ajax
il
FOOTBALL
Ajax stil set a standard
that
few can match
OWB
Edgar Davids
TOTAL
RANGERS have welcomed some of Europe's greatest
clubs to Ibrox over the years and there is no doubt that
today's visitors deserve to be included in this exclusive list.
Having won two Intercontinental Cups, four European Cups, 1
Cup Winners' Cup, 1 UEFA Cup, two European Super Cups and
an endless amount of domestic silverware it is hardly surprising
that there is a air of expectancy when Ajax come to town.
Over the years the Amsterdam club has been responsible
for producing some of most exciting talent ever to play the
beautiful game including 3ohan Cruyff, Marco Van Basten,
Dennis Bergkamp, Clarence Seedorf and, of course, Ronald
and Frank de Boer to name just a few.
The club might not be quite as strong as they were in the
mid-90s when they dominated both the Eredivisie in Holland
and also the European scene but they still have within their
ranks an abundance of quality players that will make tonight's
game at Ibrox a huge test for Walter Smith's new-look team.
The 2006/07 league season was to be a disappointing one
for the club as they were to miss out on being crowned
Champions on the final day of the campaign due to PSV
Eindhoven's marginally better goal difference.
They did, however, win the Johan Cruyff Shield and the Dutch
Cup and coach Henk Ten Cate will be looking for his side to
bring more trophies back to the club in the next 12 months.
The recent departure of star striker Ryan Babel to Liverpool
and the experienced Kenneth Perez to rivals PSV has meant that
some surgery has had to be performed on the current squad.
But with key figures such as Dutch superstars Jaap Stam and
Edgar Davids still pulling the strings along with one of Holland's
brightest young player, Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Ajax's fervent
support are likely to have more to cheer about in 2007/08.
Here are some of the players that could feature tonight:
