Ajax, once the envy of Europe for their solid club structure, have deteriorated in just 12 months. As they head into a playoff to reach the knockout phase of the Europa League, they are on their third manager in a year and are still without a technical director as two of their three “central pillars” collapsed: sporting director Marc Overmars resigned in disgrace last February, and Erik ten Hag left to join Manchester United in the summer.
It was Edwin van der Sar — the last remaining pillar — who had to put Ajax back together again.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)
A year on, Ajax haven’t yet replaced Overmars and Ten Hag’s successor, Alfred Schreuder, has just been sacked as well. The club, third in the Eredivisie and out of the Champions League, have turned to John Heitinga to steer the team through to the end of the season and while he’s a son of the club, his elevation wasn’t meant to come this soon. But he has started brilliantly, with four wins from four.
As Ajax prepare for their two-legged Europa League playoff against Union Berlin, the club is trying to navigate its way through some choppy waters. Can they salvage something from a disastrous season so far?
Overmars leaves a void
Rewind to December 2021 and all was well in Amsterdam. The club, still with several of the players who reached the 2019 Champions League semifinal, had enjoyed a historic Champions League group stage as they won all six of their matches and were top of the Eredivisie.
Overmars had signed a new deal through to 2026 as the club fended off the admiring Newcastle United, among other suitors, while Ten Hag was increasingly tempted to prolong his stay in Amsterdam despite being one of the most sought-after managers in Europe. The club’s transfer strategy was on point, their Bob Marley-inspired third kit was selling out inside seconds and Van der Sar was brimming with pride at the job they’d done to restore Ajax to the summit of European football.
But by early February, their best-laid plans had been torched. Just 62 days after signing a new contract, Overmars resigned after multiple complaints from female colleagues over inappropriate messages. “I find the situation appalling for everyone,” Van der Sar said. “In my role, I also feel responsible to help colleagues. A safe sport and working climate is very important.”
The club refrained from appointing a replacement and by April, they were looking for a new manager after Ten Hag agreed to join Manchester United. Sources have told ESPN that, just a couple of months earlier, there was optimism within the club that Ten Hag was contemplating turning down offers from elsewhere to try to win a European title in Amsterdam, such was the strength and cohesion of the club’s project. But United’s pitch was too attractive and by early May, Ajax were left looking for a new technical director and manager.
They acted quickly to replace Ten Hag with Schreuder, who was an assistant to Ten Hag at Ajax for 18 months and with Ronald Koeman at Barcelona across the 2020-21 season. He has been head coach at FC Twente and Bundesliga club Hoffenheim and led Club Brugge to the 2021-22 Belgium First Division title in a five-month spell.
“We’ve made progress and become Europe-proof,” Ten Hag said in his farewell interview. “Schreuder has the advantage that he’s familiar with the club. He was there from the start. That’s a huge advantage, and he knows what to expect. A foundation has been laid that he can use to expand upon.”
Schreuder was told the club would likely transfer out four first-team players over the summer, but it proved to be a far larger overhaul than anyone expected. With Overmars gone, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Gerry Hamstra (Overmars’ assistant) took charge of recruitment as technical managers, but they weren’t at director level like Overmars. There were reports Ajax were looking at Alex Kroes as their new technical supremo, but the decision to appoint Schreuder without his approval meant those talks broke down.
Behind the scenes, the board tried to bring some calm to the club. On Sept. 9, Van der Sar signed a new deal and reiterated the hope the club would continue to challenge in the Champions League on an annual basis. Speaking of Schreuder, Van der Sar said: “The team needs to gel now, a coach needs peace, time and energy to do that.” He spoke of how “rigorous” the team had been in recruitment but finished with the qualification: “In the end we’re a company, the coach has to win on Sunday.”
It was a tough start to the season, and their Champions League campaign was over before it began as they lost three of their opening four matches (off the back of their 100% record the previous season). The pressure began to mount on Schreuder, with the fact he spent some of his playing career at Ajax’s rivals Feyenoord not helping matters. And it came to a head in October when he finally lost his cool with the media after they’d beaten Excelsior 7-1. In the face of criticism after a run of results that included losing to Napoli across their two matches with an aggregate score of 10-3, and a disappointing 1-1 draw at home with Go Ahead Eagles, Schreuder said: “The truth is that I cannot build a completely new team in three months. I do my best, but I have to be given time. If I don’t get that, it’s a shame. If they fire me for that, I don’t care.”
He added, after his decision to start Mohammed Kudus ahead of Brian Brobbey was also criticised: “I decide here at Ajax who plays and who doesn’t play. This team needs time. If people think it will happen in three months, forget it. Go and get your coaching diplomas and don’t preach nonsense on television, because you have no idea at all.” And Schreuder even had to defend the role his agent, Milos Malenovic, had in Ajax’s recruitment, saying: “My agent helped with bringing players to Ajax? That’s right. You know why? Because Overmars left. For every person within the club things became new.”
