# 2006–07 AFC Ajax season

During the 2006–07 season AFC Ajax participated in the Eredivisie, the KNVB Cup, UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup. The first training took place on Saturday, 8 July 2006. The traditional AFC Ajax Open Day was on Wednesday, 8 August 2006, followed by a testimonial match for the retired former Ajax striker Dennis Bergkamp.

## Pre-season

The first training for the 2006–07 season was held on July 8, 2006. In preparation for the new season Ajax organized a training camp in De Lutte, Netherlands at the De Thij Sportpark. During the pre-season, the squad from manager Henk ten Cate played friendly matches against JOS Watergraafsmeer, ABS, SV de Lutte, HHC Hardenberg, VV Bennekom, SV Spakenburg and FC Emmen before traveling to Germany to play against Borussia Dortmund. They then returned to Amsterdam to play Internazionale and Manchester United in the annual Amsterdam Tournament.

## Player statistics

Appearances for competitive matches only
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Eredivisie | Eredivisie | UEFA Cup | UEFA Cup | KNVB Cup | KNVB Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | NED | Maarten Stekelenburg | 43 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | NED | John Heitinga | 44 | 8 | 32 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 3+2 | 1 |
| 3 | DF | NED | Jaap Stam | 36 | 2 | 25 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 4 | DF | BEL | Thomas Vermaelen | 33 | 0 | 16+7 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | NED | Urby Emanuelson | 39 | 3 | 30+1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | NED | Hedwiges Maduro | 24 | 2 | 9+6 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 3+1 | 1 |
| 8 | FW | NED | Ryan Babel | 36 | 7 | 25+2 | 5 | 3+2 | 2 | 2+2 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | NED | Klaas-Jan Huntelaar | 45 | 32 | 31+1 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 5+1 | 4 |
| 10 | FW | NED | Wesley Sneijder | 41 | 20 | 30 | 18 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 11 | MF | DEN | Kenneth Perez | 38 | 15 | 10+17 | 12 | 4+1 | 0 | 3+3 | 3 |
| 12 | GK | NED | Kenneth Vermeer | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | MF | NED | Edgar Davids | 14 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | ESP | Roger | 17 | 2 | 7+4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | NED | Olaf Lindenbergh | 19 | 0 | 5+7 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | BEL | Tom De Mul | 38 | 4 | 23+5 | 4 | 2+5 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | ESP | Gabri | 40 | 6 | 31 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 19 | FW | DEN | Dennis Rommedahl | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | ROU | George Ogăraru | 33 | 6 | 18+10 | 5+1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | ROU | Nicolae Mitea | 12 | 3 | 1+7 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+3 | 1 |
| 22 | DF | CZE | Zdeněk Grygera | 31 | 4 | 21+1 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | BRA | Leonardo | 11 | 3 | 4+3 | 1 | 1+1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 24 | MF | NED | John Goossens | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | NED | Jeffrey Sarpong | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 26 | FW | ARM | Edgar Manucharyan | 8 | 1 | 0+5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | NED | Dennis Gentenaar | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 32 | GK | NED | Marco van Duin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | FW | ANT | Vurnon Anita | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | DF | NED | Vito Wormgoor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | DF | NED | Gregory van der Wiel | 4 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | MF | NED | Mitchell Donald | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | DF | BEL | Toby Alderweireld | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | MF | ANT | Javier Martina | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 56 | MF | NED | Dionitio Liesdek | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 62 | DF | NED | Michael Timisela | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 67 | DF | NED | Murat Yıldırım | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players sold or loaned out after the start of the season: ||||||||||||
| 7 | FW | ARG | Mauro Rosales | 19 | 1 | 6+6 | 1 | 3+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | DEN | Michael Krohn-Dehli | 3 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | SWE | Markus Rosenberg | 13 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 27 | FW | GRE | Angelos Charisteas | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | BEL | Jan Vertonghen | 5 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | NED | Rydell Poepon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | BEL | Stanley Aborah | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | FW | NED | Derk Boerrigter | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | MF | NED | Donovan Slijngard | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
As of 14 November 2011

## Team statistics
### 2006–07 Eredivisie standings

| Standing | Matches played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Points | Goals for | Goals against | Yellow cards | Red cards |
| 2 | 34 | 23 | 6 | 5 | 75 | 84 | 34 | 60 | 4 |

