• Joined ESPN in 2011
• Covered two Olympics, a pair of Rugby World Cups and two British & Irish Lions tours
• Previously rugby editor, and became senior writer in 2018
Ajax, once the envy of Europe for their solid club structure, have deteriorated in just 12 months. As they head into a playoff to reach the knockout phase of the Europa League, they are on their third manager in a year and are still without a technical director as two of their three "central pillars" collapsed: sporting director Marc Overmars resigned in disgrace last February, and Erik ten Hag left to join Manchester United in the summer.
It was Edwin van der Sar -- the last remaining pillar -- who had to put Ajax back together again.
A year on, Ajax haven't yet replaced Overmars and Ten Hag's successor, Alfred Schreuder, has just been sacked as well. The club, third in the Eredivisie and out of the Champions League, have turned to John Heitinga to steer the team through to the end of the season and while he's a son of the club, his elevation wasn't meant to come this soon. But he has started brilliantly, with four wins from four.
As Ajax prepare for their two-legged Europa League playoff against Union Berlin, the club is trying to navigate its way through some choppy waters. Can they salvage something from a disastrous season so far?
Overmars leaves a void
Rewind to December 2021 and all was well in Amsterdam. The club, still with several of the players who reached the 2019 Champions League semifinal, had enjoyed a historic Champions League group stage as they won all six of their matches and were top of the Eredivisie.
Overmars had signed a new deal through to 2026 as the club fended off the admiring Newcastle United, among other suitors, while Ten Hag was increasingly tempted to prolong his stay in Amsterdam despite being one of the most sought-after managers in Europe. The club's transfer strategy was on point, their Bob Marley-inspired third kit was selling out inside seconds and Van der Sar was brimming with pride at the job they'd done to restore Ajax to the summit of European football.
But by early February, their best-laid plans had been torched. Just 62 days after signing a new contract, Overmars resigned after multiple complaints from female colleagues over inappropriate messages. "I find the situation appalling for everyone," Van der Sar said. "In my role, I also feel responsible to help colleagues. A safe sport and working climate is very important."
The club refrained from appointing a replacement and by April, they were looking for a new manager after Ten Hag agreed to join Manchester United. Sources have told ESPN that, just a couple of months earlier, there was optimism within the club that Ten Hag was contemplating turning down offers from elsewhere to try to win a European title in Amsterdam, such was the strength and cohesion of the club's project. But United's pitch was too attractive and by early May, Ajax were left looking for a new technical director and manager.
They acted quickly to replace Ten Hag with Schreuder, who was an assistant to Ten Hag at Ajax for 18 months and with Ronald Koeman at Barcelona across the 2020-21 season. He has been head coach at FC Twente and Bundesliga club Hoffenheim and led Club Brugge to the 2021-22 Belgium First Division title in a five-month spell.
"We've made progress and become Europe-proof," Ten Hag said in his farewell interview. "Schreuder has the advantage that he's familiar with the club. He was there from the start. That's a huge advantage, and he knows what to expect. A foundation has been laid that he can use to expand upon."
Schreuder was told the club would likely transfer out four first-team players over the summer, but it proved to be a far larger overhaul than anyone expected. With Overmars gone, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Gerry Hamstra (Overmars' assistant) took charge of recruitment as technical managers, but they weren't at director level like Overmars. There were reports Ajax were looking at Alex Kroes as their new technical supremo, but the decision to appoint Schreuder without his approval meant those talks broke down.
Squad shortcomings
This disconnect in duties meant that transfers became a more drawn-out process, with any recruitment needing sign-off at board level, whereas before, Overmars had more jurisdiction and power to make calls. It led to one notable transfer breaking down, with the club's board vetoing the €20 million signing of Lucas Ocampos on Aug. 30. But just two days later, Ocampos joined Ajax on loan as the club looked for a last-minute replacement for Antony, who went to Man United and reunited with Ten Hag. It was a week that summed up the confusion and instability behind the scenes.
"It was so difficult to leave our manager with such a void," Hamstra said in September. "We all think we lost too many first-team players who always start. We had a summer with totally different expectations. We wanted to keep the group together as much as possible to be able to perform well in the Champions League and to carry on being successful."
Schreuder had the unenviable task of integrating eight new signings into the team, including the pricey €23m acquisition of Calvin Bassey from Rangers and the deadline-day recruitment of Germany international Florian Grillitsch. The season had already started at that point, with Ajax falling to a 5-3 defeat against PSV Eindhoven in the Johan Cruyff Shield. It looked like goalkeeper Jay Gorter would be No. 1 for the season, with Schreuder talking him up. But after a couple of errors against PSV, by the time the Eredivisie season started it was 38-year-old Remko Pasveer back in goal. Sources told ESPN that the team and goalkeeper were surprised by the U-turn and lack of explanation.
