Ajax Amsterdam – GAME OF THE PEOPLE

FEYENOORD and PSV Eindhoven meet this weekend in the Eredivisie, a game that could strengthen the home side’s position at the top of the table or revive PSV’s title bid. At the same time, Ajax, who are one point behind PSV, could still have a say in the race for the top, although the reigning champions are in a state of flux at the moment.

Ajax sacked manager Alfred Schreuder a week ago after a run of seven games without a win, handing the job until the end of the season to John Heitinga, who moved across from Jong Ajax to take charge. His first game, away at Excelsior, ended in a 4-1 victory.

It was always going to be difficult for Schreuder to take over from Erik ten Hag, especially as Ajax lost Antony (€95m) and Lisandro Martinez (€57.4m) to Manchester United, Ryan Gravenberch to Bayern Munich (€ 18.5m) and Sébastien Haller to Borussia Dortmund (€31m). Ajax’s chief executive, Edwin van der Sar, said the sacking was “painful but necessary”.

		P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Feyenoord	19	12	6	1	43	16	42
2	AZ Alkmaar	19	12	4	3	40	24	40
3	PSV Eindhoven	19	12	2	5	47	23	38
4	Ajax	19	10	7	2	51	21	37

It’s still too early to concede the title, but Ajax cannot afford any more slip-ups. They have drawn far too many games and also lost to PSV and AZ Alkmaar. Their Champions League campaign also ended in the group stage after they lost four of their six games in a group with Liverpool, Napoli and Rangers. They will resume their interest in Europe in the Europa League.

Feyenoord, meanwhile, have lost just once (against PSV) and are two points ahead of AZ. They have been boosted by the goals of Danilo Pereira da Silva, a 23 year-old Brazilian striker signed from Ajax, and their young Turkish skipper, Orkun Köksü, both of whom have eight goals in the Eredivisie. In defence, goalkeeper Justin Bijlow has kept nine clean sheets in his 19 league appearances. Feyenoord’s last Eredivisie success was in 2017 when they pushed Ajax into second place by one point.

Feyenoord’s president has spoken out about the gap between the Eredivisie and the Premier League, who regularly raid the Dutch league for reasonably-priced talent. Three of their stars, Tyrell Malacia, Luis Sinisterra and Marcos Senesi joined Manchester United, Leeds United and Bournemouth for fees totalling € 55 million. While losing top players creates problems, the money is hard to resist for Dutch clubs. It has almost become a way of life and a crucial part of the Dutch football business model. Feyenoord are not as proficient as the other big two clubs in the Netherlands in making profits from player trading.

Interestingly, Dennis te Kloese’s comment in the media came as leading French journalist Julian Lauren was talking about the massive imbalance in European football, created by the Premier’s wealth, the inability of other leagues to keep pace and the threat of the Premier’s counterparts becoming feeder leagues.

Feyenoord, with an average gate of 47,500 at their iconic De Kuip stadium, generated € 87.2 million in the 2021-22 season, of which only € 8 million was attributable to domestic broadcasting. The Eredivisie made the mistake of agreeing a 12-year deal back in 2013, which really puts Dutch clubs at a disadvantage. Feyenoord’s income is over € 100 million less than Ajax’s combined revenues and just slightly less than PSV’s earnings of € 93 million. Although Feyenoord have a lot of ground to make up, they are currently in a much better places than they were a decade ago when their financial situation almost tipped them into oblivion.

PSV, currently in third place, lost a few players in the transfer window, notably World Cup stand-out Cody Gakpo, who moved to Liverpool for €42 million and Noni Madueke to Chelsea for € 35m. Gakpo will be very difficult to replace, but PSV have secured three loan signings to reinforce their squad: Fabio Silva (Wolves), Patrick van Aanholt (Galatasaray) and Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Dortmund).

AZ Alkmaar are currently in second place but nobody really expects them to win the title. They are coached by London-born Pascal Jansen, the son of a pop singing duo from the early 1970s. Their recent 5-5 draw with Utrecht showed they know how to score – and concede – goals and they have one of the Eredivisie’s top scorers at the moment in 24 year-old Greek striker Vangelis Pavlidis.

Games to come
Feb 5 2023: Feyenoord v PSV
Feb 19 2023: Feyenoord v AZ
Mar 19 2023: Ajax v Feyenoord
Apr 16 2023: PSV v Ajax
Apr 23 2023: Ajax v AZ
May 28 2023: AZ v PSV

BAYERN MUNICH’s 2019-20 side joined the illustrious list of teams that have won the treble of domestic league and cup and Champions League.