#### Points by match day

| Match day | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | Total |
| Points | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 75 |

#### Total points by match day

| Match day | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | Total |
| Points | 3 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 27 | 30 | 30 | 31 | 31 | 34 | 35 | 38 | 38 | 41 | 42 | 45 | 48 | 51 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 56 | 59 | 62 | 65 | 66 | 69 | 72 | 75 | 75 |

#### Standing by match day

| Match day | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | Standing |
| Standing | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | 5th | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 4th | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd |

#### Goals by match day

| Match day | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | Total |
| Goals | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 84 |

### Statistics for the 2006–07 season

* This is an overview of all the statistics for played matches in the 2006–07 season.
| | Friendlies | Amsterdam Tournament | Johan Cruijff Schaal | KNVB Cup | UEFA Champions League | UEFA Cup | Eredivisie | UEFA Champions League Qualifying Play-offs | Total |
| Matches | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 34 | 4 | 66 |
| Wins | 6 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 23 | 2 | 44 |
| Draws | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 8 |
| Losses | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 14 |
| Home | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 17 | 2 | 29 |
| Away | 9 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 17 | 2 | 37 |
| Yellow cards | 3 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 19 | 60 | 8 | 107 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 2 x yellow in 1 match | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Number of substitutes used | 50 | 7 | 3 | 15 | 5 | 21 | 98 | 10 | 119 |
| Goals for | 56 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 2 | 18 | 84 | 8 | 189 |
| Goals against | 9 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 34 | 3 | 65 |
| Balance | +24 | -1 | +2 | +13 | -1 | +9 | +50 | +5 | +124 |
| Clean sheets | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 23 |
| Penalties for | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| Penalties against | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 |

### 2006–07 team records

| Description | Competition | Result |
| Biggest win | Friendly match | SV de Lutte – AFC Ajax ( 0–18 ) |
| Biggest win | KNVB Cup | AFC Ajax – HFC Haarlem ( 4–0 ) |
| Biggest win | UEFA Champions League | F.C. København – AFC Ajax ( 1–2 ) |
| Biggest win | UEFA Cup | AFC Ajax – IK Start ( 4–0 ) |
| Biggest win | Eredivisie | AFC Ajax – Willem II ( 6–0 ) |
| Biggest loss | Friendly match | Ajax Cape Town – AFC Ajax ( 3–1 ) |
| Biggest loss | KNVB Cup | — |
| Biggest loss | UEFA Champions League | AFC Ajax – F.C. København ( 0–2 ) |
| Biggest loss | UEFA Cup | SV Werder Bremen – AFC Ajax ( 3–0 ) |
| Biggest loss | Eredivisie | AFC Ajax – NAC Breda ( 1–3 ) |
| Most goals in a match | Friendly match | SV de Lutte – AFC Ajax ( 0–18 ) |
| Most goals in a match | KNVB Cup | Jong RKC – AFC Ajax ( 2–5 ) |
| Most goals in a match | UEFA Champions League | F.C. København – AFC Ajax ( 1–2 ) |
| Most goals in a match | UEFA Cup | IK Start – AFC Ajax ( 2–5 ) |
| Most goals in a match | Eredivisie | AFC Ajax – Sparta Rotterdam ( 5–2 ) |

