In café Chris Scholten in De Pijp, Joost and his girlfriend Floor are already sitting at a table when we enter. It is a real Ajax pub, yet Joost has never been there. “I’m from Groningen,” he says. Becoming a fan of FC Groningen was an obvious choice, but things turned out differently when, as a five-year-old, he received an Ajax shirt from his father. “I saw the logo, I saw the colors and I was immediately sold.”
Money made with his talent
The match between PSV and Ajax for the Johan Cruijff Shield in 2006 was the first Ajax match he saw. “Ajax won 1-3. That is your first match, you won’t forget it,” says Joost. So far nothing crazy.
But then something special happens to Joost. When Ajax plays a match, he remembers the result. Even if he hasn’t seen the match. This started for him in 2008 and continues to this day. “It’s very strange, I actually think it’s crazy myself,” says Joost, who is a soldier in daily life.
What happens in his head when he thinks about an Ajax match? “You hear the year and then you make a decision. Which shirt did we have that season, who was the coach, which players did we have? And then you get it right away,” he says, as if it all makes perfect sense.