The Bavarians’ success was remarkable given they changed their coach earlier in the campaign, appointing Hans-Dieter Flick as head coach. Flick had been the number two at Bayern and had filled similar roles with RB Salzburg and the German national team. Prior to that, he was coach of Hoffenheim in the regional league. While Flick inherited a team, he rekindled the fire at Bayern and won three major prizes. Bayern Munich joined eight previous winners of the “treble”:

Bayern Munich 2020

IT should be noted that Bayern Munich had won the previous seven Bundesligas when they clinched the title so there was already strong momentum at the club. Bayern started 2019-20 a little out-of-sorts and after a 5-1 defeat in Frankfurt, coach Niko Kovač was sacked. Hans-Dieter Flick took over, initially on an interim basis, and Bayern transformed their season. The CV-19 pandemic disrupted football but by the time the lockdown came into effect, Bayern were top of the table and had made their mark in Europe, including a stunning 7-2 win at Tottenham. Goals were not a problem for Bayer, especially with Polish forward Robert Lewandowski in the form of his life. After lockdown, Bayern won all nine of their league games, averaging three goals per game. In the DFB Pokal, they beat Bayer Leverkusen in the final 4-2. Meanwhile, their UEFA Champions League campaign saw them win every single game, scoring 24 goals in six group games and then beating Chelsea 7-1 on aggregate in the round of 16. The quarter-final with Barcelona resulted in a phenomenal and seismic 8-2 victory against one of the favourites. After Lyon were comfortably beaten in the semi-final, Bayern’s 1-0 win in the final against PSG confirmed their status as Europe’s best team in 2020.
Games played: 51 (Lge, Cup, Europe) – win percentage 84.31%
Team: Manuel Neuer, Niklas Süle, Benjamin Pavard, Javi Martinez, Jérôme Boateng, Alphonso Davies, Lucas Hernandez, David Alaba, Thiago, Philippe Coutinho, Ivan Perišić, Leon Goretza, Serge Gnabry, Corentin Tolisso, Thomas Müller, Kingsley Coman, Joshua Kimmich, Robert Lewandowski.

And here’s the others…

Celtic 1967

Jock Stein’s team actually won five cups in 1966-67: the European Cup; the Scottish League; the Scottish League Cup; the Scottish FA Cup; and the Glasgow Cup. Critics will look at Scotland today and say, “so what?”, but in 1967, the best Scotland had to offer was every bit as competitive as south of the border. Celtic in 1967, including the excellent Jimmy Johnstone, beat Inter Milan, the dark princes of catenaccio, to become the first British side to win the European Cup. Back at home, Celtic lost just twice in 34 league games and beat Aberdeen 2-0 in the Scottish Cup at Hampden Park in front of 126,000 people. For good measure, they disposed of Rangers in the Scottish League Cup final. Some might say that in the European Cup, they had an easy run to the final, beating Zurich, Nantes, Vojvodinia and Dukla Prague, but Inter Milan, coached by the godfather of defensive football, Helenio Herrera, were a tough nut to crack. Sandro Mazzola gave Inter the lead after seven minutes from the penalty spot. Tommy Gemmell levelled just after the hour mark and six minutes from the end, Steve Chalmers scored the winner. Legend will tell you that Celtic fans are still arriving back from Lisbon after celebrating this unlikely triumph.
Games played: 49 (Lge, Cup, Europe) – win percentage 77.55%
Team: Ronnie Simpson, Jim Craig, Tommy Gemmell, Bobby Murdoch, Billy McNeill, John Clark, Jimmy Johnstone, Willie Wallace, Steve Chalmers, Bertie Auld, Bobby Lennox

Ajax Amsterdam 1972

Ajax provided the perfect antidote to catenaccio, “total football” – a fluid system that called on any member of the team to play anywhere at any time during the game. An emerging Ajax reached the final of the European Cup in 1969 and were cruelly exposed by AC Milan, but a year later, Ajax’s rivals, Feyenoord, won the competition. In 1971, Johan Cruyff and his team-mates won the cup and a year later, they retained it by beating Inter Milan. Dutch football was in the ascendancy and Cruyff was becoming Europe’s – if not the world’s – top player. Ajax scored 104 and conceded 20 goals in 34 Dutch league games, and Cruyff scored a quarter of them. On May 11 1972, they made it “Double Dutch” as they won the KNVB Cup, beating Den Haag in Rotterdam. Twenty days later, they returned to the Dutch port to beat Inter Milan 2-0, both goals scored by the irrepressible Cruyff. On the way to winning the competition for the second time, Ajax beat Dynamo Dresden, Marseille, Arsenal and Benfica. There was a wonderful liberated feel about the way Ajax played, in many ways, they were highly representative of the era itself, all long-haired, bead-wearing and trendily-dressed. If ever a football team was “cool”, it was Ajax. Games played: 48 – win percentage 87.5%
Team: Heinz Stuy, Wim Suurbier, Barry Hulshoff, Horst Blankenburg, Ruud Krol, Johan Neeskens, Arie Haan, Gerrie Muehren, Sjaak Swart, Johan Cruyff, Piet Keizer

