# 2004–05 AFC Ajax season

During the 2004–05 season AFC Ajax participated in the Eredivisie, the KNVB Cup, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup.

## Pre-season

The first training session for the 2004–05 season was held on July 7, 2004. 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 played friendly matches against FC Omniworld, DOS '19, Excelsior '31, HSV de Zuidvogels, Queens Park Rangers and Luton Town. They then returned to Amsterdam to play Panathinaikos and Arsenal in the annual Amsterdam Tournament.

## Player statistics

Appearances for competitive matches only
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Eredivisie | Eredivisie | UEFA C.L. | UEFA C.L. | KNVB Cup | KNVB Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | ROU | Bogdan Lobonţ | 9 | 0 | 6+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | TUN | Hatem Trabelsi | 32 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | NED | John Heitinga | 35 | 1 | 23+3 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | FRA | Julien Escudé | 37 | 5 | 26+2 | 5 | 4+2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | BRA | Maxwell | 39 | 3 | 28+1 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | CZE | Tomáš Galásek | 16 | 3 | 11+2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | ARG | Mauro Rosales | 30 | 6 | 20+2 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | RSA | Steven Pienaar | 30 | 4 | 21+3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | GRE | Angelos Charisteas | 16 | 5 | 12+1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 1 |
| 10 | MF | NED | Rafael van der Vaart | 31 | 7 | 20+2 | 6 | 6+1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | GHA | Anthony Obodai | 19 | 0 | 6+7 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | NED | Nigel de Jong | 41 | 6 | 26+5 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | GRE | Yannis Anastasiou | 17 | 4 | 8+6 | 4 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | NED | Wesley Sneijder | 40 | 8 | 25+5 | 7 | 6+1 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 20 | FW | NED | Daniël de Ridder | 20 | 3 | 2+13 | 2 | 0+5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | GK | NED | Maarten Stekelenburg | 16 | 0 | 10+1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | CZE | Zdeněk Grygera | 25 | 4 | 18 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | BRA | Filipe Luís | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | NED | Hedwiges Maduro | 15 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | BEL | Tom de Mul | 7 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | MAR | Nourdin Boukhari | 30 | 4 | 16+7 | 4 | 3+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | ROU | Nicolae Mitea | 29 | 3 | 10+11 | 2 | 4+2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 30 | FW | BEL | Stanley Aborah | 7 | 0 | 0+4 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | GK | RSA | Hans Vonk | 23 | 0 | 18+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | ANT | Vurnon Anita | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | MF | NED | Urby Emanuelson | 5 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 38 | MF | SWE | Rasmus Lindgren | 5 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | FW | ARG | Gastón Sangoy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | DF | NED | Michael Timisela | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 | FW | NED | Ryan Babel | 27 | 9 | 13+7 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1+2 | 1 |
| 56 | MF | BEL | Jan Vertonghen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 57 | DF | NED | Ruud Kras | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 58 | MF | NED | Donovan Slijngard | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players sold or loaned out after the start of the season: ||||||||||||
| 9 | FW | SWE | Zlatan Ibrahimović | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | BEL | Tom Soetaers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | USA | John O'Brien | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | BEL | Wesley Sonck | 13 | 2 | 4+5 | 1 | 3+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 65 | MF | ARG | Sebastián Rusculleda | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### 2004–05 selection by nationality

| Nationality | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Total Players |
| Current squad selection | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 24 |
| Youth/reserves squad in AFC Ajax selection | 5 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| Players out on loan | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 4 |

## Team statistics
### Eredivisie standings

| Standing | Matches played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Points | Goals for | Goals against | Yellow cards | Red cards |
| 2 | 34 | 24 | 5 | 5 | 77 | 50 | 33 | 41 | 0 |

#### 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 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 77 |

#### 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 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 22 | 25 | 28 | 31 | 34 | 37 | 40 | 41 | 41 | 44 | 47 | 50 | 53 | 56 | 56 | 56 | 59 | 62 | 65 | 68 | 71 | 74 | 77 | 77 |

#### 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 | 6th | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 4th | 4th | 6th | 5th | 4th | 4th | 4th | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 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 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 50 |

### Statistics for the 2004–05 season

* This is an overview of all the statistics for played matches in the 2004–05 season.
| | Friendlies | Amsterdam Tournament | Johan Cruijff Schaal | KNVB Cup | UEFA Champions League | UEFA Cup | Eredivisie | Total |
| Matches | 10 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 34 | 58 |
| Wins | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 37 |
| Draws | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 8 |
| Losses | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 13 |
| Home | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 26 |
| Away | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 32 |
| Yellow cards | 6 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 54 | 4 | 90 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 8 |
| 2 x yellow in 1 match | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Number of substitutes used | 50 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 23 | 85 | 8 | 177 |
| Goals for | 62 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 66 | 10 | 172 |
| Goals against | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 41 | 4 | 70 |
| Balance | +55 | -2 | +1 | +12 | +5 | +25 | +6 | +102 |
| Clean sheets | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 24 |
| Penalties for | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Penalties against | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |

