THE GLORY YEARS
played at Wembley Stadium. The Dutch side took a
fifth-minute lead against Greek outfit Panathinaikos
through a Dick van Dijk strike. Arie Hann confirmed
Ajax's victory three minutes from time with a shot that
deflected off defender Anthimos Kapsis and beat Takis
Ikonomopoulos in the Panathinaikos goal. Cruyff won
the Ballon d'Or for the first time later that year.
Ajax's defence of their European crown began
with a two-legged tie against Dynamo Dresden in the
first round of the 1971/72 competition. Following a
2-0 aggregate victory against the East Germans, the
Amsterdamers beat Marseille, Arsenal and Benfica
to reach the final once again. Internazionale were no
match for Stefan Kovacs' side, who had become world-
renowned for their eye-catching style of play - known
as Total Football'. Two second-half goals from Cruyff
saw Ajax retain the trophy with a 2-0 win at De Kuip in
Rotterdam - home of Feyenoord - on 31 May, 1972.
That same year, Ajax competed in the newly-formed
European Super Cup. Their two-legged showpiece
against European Cup Winners'Cup holders Rangers
was not sanctioned by UEFA however, with the Scottish
club having been banned from their competitions for a
year for the alleged misbehaviour of their fans.
The match went ahead anyway and was billed as a
celebration of Rangers' centenary. The Dutch side
won 6-3 on aggregate, with a 3-2 triumph in the second
leg at the Olympisch Stadion in Amsterdam, which
staged the majority of Ajax's European matches
until the club moved to the Amsterdam Arena
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(now known as the Johan Cruijff Arena) in 1996.
Having conquered Europe, Ajax achieved glory on the
world stage by beating Argentinian side Independiente 4-1
on aggregate in the final of the Intercontinental Cup. That
victory meant Ajax had won every tournament (five in total)
they entered that calendar year - a feat Celtic had previously
achieved in 1967 (six) and that was matched by Barcelona
(six) in 2009.
Ajax beat CSKA Sofia, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid to
reach their third consecutive European Cup Final in 1972/73.
A fifth minute goal from Johnny Rep against Juventus was
enough to see the Dutch giants retain the trophy with a 1-0
victory at the Red Star Stadium in Belgrade on 30 May, 1973.
Cruyff won the Ballon d'Or for a second time that year and
also collected the award in 1974.
The Godenzonen's grip on the European Cup was finally
relinquished during the 1973/74 season as a 2-1 aggregate
defeat to CSKA Sofia saw them eliminated at the round of 16.
In January 1974, Ajax officially won the European Super Cup
