Brighton Europa League opponents: Ajax Amsterdam
Founded a year before Brighton in 1900, Amsterdam Football Club Ajax went on to become one of the most successful teams of the 20th Century, instant recognisable in their iconic strip of a single, broad red stripe down a white shirt.
Named for the hero of Greek mythology, at one time it was estimated that some 40 percent of Netherlands citizens count themselves among the more than seven million fans of the club Europe-wide.
Ajax have been Dutch champions 36 times and national cup winners on 20 occasions. The four stars above their club badge denote they have lifted the Champions League and European Cup four times, alongside eight other cups and titles at European level. In their early 1970s heyday, they won the European Cup in three consecutive years: 1971, 1972 and 1973.
They have nearly 250 European Cup and Champions League games behind them and their visit to the Amex will be their 156th UEFA Cup and Europa League tie.
Their second period of international success in the early 1990s saw them win the UEFA Cup, Super Cup and Champions League between 1992 and 1995.
The name Johan Cruyff is of course synonymous with Ajax, playing for the club between 1959 and 1973. He was the star of their three European Cup triumphs whilst winning the Ballon d’Or three times in that period.
Cruyff was perhaps the leading proponent of Total Football and the pioneer of the turn that bears his name. He returned to Ajax for a second spell in the early 1980s before managing the club between 1985 and 1988.
Ajax retired his legendary number 14 shirt in 2007. In 2018, the 55,000 capacity Amsterdam Arena – built in the 1990s as Ajax’s new home – was renamed as the Johan Cruyff Arena following his death two years earlier.
The legions of notable Ajax alumni also include players like Marco Van Basten, Frank Riikjaard, Dennis Bergkamp, Luiz Suarez and Edwin Van De Sar.
Ajax is not just a factory of playing talent. Former managers include Louis Van Gaal, Frank de Boer, Ronald Koeman, Michael Laudrup, Jaap Stam and current Manchester United head coach Erik Ten Hag.
The Klassieker against Feyenoord from the Netherlands’ second city Rotterdam has long been a source of intense rivalry and violence. An Ajax fan lost his life in a pitched battle between fans in 1997.
Ultras groups include the F Side, VAK410, North Up Alliance, South Crew, and the AFCA Hooligans, mostly named for locations in Ajax’s current or former stadiums.
The main connection between the Albion and Ajax is of course Joel Veltman, who spent 19 years with Ajax youth and first teams before moving to the Amex in 2020.
He wears the number 34 shirt for Brighton in honour of his former Ajax teammate Abdelhak Nouri, who retired permanently disabled by a cardiac arrhythmia suffered in 2017.
Goalkeepers Tim Krul and Kjell Scherpen have also played for both, whilst 2017 loanee Chuba Akpom could make an Amex return having moved from Middlesbrough to Amsterdam in the summer.
After a period of success when they were Europa League finalists in 2017 and Champions League finalists in 2019, Ajax are currently languishing 17th of 18 in the Eredivisie.
They sit in the relegation places with only one win so far. The pressure has finally told on head coach Maurice Steijn, who was sacked earlier in the week after only four months in charge.
The terrible start to the season has sewn discontent amongst fans. In September, the Klassieker had to be abandoned in the second half with Ajax trailing 3-0.
Flares were thrown on to the pitch and there was rioting outside the ground. The game was finished behind closed doors, ending in a 4-0 win for Feyenoord.
Results have been slightly better in Europe. Ajax sit above Brighton in Europa League Group B having drawn their two games so far against AEK Athens and Olympique Marseille.
As a kid growing up in the 1970s, Ajax for me were the biggest name in continental football. Their European Cup games against teams like Liverpool with crackly telephone line commentary were part of the glamour of the game – far, far beyond the pedestrian Division Three realm of the Albion.
I still cannot quite believe we will be hosting a Europa League game against Ajax… it really is dreamland.
Warren Morgan @WarrenBHAFC
