meet the
DUTCH
MASTERS
CHAMPIONS of the World
European Cup Cham
pions. The claims by Ajax to
the title of football's
greatest club team are un
challengeable.
The Dutch champions have
risen to the top in the past few
years thanks to their combina
tion of aggressive strength and
height allied to fine team work,
superb fitness, individual bril
liance but above all sheer
soccer skill.
Ajax, founded in 1900, have
been Dutch champions 1 5 times
since football was formed in
Holland. Originally it was an
amateur game and stayed that
way until 1954 when a break
away professional movement
was started and this led two
years later to the Dutch F A.
accepting that professional
soccer was firmly established.
And it is since the acceptance
of pro. soccer that Ajax, and
their great rivals Feyenoord of
Rotterdam, have become recog
nised as among the top sides in
Europe.
Indeed, these two clubs
dominate Dutch football now
attracting the biggest crowds,
the best players. Between them
they have won the champion
ship 12 times since 1955-56,
with no other club having taken
the title since 1964, and with
Ajax champs five times in the
past seven years.
Ajax have also been Dutch
Cup winners for the past three
seasons, which illustrates clear
ly their dominance of Nether
lands football.
This form in recent years is
even better than in their 'golden
days' in the 1930's when they
won the National title five times
in 10 years.
On the wider European front,
Ajax first served notice of their
emergence as a major force
when they won through to the
1969 European Cup Final only
to crash 4-1 to A.C. Milan of
Italy in Madrid.
The next year their rivals
Feyenoord went one better
beating Celtic 2-1 in Milan in
the Final and that must have
acted as a spur to Ajax who
went on to keep the Cup in
Holland in 1971 with a 2-0
victory over Panathinaikos of
Greece at Wembley. They
followed this up by retaining
the trophy with a 2-0 victory
against Inter-Milan in Rotter
dam last season.
Ajax, who had refused to
compete in the World Club
championship in 1971, took
part on the second occasion
and defeated Independiente of
Argentine to win the trophy (as
Feyenoord did in 1970).
After drawing 1-1 in South
America, Ajax crushed the
Argentinians 3-0 in Amsterdam.
Ajax play most of their league
matches at their own small
stadiumit has a capacity of
less than 30,000—but for their
return game with Rangers, and
for all big games, they use the
Olympic Stadium in Amster
dam.
Currently Ajax are bossed by
Rumanian-born Stefan Kovacs,
who took over from the
legendary Rinus Michels last
season and steered the team to
that European Cup success in
his first year.
Kovacs is a former Rumanian
international footballer and also
played for a number of Euro-
