Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈaːjɑks] ), also referred to as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam or simply Ajax (after the legendary Greek hero), is a professional football club from Amsterdam, Netherlands.
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. [1] 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 European treble by winning the Dutch Eredivisie, KNVB Cup, and the European Cup; to date, they are the only team to keep the European Cup and accomplish the European treble. 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.
They are also one of three teams to win the treble and the Intercontinental Cup in the same season/calendar year; [2] This was achieved in the 1971–72 season. [3] Ajax, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Manchester United are the five clubs to have won all three major UEFA club competitions. [4] 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. [5]
This list includes past and present footballers who have played for Ajax.
Players listed below with dual citizenship, are listed with their country of birth first, followed by their second citizenship, unless a player has represented one of their nations on an International level, in which case the team which they have played for is listed first, and their other nationality is listed second.
In some instances, three flags may be listed to represent a player's nationality. This is the case when a player is born in a country to parents of both different nationalities, which also differ from the country of their child's birthplace, however, the player represents his country of birth Internationally. An example of this would be Patrick Kluivert, who is Dutch and plays for the Netherlands national team, while his father is from Suriname, and his mother is from Curaçao. In these cases the paternal citizenship is listed second to the players' primary nationality, followed by the nation of the player's mother thirdly.
Players who were born in a foreign country, but do not hold citizenship of that nation, do not have the country of their birthplace listed below as their nationality, while some players have become naturalised citizens of a country, in which case it is listed as well.
Players with no league caps or goals may have made appearances in other competitions, as only league appearances and goals are being tallied in the list below.
Spent their entire professional career with AFC Ajax.
Currently playing for AFC Ajax, league caps and goals are subject to change.
Part of the AFC Ajax Club van 100, having amassed more than 100 caps across all competitions.
Caps and goals accurate as of 17 March 2024 after the last match played against Sparta Rotterdam. [6]
Dates | Name |
---|---|
1968–1970 | Bennie Muller |
1970–1971 | Velibor Vasović |
1971–1972 | Piet Keizer |
1972–1973 | Johan Cruyff |
1973–1974 | Piet Keizer |
1974–1980 | Ruud Krol |
1980–1981 | Frank Arnesen |
1981–1983 | Søren Lerby |
1983–1985 | Dick Schoenaker |
1985–1987 | Marco van Basten |
1987–1990 | John van 't Schip |
1990–1999 | Danny Blind |
1999–2001 | Aron Winter |
2001–2003 | Cristian Chivu |
2003–2004 | Jari Litmanen |
2004–2005 | Rafael Van der Vaart |
2005–2006 | Tomáš Galásek |
2006–2007 | Jaap Stam |
2007–2009 | Klaas-Jan Huntelaar |
2009 | Thomas Vermaelen |
2009–2011 | Luis Suárez |
2011 | Maarten Stekelenburg |
2011–2012 | Jan Vertonghen |
2012–2014 | Siem de Jong |
2014–2015 | Niklas Moisander |
2015–2017 | Davy Klaassen |
2017–2018 | Joel Veltman |
2018–2019 | Matthijs de Ligt |
2019–2023 | Dušan Tadić |
2023–present | Steven Bergwijn |
The following players were called-up to represent their national teams in international football and received caps during their tenure with AFC Ajax: [6]
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Member associations are listed in order of most to least amount of current and former Ajax players represented Internationally
Confederation | Total | (Nation) Association |
---|---|---|
AFC | 2 | Indonesia (1), South Korea (1) |
CAF | 27 | Nigeria (7), Morocco (5), South Africa (5), Ghana (3), Burkina Faso (2), Cameroon (2), Egypt (1), Ivory Coast (1), Tunisia (1) |
CONCACAF | 6 | Mexico (2), United States (2), Costa Rica (1), Suriname (1) |
CONMEBOL | 10 | Argentina (3), Brazil (3), Uruguay (3), Colombia (1) |
OFC | 0 | |
UEFA | 184 | Netherlands (114), Denmark (16), Sweden (8), Belgium (6), Romania (5), Serbia (5), Austria (4), Finland (4), Georgia (3), Armenia (2), Croatia (2), Czech Republic (2), Greece (2), Iceland (2), Poland (2), Bosnia and Herzegovina (1), Germany (1), Hungary (1), Ireland (1), Norway (1), Portugal (1) |
The following is a list of Ajax players who have competed in international tournaments, including the FIFA World Cup, FIFA Confederations Cup, UEFA European Championship, UEFA Nations League Finals, CONCACAF Nations League Finals, CONCACAF Gold Cup, the Copa América and the Africa Cup of Nations. To this date no Ajax players have participated in the AFC Asian Cup, or the OFC Nations Cup while playing for Ajax.
