Manager
Frank de Boer
Last time here...
Norwich City...O
52,000-capacity Amsterdam Arena,
which has a retractable roof.
The club is well-known for its legendary
academy set-up, whose many successes
include Cruyff, Dennis Bergkamp, Marco
van Basten, Edwin van der Sar, Rafael
van der Vaart and Wesley Sneijder.
Ajax have lost a key figure this summer
with Belgian international centre-
half Jan Vertonghen, 25, moving to
Tottenham fora fee of around £12m.
The club's captain and player of the
season - who was also named Dutch
player of the season - scored 10 goals
for Ajax last term.
There has also been much speculation
concerning the future of Danish
international midfielder Christian
Eriksen, 20, who has been linked with
a £20m move to Manchester United.
Other possible bidders are said to
include Zenit St Petersburg.
Ajax's new captain is 23-year-old
attacking midfielder Siem de Jong, who
has been capped once by Holland at
international level, and netted 17 goals
in 40 appearances last season.
Former Dutch Under-21 international
Kenneth Vermeer, 26, established
himself as first-choice goalkeeper last
season. In front of him, Ajax's defensive
choices include right-back Gregory
van der Wiel, 24, who has been capped
by Holland 35 times; Belgian central
defender Toby Alderweireld, 23; and
left-back Daley Blind, 22, who is the son
of former Ajax star Danny Blind.
Eriksen and de Jong are the star turns in
midfield alongside Dutch international
Vurnon Anita, 23, who has been linked
with Newcastle. Others to watch out
for include 26-year-old defensive
midfielder Eyong Enoh, a
Cameroon international, and
2011 Dutch footballer of the
year Theo Janssen, who
helped FC Twente to
their historic title success
in 2010.
Up front, Derk Boerrigter,
in his second spell with
Ajax, scored 10 goals
in just 23 appearances
last season. Russian
international Dmitri Bulykin
scored 10 goals but is now a
free agent after leaving the club.
However Ajax still have Serbian
international Miralem Sulejmani, who
joined from Heerenveen in 2008 and
scored 12 goals last season.
Date: Saturday, July 27,2002
Competition:
Centenary celebration match
Attendance: 12,036
Referee: Dermot Gallagher
;H O i RJflX 164
Frank de Boer was promoted to
the role of head coach at Ajax
- initially on a caretaker basis
- in succession to Martin Jol in
December 2010.
He has made a stunning start to his
managerial career by leading the
Dutch giants to successive Eredivisie
titles in 2011 and 2012. De Boer, 42,
is the twin brother of fellow former
Dutch international Ronald de Boer.
The defender made more than 400
appearances for Ajax - winning five
Dutch titles and the 1995 Champions'
League - before both brothers
joined Barcelona for £22m in 1999.
He subsequently had spells with
Galatasaray, Rangers and Qatar-based
Al-Rayyan.
De Boer - whose 112 international
caps stood as a record until it was
eclipsed by Edwin van der Sar - joined
the coaching staff at Ajax in 2007, and
also assisted the national set-up at the
2010 World Cup. He was among those
linked with the recent managerial
vacancy at Liverpool.
Did you know.Jn 2007 Ajax decided to retire shirt number 14 out of respect for Club legend Johan Cruyff
