AFC Ajax is one of the most successful clubs in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax is the most successful club in the Netherlands, with 36 Eredivisie titles and 20 KNVB Cups.
Ajax is historically one of the most successful clubs in the world; according to the IFFHS, Ajax were the seventh-most successful European club of the 20th century. The club is one of the five teams that has earned the right to keep the European Cup and to wear a multiple-winner badge; they won consecutively in 1971–1973. In 1972, they completed the continental treble by winning the Eredivisie, KNVB Cup, and the European Cup. Ajax's last international trophies were the 1995 Intercontinental Cup and the 1995 Champions League, where they defeated Milan in the final; they lost the 1996 Champions League final, on penalties to Juventus.
Ajax is also one of three teams to win the continental treble and the Intercontinental Cup in the same season/calendar year;With Manchester United in 1999 and Barcelona in 2009. This was achieved in the 1971–72 season.UEFA sanctioned the UEFA Supercup for the first time in 1973. In 1972 was an unofficial edition and the 1st Centenary of Rangers (See ) Ajax, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Chelsea are the five clubs to have won all three major UEFA club competitions.European Cup, Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Cup. They have also won the Intercontinental Cup twice, the 1991–92 UEFA Cup, as well as the Karl Rappan Cup, a predecessor of the UEFA Intertoto Cup, in 1962.UEFA sanctioned the UEFA Intertoto Cup for the first time in 1995. In the 1960s, it was unofficial. See Ajax plays at the Johan Cruyff Arena (previously known as Amsterdam Arena), which opened in 1996. They previously played at De Meer Stadion and the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium (for international matches).
Amateur era
The club was founded in Amsterdam on 18 March 1900 by Floris Stempel, Carel Reeser and Han Dade, the second incarnation after a short-lived previous attempt—as Football Club Ajax—in 1894. The club was named after the mythological hero Ajax, a Greek who fought in the Trojan War against Troy. In The Iliad, Ajax was said to be the greatest of all the Greeks next to his cousin Achilles, and even fought an inconclusive duel with Troy's champion, Hector. According to most accounts, Ajax died by suicide, thus, unlike Achilles, he died unconquered.
Ajax succeeded in promotion to the highest level of Dutch football in 1911 under the guidance of Jack Kirwan, their first official coach. The promotion meant that Ajax were forced to alter the club's strip, as Sparta of Rotterdam had the same kit, red-white vertical stripes with black shorts. Ajax adopted a broad vertical red stripe on a white background with white shorts, which remains the club's kit colours to this day.
Although their efforts were not unnoticed (Gé Fortgens became a frequent member of the Netherlands national team for many years), they were relegated in 1914. While they immediately bounced back, they had to wait until 1917 to regain higher level status again: they did become league champions in both 1915 (Second Division Nood West B) and 1916 (Second Division West C), however the 1915 league was declared unofficial (due to World War I), whereas in 1916 they did not make it through the promotion round (Promotion Competition 2nd Division West).
Under the guidance of Jack Reynolds (Kirwan's successor as of 1915), the club was promoted to the highest level in 1917 and won the Dutch national cup final, defeating VSV 5–0. Ajax went on to win their first national championship in 1918. The championship was secured in Tilburg where they faced Willem II without Jan de Natris, arguably the club's first star player, who missed the train to Tilburg and opted to stay in Amsterdam instead, earning him a fine of ten cents. In the following season, he received a six-month ban, though Ajax nonetheless performed well in his absence; not only did they retain the championship title, their 1919 campaign was also an unbeaten run for them, an accomplishment that was only repeated 76 years later by Ajax themselves.
Now a regular contender for the Western Regional championship in the Netherlands, Ajax marched through the 1920s with regional titles in 1921, 1927 and 1928, in addition to a few minor cup victories. The 1930s would prove to be more successful, however; with household names as Wim Anderiesen Sr., Dolf van Kol, Piet Strijbosch, Wim Volkers, Jan van Diepenbeek, Bob ten Have, Erwin van Wijngaarden and prolific striker Piet van Reenen, Ajax' period from the late '20s until World War II was so successful that many people dubbed it "the golden age" (a reference to the 17th century, the heyday of the Dutch Republic).
With eight regional titles (1930–32, 1934–37 and 1939) and five national championships (1931, 1932, 1934, 1937 and 1939), Ajax was the most successful team of that era in the country. The 1930s were also notable for the final culmination of the rivalry with Feyenoord, another squad that earned many awards in that time, as well as the creation of the stadium 'het Ajax-Stadion' dubbed 'De Meer' (named after the borough of its residence). Until the emergence of the Amsterdam Arena in 1996, this was Ajax' home ground together with the Olympic Stadium for higher-profile games.
As of the 1940s, perhaps in line with Jack Reynolds' retirement (he had stayed – save for a few spells of absence – on for the entire time as Ajax' manager since his entry in 1915), Ajax went through a period of rebuilding. Gerrit Fischer and Erwin van Wijngaarden were retained, with Joop Stoffelen, Guus Dräger, Gé van Dijk, Jan Potharst and later Rinus Michels and Cor van der Hart brought in. After a Cup Final victory in 1943, Ajax went on to finish second in the championship league in 1946 (behind HFC Haarlem) followed by a league championship win in 1947.
