Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club

Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club


Full Name: Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax
City: Amsterdam
Founded: 1900
Stadium: Amsterdam ArenA (51,859)
Colors: Red, White
Nicknames: De Godenzonen, Superjoden
Rivals: Feyenoord, PSV
Official Website: ajax.nl

Description:

Ajax were founded at the Café Oost Indie on Kalverstraat on March 18, 1900. They are named in honor of the Ancient Greek warrior of the same name.Famous for playing attractive, attacking football and for being the birthplace of 'total football'.They also have traditionally had one of the world's best youth programs, known simply as De Toekomst - The Future. The supporters have a curious reputation as being Jewish,though few actually are. Anti-semitic chants are sung by opposing fans, and Israeli flags are regularly seen at Ajax matches. The nickname Superjoden meansSuper Jews while De Godenzonen means Sons of the Gods. Ajax are the symbol of the city of Amsterdam and that of the artistic/creative class of Holland. Their arch-rivals are Feyenoord,their matches are called 'De klassieker' - the classic one. The club adopted their now trademark uniforms of white shirts with vertical red stripe in1911 to avoid conflict with already established Sparta Rotterdam. Previous stadiums - Het Houten (1900-28), Olympic Stadium (1928-34), De Meer (1934-96).

Ajax Amsterdam History

Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax, also referred to as Ajax Amsterdam, AFC Ajax, or simply Ajax (pronounced i-yax), is a football club from Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Ajax is one of the top football clubs in the world. It is one of the "big three" clubs in the Netherlands that dominate the Dutch football scene. The other "bigthree" clubs are Feyenoord Rotterdam and PSV Eindhoven. Ajax is also one of only four clubs to have won all three major European trophies.
The club was founded in March 18, 1900 by the brothers Han and Johan Dade and based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
The club is probably well-known by all football fans around the world with its recognizable white with a single red stripe home jersey. The club is also famous for its respectable youth program and has introduced to the world many great professional footballers such as Johan Cruijff and Marco van Basten. Its satellite club is the Ajax Cape Town of South Africa where youth players were drafted in the first team squad at some point of the seasonal campaign of the Eredivisie such as Steven Pienaar and Aaron Mokoena. In 1995, the year that they won the European Champions' League, the first team was best remembered as the team that could best represent the Dutch national team in all departments, with Edwin van der Sar in goalkeeping position, players such as Michael Reiziger, Frank de Boer, Danny Blind in defense, Ronald de Boer, Edgar Davids and Clarence Seedorf in midfield, as well as Patrick Kluivert and Marc Overmars in attack. The team was coached by Louis van Gaal. Its current fortunes are mostly domestic-based notwithstanding some minor successes in the 2002-2003 Champions League campaign although its youth team continues to develop talented individuals like Rafael van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder, Nigel de Jong and Johnny Heitinga who regularly represented their nation.

Ajax’s first stadium was built in 1911 out of wood and was simply called The Stadium. Ajax later played in the stadium that was build for the 1928 Olympic games of Amsterdam. This stadium designed by Jan Wils is know as the Olympic Stadium. Ajax also played in stadium called De Meer from 1934on. In 1996,Ajax changed from the Olympic stadium and De Meer to a new home ground known as the Amsterdam ArenA that was built at the cost of $134 million. The stadium is capable of holding up to approximately 52 000 people. Amsterdam Arena, also written in camel case: ArenA (Amsterdam southeast). The Arena has a retractable roof and was the example for other modern stadiums that were build in the EU in the following years. In the Netherlands the Arena has earned a reputation for having a terrible grassfield. The condition of the field is caused by the roof that, even when open, takes away to much sunlight and ventilation of the field.

Ajax Amsterdam Honours, Trophies & Awards

League Titles:

* Dutch Championship (1918, 19, 31, 32, 34, 37, 39, 47)
* Eredivisie (1957, 60, 66, 67, 68, 70, 72, 73, 77, 79, 80, 82, 83, 85, 90, 94, 95, 96, 98, 2002, 04)

Cup Titles:

* Dutch Cup (1917, 43, 61, 67, 70, 71, 72, 79, 83, 86, 87, 93, 98, 99, 2002, 06, 07)
* Dutch Super Cup (1993, 94, 95)
* Johan Cruyff Shield (2002, 05, 06, 07)

International Titles:

* European Cup (1971, 72, 73)
* Champions League (1995)
* European Cup Winner's Cup (1987)
* UEFA Cup (1992)
* Intercontinental Cup (1972, 95)