### 2004–05 team records

| Description | Competition | Result |
| Biggest win | Friendly match | DOS '19 – AFC Ajax (0–15) |
| Biggest win | KNVB Cup | AFC Ajax – SC Heerenveen (2–0) |
| Biggest win | UEFA Champions League | AFC Ajax – Maccabi Tel Aviv (2–0) |
| Biggest win | UEFA Cup | AFC Ajax – AJ Auxerre (1–0) |
| Biggest win | Eredivisie | FC Den Bosch – AFC Ajax (5–0) De Graafschap – AFC Ajax (5–0) |
| Biggest loss | Friendly match | FC Barcelona – AFC Ajax (2–1) |
| Biggest loss | KNVB Cup | Willem II – AFC Ajax (1–0) |
| Biggest loss | UEFA Champions League | Bayern München – AFC Ajax (4–0) |
| Biggest loss | UEFA Cup | AJ Auxerre – AFC Ajax (3–1) |
| Biggest loss | Eredivisie | AFC Ajax – PSV (0–4) |
| Most goals in a match | Friendly match | DOS '19 – AFC Ajax (0–15) |
| Most goals in a match | KNVB Cup | AFC Ajax – SC Heerenveen (2–0) ADO Den Haag – AFC Ajax (0–2) |
| Most goals in a match | UEFA Champions League | Bayern München – AFC Ajax (4–0) |
| Most goals in a match | UEFA Cup | AJ Auxerre – AFC Ajax (3–1) |
| Most goals in a match | Eredivisie | AFC Ajax – NAC Breda (6–2) |

#### Top scorers

| Nr. | Name | |
| 1 | Yannis Anastasiou | 14 |
| 2 | Wesley Sonck | 6 |
| 3 | Nicolae Mitea | 5 |
| 3 | Rasmus Lindgren | 5 |
| 5 | Tom de Mul | 4 |
| 5 | Maxwell | 4 |
| 7 | Nigel de Jong | 2 |
| 7 | Daniël de Ridder | 2 |
| 7 | Steven Pienaar | 2 |
| 10 | Tom Soetaers | 1 |
| 10 | Petri Pasanen | 1 |
| 10 | Anthony Obodai | 1 |
| 10 | Hedwiges Maduro | 1 |
| 10 | Victor Sikora | 1 |
| 10 | Angelos Charisteas | 1 |
| 10 | Julien Escudé | 1 |
| Total | Total | 51 |
| Nr. | Name | |
| 1 | Steven Pienaar | 1 |
| 1 | Wesley Sneijder | 1 |
| Total | Total | 2 |
| Nr. | Name | |
| 1 | Wesley Sneijder | 7 |
| 1 | Ryan Babel | 7 |
| 3 | Rafael van der Vaart | 6 |
| 4 | Nigel de Jong | 5 |
| 4 | Mauro Rosales | 5 |
| 4 | Julien Escudé | 5 |
| 7 | Steven Pienaar | 4 |
| 7 | Zdeněk Grygera | 4 |
| 7 | Nourdin Boukhari | 4 |
| 7 | Yannis Anastasiou | 4 |
| 7 | Angelos Charisteas | 4 |
| 12 | Zlatan Ibrahimović | 3 |
| 12 | Maxwell | 3 |
| 14 | Tomáš Galásek | 2 |
| 14 | Daniël de Ridder | 2 |
| 14 | Nicolae Mitea | 2 |
| 14 | Hedwiges Maduro | 2 |
| 18 | Tom de Mul | 1 |
| 18 | John Heitinga | 1 |
| 18 | Wesley Sonck | 1 |
| Own goals | Mike Zonneveld (NAC Breda) | 1 |
| Own goals | Dave Bus (De Graafschap) | 1 |
| Total | Total | 74 |
| Nr. | Name | |
| 1 | Wesley Sonck | 1 |
| 1 | Nigel de Jong | 1 |
| 1 | Rafael van der Vaart | 1 |
| 1 | Daniël de Ridder | 1 |
| 1 | Tomáš Galásek | 1 |
| 1 | Nicolae Mitea | 1 |
| Total | Total | 6 |
| Nr. | Name | |
| 1 | Angelos Charisteas | 1 |
| 1 | Ryan Babel | 1 |
| 1 | Wesley Sneijder | 1 |
| 1 | Mauro Rosales | 1 |
| Total | Total | 4 |
| Nr. | Name | |
| 1 | Maxwell | 1 |
| 1 | Ryan Babel | 1 |
| Total | Total | 2 |
| Nr. | Name | |
| 1 | Wesley Sonck | 2 |
| 2 | Zlatan Ibrahimović | 1 |
| Total | Total | 3 |

## Placements

| | Friendlies | Amsterdam Tournament | Johan Cruijff Schaal | KNVB Cup | UEFA Champions League | UEFA Cup | Eredivisie |
| Status | 10 played, 8 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss | Winners | Runner-up Last opponent: FC Utrecht | Semifinals Last opponent: Willem II | 3rd place in Group C Placement for: UEFA Cup | Eliminated in Round of 32 Last opponent: Auxerre | 2nd place 77 points in 34 matches qualified for UEFA Champions League Qualifying rounds |
* Nigel de Jong is voted Player of the year by the supporters of Ajax.
* Wesley Sneijder is voted Talent of the year by the supporters of Ajax.