They became regional champions in 1950 again, though they never came near winning the championship. The season was notable for a match against SC Heerenveen, with Heerenveen coming back from 5–1 down to win 6–5. In 1941, Ajax performed the opposite: after being 6–0 behind to VUC in The Hague they managed to pull out a draw in the end (6–6).
Until 1954, the year that professional football was introduced in the Netherlands, Ajax had some minor successes, with the regional title in 1952 and a second place in the regional championship in 1954 (equal in points with fellow Amsterdam club DWS).
Professional football and the road to the top In 1955, professional football was finally permitted in the Netherlands. Ajax was still far from the international top, as was demonstrated in the European Cup match against Vasas SC, where they were beaten by the Hungarians 4–0 in the Népstadion. Similar European failures followed in 1960, with Ajax being knocked out by the Norwegian amateurs of Fredrikstad FK and in the Cup Winners' Cup in 1961 by Újpest of Ferenc Bene.
Ajax achieved some success on the domestic level, earning the first Eredivisie-championship in 1957 and again in 1960, the 1960 title decided by a playoff after equalling in points with arch-rivals Feyenoord. Ajax cruised to a 5–1 victory with a hat trick by striker Wim Bleijenberg.
Bleijenberg was not the top scorer, however. Henk Groot – the younger brother of Cees Groot, who had scored 100 goals for Ajax in his five-year stay – arrived in 1959 from Stormvogels and scored 38 goals in 1959–60 and 41 in 1960–61. He was a vital part of Ajax in the early 1960s, replacing star striker Piet van der Kuil, who had left for PSV in 1960. Alongside the man who would later become Mister Ajax, Sjaak Swart, Co Prins, Ton Pronk, Bennie Muller and a young Piet Keizer, Ajax added the National Cup in 1961 and the Intertoto Cup 1962 to their trophy cabinet.
After missing out on the championship after a 5–2 defeat against PSV in 1963, Ajax entered a period of decline in the national league. Henk Groot left to Feyenoord that summer, and in 1964–65, they were near relegation. Things improved after former player Rinus Michels replaced Vic Buckingham as the head manager. Ajax managed to secure a midtable spot under Michels; however, Buckingham's second tenure saw the introduction of Johan Cruyff during a 3–1 loss at GVAV.
Michels started a revolution in Amsterdam, beginning with the return of Henk Groot and Co Prins, as well as the signing of goalkeeper Gert Bals. Michels built a side around the vision of "Total Football," sacrificing players who he considered not to be good enough or fit the style of play. The most notable example of this was defender Frits Soetekouw – replaced by Ajax' new captain Velibor Vasović – whose own goal aided the victory of Dukla Prague in the quarter-final of the European Cup in 1966–67, after Ajax had knocked out Beşiktaş and defeated Liverpool 5–1 at the Mistwedstrijd.
Ajax sealed their second consecutive championship in 1967. They were not as dominant as the previous year, but with a seemingly unstoppable attack, they scored no less than 122 goals (still a national record), of which 33 were from Johan Cruyff, who, at just 20 years of age, was already the team's star player. It was also the season for another important milestone—for the first time in history, Ajax won the double (after defeating NAC Breda in the cup final).
It earned them European Cup qualification, being knocked out by Real Madrid in the subsequent season, with Veloso scoring the winner for Los Merengues in extra time after two 1–1 draws, results which greatly enhanced the reputation of the club.
Ajax won the Dutch title of 1968 overtaking Feyenoord, the league leaders for much of the season, and reached the European Cup final of 1969 in Madrid against Milan. In qualifying for the European Cup Final, Ajax defeated 1. FC Nürnberg in the first round. They were almost knocked out by Benfica in the second, losing 1–3 to them in Amsterdam but winning the second leg in Lisbon, 1–3. The decisive third match in neutral Paris was won 3–0 through two goals by Inge Danielsson and one by Cruyff. They repeated this score at home against the next opponent, Czechoslovak club Spartak Trnava, in the next round, but struggled in the second leg, narrowly qualifying on aggregate. In the final, Milan, lauded for their excellent defence and counter-attacks, easily won 4–1, with Pierino Prati opening the scoring after seven minutes and going on to score a hat-trick, while Velibor Vasović was the only Ajax player on the scoresheet after scoring from a penalty. Milan's win was capped by a goal by Angelo Sormani.
Gloria Ajax: European dominance and treble
Following their loss in the European Cup Final, Ajax entered another period of rebuilding. Among the new additions were national top scorer Dick van Dijk and midfielders Gerrie Mühren and Nico Rijnders, while a second team player, Ruud Krol, was promoted to the first XI. They replaced Klaas Nuninga, Inge Danielsson, Theo van Duijvenbode (all sold to other clubs) and Henk Groot, who retired from football after an injury while playing against Poland. Ton Pronk and Bennie Muller were no longer as frequently in the first 11 after many years of service.
In 1969–70, Ajax won the Dutch league championship, winning 27 out of 34 games and scoring 100 goals. Feyenoord remained in contention throughout the season, but they had to settle for second place. Both clubs won a trophy, however, with Ajax winning the Eredivisie title while Feyenoord captured the European Cup. Ajax reached the semi-finals of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1970 (being knocked out by Arsenal after defeating Hannover 96, Napoli, Ruch Chorzów and Carl Zeiss Jena).