Bennie Muller, who played for Ajax more than four hundred times between 1958 and 1970, has died. The Amsterdam club announced this on his website. Muller, who won five national titles and three KNVB cups with the club, is 85 years old.
As a midfielder – Ajax describes him as unyielding, “with good insight and excellent technique” – he forms a strong pair with goalscorer Henk Groot. They delivered Ajax its first European trophy in 1962 with the Intertoto Cup. Muller has also played for the Dutch national team since 1960: with 43 international matches, he is the Ajax player with the most Dutch national team international matches in the 1960s.
Muller, as a true Amsterdammer, played an important role in the Ajax of the 1960s, which also included Sjaak Swart, Piet Keizer and Johan Cruijff. In this way they laid the foundation for the glory years in the early 1970s, but Muller himself never experienced the European successes. After Ajax lost to AC Milan in the European Cup 1 final in 1969, coach Rinus selected Michels. After playing less and less at Ajax, Muller left for Holland Sport in 1970.
After his football career, Muller opened a cigar shop in Haarlemmerstraat, a place that became a household name in Amsterdam. Muller sells match tickets for Ajax, among other things. This weekend, when Ajax takes on RKC Waalwijk, Muller’s death will be commemorated.