PSV Eindhoven 1988

PSV Eindhoven, the team linked to electronic giant Philips, became Holland’s top side as Ajax declined. They were not as glamorous as the Amsterdamers, and they relied a lot on the Danish national side that threatened to steal the show at the 1986 World Cup finals in Mexico. Four of that squad – Ivan Nielsen, Jan Heintze, Soren Lerby and Frank Arnesen – were in the PSV team that reached the European Cup final. PSV beat Benfica on penalties in the final after a goalless draw. Also in the team was Ronald Koeman and Wim Kieft. They comfortably won the Dutch league, finishing nine points ahead of Ajax. And they beat Roda JC in the KNVB final.
Games played: 49 – win percentage 73.47%
Team: Hans van Breukelen, Eric Gerets, Ivan Nielsen, Ronald Koeman, Jan Heintze, Søren Lerby, Berry van Aerle, Gerald Vanenburg, Edward Linskens, Wim Kreft, Hans Gillhaus, Willy van de Kerkhof, Anton Janssen

Manchester United 1999

There have been fewer more dramatic European finals than United’s 2-1 win over Bayern Munich, with two goals in a matter of seconds – from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunar Solksjaer – breaking the hearts of Bayern. United’s team, including the home-grown talent of David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes, the Neville brothers and of course, the evergreen Ryan Giggs, was one of the most successful in the history of the British game. They finished one point ahead of reigning Premier champions Arsenal, thanks to a 20-game unbeaten run to the end of the campaign, and beat Newcastle United in the FA Cup final. In Europe, they beat Juventus and Inter Milan and had earlier played Bayern and Barcelona in the group stages. If ever anyone had it hard on the way to the final, it was United.
Games played: 59 – win percentage 57.63%
Team: Peter Schmeichel, Gary Neville, Denis Irwin, David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham, Ryan Giggs, Phil Neville, Jesper Blomqvist, Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, Dwight Yorke, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, Henning Berg, Jaap Stam

Barcelona 2009

You would be forgiven for believing that Barcelona have won everything for the past few years, but they’ve only achieved the treble twice – in 2008-09 and 2014-15. In 2008-09, they won 27 of their 38 goals in La Liga, scoring 107 goals in the process. In the Copa Del Rey, they thrashed Atletico Madrid 4-1 in the final. Meanwhile, in Europe, they beat Manchester United 2-0 in Rome with goals from Samuel Eto’o and the rising talent of Lionel Messi. Games played: 62 – win percentage 67.74%
Team: Victor Valdés, Gerard Piqué, Yaya Touré, Carles Puyol, Sergio Busquets, Sylvinho, Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto’o, Thierry Henry, Rafael Márquez, Dani Alves, Éric Abidal, Seydou Keita, Bojan

Inter Milan 2010

Jose Mourinho picks up prizes wherever he manages, and in his two-year stint with Inter, he won everything in his second season. Inter won Serie A in his first season by a street mile, but in 2009-10, they were run close by Roma, who finished just two points behind. Inter also beat Roma in the Coppa Italia, with Diego Milito netting the only goal. The Argentine striker was the matchwinner in the Champions League final, scoring both goals as Inter beat Bayern Munich 2-0. It provided Mourinho with the perfect farewell.
Games played: 56 – win percentage 66.07%
Team: Júlio César, Maicon, Lúcio, Walter Samuel, Christian Chivu, Javier Zanetti, Esteban Cambiasso, Wesley Sneijder, Samiel Eto’o, Diego Milito, Goran Pandev, Dejan Stanković, Thiago Motta, Suleyman Muntari, Mario Balotelli

Bayern Munich 2013

Bayern had been an emerging force for the past few years – beaten Champions League finalists in 2010 and 2012, so their dominance of European football in 2012-13 was no great surprise. Only Bayer Leverkusen beat them this season, 1-2 at the Allianz Arena. They finished a massive 25 points ahead of second-placed Dortmund and scored 98 goals. VFB Stuttgart were beaten 3-2 in the DFB Pokal final. The Champions League saw some stunning performances – a double over both Juventus and Barcelona, and a memorable display in London as they put Arsenal in their place. This Bayern side had flair – Robben and Ribery – as well as the traditional German qualities of power and strength in Schweinsteiger.
Games played: 53 – win percentage 84.91%
Team: Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm, Jérôme Boateng, Dante, David Alaba, Javi Martinez, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Arjen Robben, Thomas Müller, Franck Ribéry, Mario Mandžukić, Mario Gómez

Barcelona 2015

With a spectacular forward line that included Lionel Messi, Neymar and new signing Luis Suárez, who scored 122 goals between them in all competitions, Barcelona were a fearsome attacking force in 2014-15. They were pushed all the way by rivals Real Madrid in La Liga, but finished two points clear at the top. In the Copa Del Rey, they beat Athletic Bilbao 3-1. In Europe, they disposed of Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich in the knockout stages before meeting Juventus in the final. In Berlin, Barca won 3-1, thanks to two goals in the last 20 minutes.
Games played: 60 – win percentage 83.33% Team: Marc-André ter Stegen, Dani Alves, Gerard Piqué, Javier Mascherano, Jordi Alba, Ivan Rakitić, Sergio Busquets, Andrés Iniesta, Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Neymar, Xavi, Rafinha, Pedro.

Other clubs have won a European prize and completed the double at home: IFK Göteborg (1982), Porto (2003 and 2011), Galatasaray (2000) and CSKA Moscow (2005).

So, according to our data, Ajax 1972, with a win rate of 87.5% were the most impressive champions!