#### Top scorers

| Nr. | Name | |
| 1. | Klaas-Jan Huntelaar | 11 |
| 2. | Angelos Charisteas | 9 |
| 3. | Nicolae Mitea | 5 |
| 3. | Rydell Poepon | 5 |
| 3. | Mauro Rosales | 5 |
| 6. | Robbert Schilder | 4 |
| 7. | Kenneth Perez | 3 |
| 7. | Jeffrey Sarpong | 3 |
| 7. | Tom De Mul | 3 |
| 10. | Edgar Manucharyan | 2 |
| 11. | Olaf Lindenbergh | 1 |
| 11. | Jaap Stam | 1 |
| 11. | Wesley Sneijder | 1 |
| 11. | Thomas Vermaelen | 1 |
| 11. | Jan Vertonghen | 1 |
| 11. | Ryan Babel | 1 |
| Total | Total | 56 |
| Nr. | Name | |
| 1. | Mauro Rosales | 1 |
| 1. | Kenneth Perez | 1 |
| 1. | Wesley Sneijder | 1 |
| Total | Total | 3 |
| Nr. | Name | |
| 1. | Klaas-Jan Huntelaar | 21 |
| 2. | Wesley Sneijder | 18 |
| 3. | Kenneth Perez | 11 |
| 4. | John Heitinga | 6 |
| 5. | Ryan Babel | 5 |
| 5. | Gabri | 5 |
| 7. | Tom De Mul | 3 |
| 8. | Urby Emanuelson | 3 |
| 8. | Zdeněk Grygera | 3 |
| 10. | Nicolae Mitea | 2 |
| 11. | Mauro Rosales | 1 |
| 11. | Roger | 1 |
| 11. | Jaap Stam | 1 |
| 11. | Leonardo | 1 |
| 11. | Edgar Davids | 1 |
| Own goals | Ryan Donk (AZ) | 1 |
| Total | Total | 83 |
| Nr. | Name | |
| 1. | Klaas-Jan Huntelaar | 4 |
| 2. | Kenneth Perez | 3 |
| 3. | Markus Rosenberg | 2 |
| 4. | Hedwiges Maduro | 1 |
| 4. | Jaap Stam | 1 |
| 4. | Leonardo | 1 |
| 4. | John Heitinga | 1 |
| 4. | Wesley Sneijder | 1 |
| 4. | Gabri | 1 |
| 4. | Nicolae Mitea | 1 |
| Own goals | Ray Fränkel (HFC Haarlem) | 1 |
| Total | Total | 17 |
| Nr. | Name | |
| 1. | Klaas-Jan Huntelaar | 2 |
| Total | Total | 2 |
| Nr. | Name | |
| 1. | Klaas-Jan Huntelaar | 7 |
| 2. | Markus Rosenberg | 3 |
| 3. | Ryan Babel | 2 |
| 4. | Wesley Sneijder | 1 |
| 4. | Gabri | 1 |
| 4. | Zdeněk Grygera | 1 |
| 4. | Edgar Manucharyan | 1 |
| 4. | John Heitinga | 1 |
| 4. | Leonardo | 1 |
| Total | Total | 18 |
| Nr. | Name | |
| 1. | Wesley Sneijder | 1 |
| Total | Total | 1 |

## Placements

| | Friendlies | Amsterdam Tournament | KNVB Cup | UEFA Champions League | UEFA Cup | Eredivisie |
| Status | 9 played, 6 wins, 0 draws, 3 losses | 4th place | Winners Last opponent: AZ | Eliminated in Play-Off round Last opponent: Copenhagen | Eliminated in Round of 32 Last opponent: Werder Bremen | 2nd place 75 points in 34 matches qualified for UEFA Champions League Qualifying rounds |
* Wesley Sneijder is voted Player of the year by the supporters of AFC Ajax.
* Ryan Babel is voted Talent of the year by the supporters of AFC Ajax.

## Results

All times are in CEST

### UEFA Cup
#### First round
#### Group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ESP | AJX | ZWA | PRA | AUS |
| 1 | Espanyol | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 | +9 | 12 | Advance to knockout stage | — | — | 6–2 | — | 1–0 |
| 2 | Ajax | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage | 0–2 | — | — | — | 3–0 |
| 3 | Zulte Waregem | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 11 | −2 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 0–3 | — | 3–1 | — |
| 4 | Sparta Prague | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 4 | | 0–2 | 0–0 | — | — | — |
| 5 | Austria Wien | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 9 | −8 | 0 | | — | — | 1–4 | 0–1 | — |

#### Final phase
##### Round of 32
### Amsterdam Tournament
#### Final standings of the LG Amsterdam Tournament 2006

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | Pts |
| Manchester United | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 |
| Internazionale | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| Porto | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Ajax | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |

### Friendlies
## Transfers for 2006–07
### Summer transfer window

For a list of all Dutch football transfers in the summer window (1 July 2006 to 1 September 2006) please see List of Dutch football transfers summer 2006.

