X
THE BOSS
Ajax Honours
\m sterdam
Ronald Koeman is one of the most famous
names in the football world, a man hoping to
emulate in management what he achieved
during his playing days.
The former Dutch international, 40, was a
defender who has a goalscoring record that would
be the envy of many strikers, netting 193 times in
533 domestic matches. A star of Holland's 1988
European Championship-winning side. Koeman
played for FC Groningen. Ajax and PSV in his
homeland before enjoying a successful five years at
the Nou Camp with Barcelona before finishing his
playing career back in Holland with Feyenoord.
With Ajax's roll of honour a spectacular one
Koeman will be under pressure to add to the
trophy collection, especially as his side missed out
on the top flight prize by just one point to great
rivals PSV in 2002-03.
National champions: 1918, 1919, 1931, 1932,
1934, 1937, 1939, 1947, 1957, I960, 1966, 1967,
1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982,
1983, 1985, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2002
First Division champions: 1918, 1919, 1921,
1927, 1928, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1935, 1936,
1937, 1939, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1952
National Cup winners: 1917, 1943, 1961, 1967,
1970, 1971, 1972, 1979, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1993,
1998, 1999, 2002
Intertoto: 1962
Dutch Super Cup: 1993, 1994, 1995
European Champions Cup/Champions League:
1971, 1972, 1973, 1995
European Cup winners'Cup: 1987
UEFA Cup: 1992
European Super Cup: 1972, 1973, 1995
World Club Cup (from 1930): 1972, 1995
All the latest Rams news and views: www.dt
When you start talking
about the likes of
Barcelona, Real Madrid,
AC Milan and Bayern Munich it
would be rude not to mention Ajax
Amsterdam as part of the
conversation.
Not too many clubs around could
lay claim to being a European 'Super
Club' but the team from the
Amsterdam Arena are certainly
contenders for a place in that category.
Throughout their 103-year history -
they were founded on 18 March 1900
- Ajax have battled it out domestically
with heated rivals PSV Eindhoven and
Feyenoord and have been successful in
clinching the Dutch title no less than 28
times.
Unbelievable though it is today, in
the early years after their formation
the Dutch giants struggled in their
home league. It wasn't until the arrival
of legendary coach Jack Reynolds, the
man who went on to spend 35 years at
the helm of the team, that their
fortunes changed. From that point on
Ajax would forever be seen on, or
near, the top of the table.
Reynolds, and his revolutionary
training methods, were also the
foundation of what has now become
the world famous Ajax Youth Training
Programme.
In 1918 the club clinched their first
league title and soon began to rack up
trophy after trophy but it was the
1930s that were to be a special decade
for the club as in 1934 they moved into
their new ground, a place where
legends such as Johan Cruyff would be
born. The stadium became known as
'De Meer'.
Ajax's European debut came in 1961
when they became the first team from
the Netherlands to participate in the
European Cup Winners Cup.
A decade later and the Dutch
maestros were European Cup
winners. Ajax was now the name on
everyone's lips and their talented side
went on to destroy all opposition in
achieving three consecutive European
Cups.
The 1972 team, led by the brilliant
Cruyff, had one of the best seasons
ever by a professional football team
with the side winning the National
Championship, the Dutch Cup,
European Champions Cup and World
Club Cup.
A quarter of a century of further
success brought about even more
interest in Ajax and it was soon
realised that they had outgrown their
historic home 'De Meer'. In 1996 they
moved to the state-of-the-art
Amsterdam Arena.
With it started a new chapter in the
history of Ajax Amsterdam FC but one
thing didn't change and that was that
the talented players kept coming,
along with the trophies.
Ajax are a team of true top class
European calibre and everyone
connected with Derby County
welcomes them to Pride Park Stadium
tonight.