M. a b c d e Player who later managed the club.
Mounir El Hamdaoui is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. Born in the Netherlands, he represented Morocco internationally.
Heini Otto is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He is currently working as a technical coach at Ajax.
Menno Willems is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a defender and midfielder.
Sergio Vincenzo Roberto Padt is a Dutch footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Ludogorets Razgrad. Padt previously played on loan from AFC Ajax for HFC Haarlem in the Eerste Divisie, and later for Go Ahead Eagles and in the Belgian Pro League for Gent. He represented the Netherlands U-17 team at the 2007 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship.
The 2010–11 Eredivisie is the 55th season of Eredivisie since its establishment in 1955. It began on 6 August 2010 with the first matches of the season and ended on 29 May 2011 with the last matches of the European competition and relegation playoffs. FC Twente were the reigning champions, having won their first Dutch championship the previous season. A total of 18 teams took part in the league. Ajax won their 30th title after beating FC Twente 3–1 on 15 May 2011.
Miquel Nelom is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a left back. Nelom has previously played in his homeland for Excelsior, Feyenoord, Sparta Rotterdam and Willem II, and for Scottish club Hibernian. He represented the Netherlands in two full international matches, both in 2013.
During the 2006–07 season AFC Ajax participated in the Eredivisie, the KNVB Cup, UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup. The first training took place on Saturday, 8 July 2006. The traditional AFC Ajax Open Day was on Wednesday, 8 August 2006, followed by a testimonial match for the retired former Ajax striker Dennis Bergkamp.
During the 2005–06 Dutch football season AFC Ajax participated in the Eredivisie, the KNVB Cup and the UEFA Champions League. The first training took place on 3 July 2005. The traditional AFC Ajax Open Day was on 3 August 2005.
During the 2001–02 season, Feyenoord participated in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, as well as the KNVB Cup, UEFA Champions League, and the UEFA Cup. They were proclaimed champions of the 2002 UEFA Cup Final after beating Borussia Dortmund (Germany).
During the 1994–95 Dutch football season, PSV Eindhoven competed in the Eredivisie.
Oussama Idrissi is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Liga MX club Pachuca. Born in the Netherlands, he represents the Morocco national team.
During the 2005–06 Dutch football season, Feyenoord competed in the Eredivisie.
The 2020–21 FC Utrecht season was the club's 51st season in existence and the 51st consecutive season in the top flight of Dutch football. In addition to the domestic league, FC Utrecht participated in this season's editions of the KNVB Cup. In the regular season, they have qualified for the play-offs, for this they played for a place in the second round of the Conference League.
The 2020–21 Willem II season was the club's 125th season in existence and the club's 7th consecutive season in the top flight of Dutch football. In addition to the domestic league, Willem II participated in this season's editions of the KNVB Cup and the UEFA Europa League. The season covered the period from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021.
The 2019–20 season was Sparta Rotterdam's 132nd season in existence and the club's first season in the top flight of Dutch football. In addition to the domestic league, Sparta Rotterdam participated in this season's edition of the KNVB Cup. The season covered the period from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020.
The 2021–22 season was the 122nd season in the existence of AFC Ajax and the club's 66th consecutive season in the top flight of Dutch football. In addition to the domestic league, Ajax participated in this season's edition of the KNVB Cup, the UEFA Champions League and the Johan Cruyff Shield.
The 2021–22 season is the 52nd season in the existence of FC Utrecht and the club's 52nd consecutive season in the top flight of Dutch football. In addition to the domestic league, FC Utrecht participated in this season's editions of the KNVB Cup. In the regular season, they have qualified for the play-offs, for this they played for a place in the second round of the UEFA Europa Conference League.
The 2000–01 season was the 51st season in the history of FC Utrecht and the club's 31st consecutive season in the top flight of Dutch football. In addition to the domestic league, FC Utrecht participated in this season's editions of the KNVB Cup.