#### Arrivals

* The following players moved to AFC Ajax.
| Name | Position | Transfer type | Previous club | Fee |
| Return from loan spell | Return from loan spell | Return from loan spell | Return from loan spell | Return from loan spell |
| Stanley Aborah | Midfielder | 1 July 2006 | FC Den Bosch | - |
| Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer |
| George Ogăraru | Defender | 23 May 2006 | Steaua București | €3.3 million |
| Kenneth Perez | Defender | 1 July 2006 | AZ | €3 million |
| Jaap Stam | Defender | 12 July 2006 | Milan | €3 million |
| Free Transfer | Free Transfer | Free Transfer | Free Transfer | Free Transfer |
| Michael Krohn-Dehli | Midfielder | 1 July 2006 | RKC Waalwijk | - |
| Dennis Gentenaar | Goalkeeper | 1 July 2006 | Borussia Dortmund | - |
| Gabri | Midfielder | 6 June 2006 | Barcelona | - |
| Roger | Midfielder | 12 August 2006 | Villarreal | - |

#### Departures

* The following players moved from AFC Ajax.
| Name | Position | Transfer type | New club | Fee |
| Out on loan | Out on loan | Out on loan | Out on loan | Out on loan |
| Victor Sikora | Midfielder | 1 July 2006 | NAC Breda | - |
| Robbert Schilder | Midfielder | 7 August 2006 | Heracles Almelo | - |
| Emmanuel Boakye | Defender | 10 August 2006 | Heracles Almelo | - |
| Tom Kalkhuis | Forward | 31 August 2006 | FC Omniworld | - |
| Loan return | Loan return | Loan return | Loan return | Loan return |
| Juanfran | Defender | 1 July 2006 | Beşiktaş | - |
| Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer |
| Rasmus Lindgren | Midfielder | 1 March 2006 | Groningen | €300,000 |
| Gideon De Graaf | Forward | 1 July 2006 | Mechelen | €2.8 million |
| Angelos Charisteas | Forward | 31 August 2006 | Feyenoord | €2.6 million |
| Free Transfer | Free Transfer | Free Transfer | Free Transfer | Free Transfer |
| Nourdin Boukhari | Midfielder | 15 May 2006 | FC Nantes | - |
| Tomáš Galásek | Defender | 1 July 2006 | 1. FC Nürnberg | - |
| Steven Pienaar | Midfielder | 1 July 2006 | Borussia Dortmund | - |
| Hans Vonk | Goalkeeper | 1 July 2006 | Ajax Cape Town | - |
| Ioannis Anastasiou | Forward | 1 July 2006 | Sparta Rotterdam | - |
| Hatem Trabelsi | Defender | 10 August 2006 | Manchester City | - |

### Winter transfer window

For a list of all Dutch football transfers in the winter window (1 January 2007 to 1 February 2007) please see List of Dutch football transfers winter 2006–07.

#### Arrivals

* The following players moved to AFC Ajax.
| Name | Position | Transfer type | Previous club | Fee |
| Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer |
| Leonardo | Forward | 19 December 2006 | NAC Breda | €660,000 |
| Free Transfer | Free Transfer | Free Transfer | Free Transfer | Free Transfer |
| Edgar Davids | Midfielder | 30 January 2006 | Tottenham Hotspur | - |

#### Departures

* The following players moved from AFC Ajax.
| Name | Position | Transfer type | New club | Fee |
| Out on loan | Out on loan | Out on loan | Out on loan | Out on loan |
| Derk Boerrigter | Forward | 30 January 2007 | HFC Haarlem | - |
| Michael Krohn-Dehli | Midfielder | 31 January 2007 | Sparta Rotterdam | - |
| Jan Vertonghen | Defender | 31 January 2007 | RKC Waalwijk | - |
| Rydell Poepon | Forward | 31 January 2007 | Willem II | - |
| Donovan Slijngard | Midfielder | 31 January 2007 | Groningen | - |
| Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer |
| Markus Rosenberg | Forward | 27 January 2007 | Werder Bremen | €3.3 million |
| Mauro Rosales | Forward | 31 January 2007 | River Plate | €1.8 million |
| Free Transfer | Free Transfer | Free Transfer | Free Transfer | Free Transfer |
| Stanley Aborah | Midfielder | 6 January 2007 | FCV Dender | - |