus
To understand Ajax's path since that day, it is apt to draw a comparison with Sisyphus - a figure in Greek mythology, who was punished for his misdeeds during earthly life in the afterlife with the task of pushing a large boulder up a steep mountain. However, the boulder constantly rolled back down when Sisyphus got close to the top of the mountain. Thus, he was doomed to forever pushing that boulder up the mountain and seeing his hard work undone every time he was almost finished.
At least at the time of Van 't Schip's appointment, it was known that the task ahead of him was of enormous magnitude, but the start of his term was auspicious. In the last eight league games of 2023, 20 points were gained and confidence began to emerge again. Hope was back in Amsterdam.
But then, Sisyphus' rock came crashing down for the first time. A third low took place: a sporting low. In the most ignominious defeat in the club's history, Ajax was beaten 3-2 by the amateurs of third-division side Hercules in the second round of the KNVB Cup tournament on December 21st.
During the winter break, Van 't Schip managed to pick up the pieces of a humiliated eleven. The second half of the season started with moderate success and the points began to roll in again. Also, on March 15th, Kroes was appointed: the obvious person to help Ajax back to the top.
On April 2nd, however, the boulder thundered down again. Kroes was suspended by the supervisory board with the intention of ending the partnership permanently on the grounds that the new general manager had bought 17,000 shares in Ajax a week before his appointment was announced. That would be insider trading, a criminal offence.
The investigation into Kroes is ongoing to this day but his resignation from Ajax did not materialise and, on April 25th, he returned to the board. Not as general manager, but as technical director.
Ajax finished the season in fifth place, their worst final ranking since the 1999/2000 season, and Kroes started looking diligently for a new coach. He ended up with Francesco Farioli. The Italian coach seemed to put the Amsterdam defence in order quite nicely, winning both matches in the third qualification round for this season's Europa League, as well as the first of the two-match series against Panathinaikos in the fourth preliminary round and their opening league match as well.
Reaching the mountaintop
The home game against Panathinaikos looked to be heading towards a win, but in the closing stages, the Greeks scored, forcing extra time, after which penalties had to determine the winner. The penalty series lasted 28 minutes and included no less than 34 penalties, of which Ajax hit 13 and Panathinaikos 12.
Such a result obviously makes the proverbial sun shine again: Ajax was in the playoffs and assured of European football. The following Sunday, the rock tumbled down again. Away to NAC Breda, the doomed relegation candidate, Ajax lost 2-1.
That this is a story of trial and error will be clear by now. On Thursday, Ajax secured a spot in the group stage of the Europa League, taking their first steps up the mountain. It is hoped that Ajax, unlike Sisyphus, can one day conclude that the rock has reached the top. That that day lies in a distant, uncertain future is clear, but that the club and its millions of fans worldwide will never stop working towards that day is a certainty.
