Ajax of Amsterdam, World club champions and
winners of the European Cup for the past three
years, visit Old Trafford to salute a player who can
claim to have been one of Europe's master
footballers in the 1960's. There could surely have
been no better choice by Denis Law and his
committee for this magnificent occasion.
Even if Johan Cruyff, the brilliant 26-year-old
international striker, has left this season for
Barcelonapocketing half the world record transfer
fee of six million guilders (£922,300)—the glamour
and magic of the name of Ajax is undiminished.
Their dressing room is crowded with international
footballers, eight of them having played in
Holland's recent World Cup game against Iceland.
The long list of class players includes men like
Piet Keizer, new discovery Johnny Rep, Horst
Blankenburg, and this year's £1 60,000 signing from
Anderlecht, Jan Mulder.
Renowned for their skilful, thoughtful and
essentially creative approach, Ajax have become
the leading soccer entertainers on the Continent
by virtue of the all-round ability, versatility and
adaptability of the men they recruit.
Capable of switching tactics and playing styles for
the needs of any particular match, Ajax base
their game on the simple plan that all defenders can
attack and all attackers defend. Consequently,
the back four men are all frequently among the goals
in Dutch football.
Ajax have appeared in four finals of the European
Cup. They lost at the first attempt1 -4 to A.C.
Milan in Madrid in 1969and then carried off the
premier trophy in 1 9711972 and 1973.
Rinus Michels was the coach in charge of the
team when Panathinaikos of Athens were beaten
2-0 at Wembley, and Stefan Kovacs took over
for the two victories against Italian opposition
2-0 v Inter Milan (Rotterdam), and 1 -0 v Juventus
last May, when Rep scored the decider in a match
watched by 100,000 in Belgrade.
George Knobel, 50, is the new coach, having
succeeded the talented and highly successful
Kovacs in June. It is his intention that Ajax will win
the European Cup six times in a row, and topple
the apparently unassailable record held by
Real Madrid.
"My team is a good one, and a young one-but
we can do much to make our style and record
even better" says Knobel, a Dutchman who joined
Ajax from MVV Maastricht. "It is most important
that we stay at the top in Europe, and with that in
mind, we must be ready to move with the times.
Young players must be brought in and changes made
whenever necessary".
Founded in 1 900, Ajax operated as a multi-sports
organisation until 1972, when the football club
became a limited company. It is run by a committee
of 24 members, whose president, Jop van Praag,
deserves much credit for the phenomenal success of
recent years. He is a businessman with interests
in radio and television, and owns several shops in
Amsterdam and at Schipol Airport.
The Ajax ground in Middenweg, Amsterdam, can
hold no more than 25,000 spectators, and many
of the big European matches are played at the
National Stadium. The average home attendance last
season, when the Dutch championship was won
for the 1 6th time, was 23,823, and there are 12,000
season ticket holders. In Holland, Ajax regularly
travel with 5,000 followers, and they expect
considerable support here tonight.
Triple European
