Ajax stumbles over ambitions that are too great (and that is not the first time)

Last Sunday, Ajax fired technical director Sven Mislintat after a number of turbulent weeks. According to interim director Jan van Halst, the position of the 50-year-old German had become untenable after his purchasing policy. In addition, it was also announced this week that he may have been guilty of a conflict of interest in the purchase of defender Sosa.

The chaos at Ajax is not limited to Mislintat’s position. Since the departure of Overmars and Ten Hag, the club has been looking for a clear and authentic line. New coach Maurice Steijn has not yet managed to build a functioning team around the twelve purchases from Mislintat and this has resulted in historically poor results: Ajax has not won a match since August 12.

“On a scale of Ajax crises, this time is very bad,” says Ajax expert David Endt. “Ajax has lost the line. They have been tempted by large purchases, high salaries and great economic ambitions. All because they want to become champions every season. That pursuit has become a stranglehold.”

What Cruyff says

Cause? “Cruijff’s line has not been continued,” says Endt. Cruijff presented his plans in 2010 as a ‘velvet revolution’ that would lead to more former football players in the board and tactical football. The revolution was not smooth: his criticism eventually degenerated into a years-long struggle between himself, administrators and other stakeholders. It was, says Endt, ‘an unsavory tribal conflict where Cruijff’s power ultimately triumphed’.

Cruijff mainly wanted to field youth players, and if it was really necessary, attract an experienced player. He also opposed high salaries, because players had to remain ‘hungry’. In the boardroom, managers had to make way for former football players. It resulted in the appointment of a technical heart, with Van der Sar and Overmars as directors.

But, says Endt, that line has ‘disappeared under the sun’ in recent seasons. Mislintat bought a lot of foreign players, the salaries are a lot higher and the language in the dressing room was forced to change to English last week. “The economic ambitions of this listed company have become a commercial noose,” says Endt.

Sympathy gone

And a club with major financial interests, Endt continues, can count on less sympathy from the public. “Ajax shouted its ambitions from the rooftops, and thus saw the king fall.”

While sympathy from the public is an important ingredient to deal with a crisis, says Endt. “Like in the crisis of the late 1980s, when Van Basten and Rijkaard both left abroad. PSV won the bowl and Ajax was also excluded from European football for two years after a supporter drove an iron rod into the back of the goalkeeper. Austria Wien had thrown.

“The money had run out, the good players had left and Ajax was no longer allowed to participate in European football. Yet they managed to turn a disadvantage into an advantage. Chairman Michael van Praag aimed at the youth, and thus overcame the crisis. Boys like Aron Winter, Marciano Vink and the De Boer brothers got the chance and it turned out well. It may have gone wrong for a while, but people wished Ajax the best. That is completely different now.”

Yet the Godenzons can also overcome this crisis, says Endt. “It’s a matter of the right people in the right place. You need the wisdom of directors. But where can you find someone of Van Praag’s caliber, with a heart for the club?”