❌❌❌Rebuilding AJAX❌❌❌
AJAX are looking for ways to come out of the hole they've essentially dug themselves. It seems a lifetime ago but just over two years ago in February 2022, Ajax was on the peak of its powers...
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'Bags of money don't score goals'
Amsterdam | Monday July 1st 2024
"Two years of splashing cash, without return on the investment or any notable success, has created a gap in our budget, the size of an ocean", were the downbeat words spoken by Menno Geelen, CEO ad interim at AFC Ajax.
"The financial results for last year, this year and possibly next year will be negative. We are therefore no longer in a position to maintain the policies of the last five years. We will need to sell, we will need to downsize the salary structure of the first team, we will not be able to put down transfer fees for players this summer. We will have to fill up open positions in our organization through internal resources, as we do not possess the financial means to sign on people from the outside. In short: we will need to tighten our belt for the upcoming period."
Geelen then announced: "We have therefore decided that our former Head of the Ajax Academy Daniel Marzec (43) will become the new first team manager. He will be assisted by Dave Vos (41), who was manager of Ajax-2 until now and Frank Peereboom (45), until recently the U18 coach. They have a challenging task ahead to get Ajax back where we feel it belongs, yet under difficult circumstances I must admit."
The three newly appointed coaches at the helm of Ajax then took the stage themselves, with manager Marzec taking the microphone: "In contrast to our CEO, I think there is reason for optimism. I never saw a bag of money score a single goal, only talented, well-skilled players. And the current situation of Ajax is forcing the club to go back to basics, back to its roots and rely again on what we've been known for a very long time: our academy. That's why the three of us answered the call. All three of us come from the Ajax Academy and it will be our job to reconnect the Academy's flow into the senior teams."
"I know the players fairly well and under the correct circumstances, this team can do better than fifth. The goal therefore is to qualify for next year's UEFA Champions League. We are aware that some players will have to leave and that our options are limited, but this club has won the Champions League in the past because it relied on its own academy and its own internal resources! Our journey will be about embracing that history and try to do it over again!"
Marzec also announced that the pre-season campaign will be held within The Netherlands: "No foreign trips, we're staying close to home, in light of the financial situation. We have a couple of friendlies scheduled and we're missing only five players that are active on EURO 2024. Croatia are already done, so I expect Josip Sutalo and Borna Sosa to participate in some of the pre-season games. When Steven Bergwijn, Brian Brobbey (Netherlands) and Ahmetcan Kaplan (Türkiye) return depends on how far they'll go in the tournament. But overall, we have a near complete group to begin with and a month to get it all up and running, before the league starts. We can't wait to begin!"