## Results

    All times are in CEST

### UEFA Champions League
#### Group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | JUV | BAY | AJX | MTA |
| 1 | Juventus | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 16 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| 2 | Bayern Munich | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 5 | +7 | 10 | Advance to knockout stage | 0–1 | — | 4–0 | 5–1 |
| 3 | Ajax | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 4 | Transfer to UEFA Cup | 0–1 | 2–2 | — | 3–0 |
| 4 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 12 | −8 | 4 | | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | — |

### Amsterdam Tournament
#### Final standings of the LG Amsterdam Tournament 2004

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | Pts |
| Ajax | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| River Plate | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Panathinaikos | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Arsenal | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |

### Friendlies
## Transfers
### Summer

For a list of all Dutch football transfers in the summer window (1 July 2004 to 1 September 2004) please see List of Dutch football transfers summer 2004.

#### In

* 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 |
| Kiran Bechan | Forward | 1 July 2004 | Sparta Rotterdam | - |
| Youssouf Hersi | Midfielder | 1 July 2004 | N.E.C. | - |
| Richard Knopper | Midfielder | 1 July 2004 | Heerenveen | - |
| Ruud Kras | Defender | 1 July 2004 | Volendam | - |
| Kwame Quansah | Midfielder | 1 July 2004 | AIK | - |
| Stefano Seedorf | Midfielder | 1 July 2004 | NAC Breda | - |
| Loan | Loan | Loan | Loan | Loan |
| Filipe Luís | Defender | 1 July 2004 | Figueirense | - |
| Gastón Sangoy | Forward | 1 July 2004 | Boca Juniors | - |
| Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer |
| Mauro Rosales | Forward | 30 August 2004 | Newell's Old Boys | €2.5 million |
| Free Transfer | Free Transfer | Free Transfer | Free Transfer | Free Transfer |
| Hans Vonk | Goalkeeper | 2 June 2004 | Heerenveen | - |

#### Out

* 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 |
| Thomas Vermaelen | Defender | 2 June 2004 | RKC Waalwijk | - |
| Victor Sikora | Midfielder | 1 July 2004 | Heerenveen | - |
| Abubakari Yakubu | Midfielder | 1 July 2004 | Vitesse Arnhem | - |
| Cedric van der Gun | Midfielder | 28 July 2004 | ADO Den Haag | - |
| Loan return | Loan return | Loan return | Loan return | Loan return |
| Måns Sörensson | Forward | 1 July 2004 | Landskrona BoIS | - |
| Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer |
| Jelle van Damme | Defender | 9 June 2004 | Southampton | €2.9 million |
| Petri Pasanen | Midfielder | 20 July 2004 | Werder Bremen | €3.5 million |
| Zlatan Ibrahimović | Forward | 22 August 2004 | Juventus | €16 million |
| Free | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Jamal Akachar | Forward | 30 April 2004 | Cambuur | - |
| Michael Krohn-Dehli | Forward | 6 May 2004 | RKC Waalwijk | - |
| Youssouf Hersi | Midfielder | 11 June 2004 | Heerenveen | - |
| Sander Boschker | Goalkeeper | 1 July 2004 | Twente | - |
| Jason Culina | Midfielder | 1 July 2004 | Twente | - |
| Siniša Gagula | Defender | 1 July 2004 | Borac Banja Luka | - |
| Richard Knopper | Midfielder | 1 July 2004 | Vitesse Arnhem | - |
| Jussi Kujala | Midfielder | 1 July 2004 | Tampere United | - |
| Jari Litmanen | Midfielder | 1 July 2004 | Lahti | - |
| John Nieuwenburg | Midfielder | 1 July 2004 | Dordrecht | - |
| Stefano Seedorf | Midfielder | 1 July 2004 | Groningen | - |
| José Valencia | Midfielder | 14 July 2004 | N.E.C. | - |
| Kwame Quansah | Midfielder | 10 August 2004 | Heracles Almelo | - |

### Winter

For a list of all Dutch football transfers in the winter window (1 January 2005 to 1 February 2005) please see List of Dutch football transfers winter 2004–05.

#### In

* The following players moved to AFC Ajax.
| Name | Position | Transfer type | Previous club | Fee |
| Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer |
| Angelos Charisteas | Forward | 22 December 2004 | Werder Bremen | €4.5 million |

#### Out

* 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 |
| Wesley Sonck | Forward | 1 January 2005 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | - |
| Free | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Kiran Bechan | Forward | 19 November 2004 | Groningen | - |
| Tom Soetaers | Forward | 4 January 2005 | Racing Genk | - |
| John O'Brien | Midfielder | 1 February 2005 | ADO Den Haag | - |