# 2005–06 AFC Ajax season

During the 2005–06 Dutch football season AFC Ajax participated in the Eredivisie, the KNVB Cup and the UEFA Champions League. The first training took place on 3 July 2005. The traditional AFC Ajax Open Day was on 3 August 2005.

## Pre-season

The first training for the 2005–06 season was held on 3 July 2005. 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 Danny Blind played friendly matches against DWV, WHC, Quick '20, HHC Hardenberg, Rijnsburgse Boys, Fortuna Sittard, Arminia Bielefeld and FC Omniworld. They then returned to Amsterdam to play Arsenal and Boca Juniors 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 | NED | Maarten Stekelenburg | 37 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | TUN | Hatem Trabelsi | 30 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 7+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | CZE | Zdeněk Grygera | 27 | 1 | 18 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | NED | John Heitinga | 28 | 1 | 13+6 | 1 | 3+3 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | CZE | Tomáš Galásek | 36 | 4 | 25+1 | 4 | 5+1 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | ARG | Mauro Rosales | 35 | 2 | 23+6 | 0 | 3+1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | NED | Hedwiges Maduro | 40 | 3 | 27+1 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | GRE | Angelos Charisteas | 24 | 9 | 7+10 | 8 | 1+3 | 0 | 2+1 | 1 |
| 10 | MF | RSA | Steven Pienaar | 24 | 2 | 14+1 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | NED | Ryan Babel | 37 | 6 | 12+13 | 2 | 5+4 | 2 | 0+3 | 2 |
| 12 | GK | RSA | Hans Vonk | 12 | 0 | 7+1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | BEL | Thomas Vermaelen | 33 | 4 | 22+2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 17 | FW | GRE | Yannis Anastasiou | 9 | 3 | 3+3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | NED | Wesley Sneijder | 29 | 11 | 18+1 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| 19 | MF | NED | Urby Emanuelson | 36 | 2 | 22+4 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 21 | DF | NED | Olaf Lindenbergh | 26 | 0 | 16+2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | ESP | Juanfran | 21 | 0 | 11+5 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 24 | FW | SWE | Markus Rosenberg | 43 | 14 | 28+3 | 12 | 6+2 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 25 | FW | NED | Klaas-Jan Huntelaar | 21 | 22 | 16 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| 27 | MF | ARM | Edgar Manucharyan | 5 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | MAR | Nourdin Boukhari | 36 | 6 | 17+7 | 4 | 7+2 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 29 | FW | ROU | Nicolae Mitea | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | NED | Kenneth Vermeer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | DF | GHA | Emmanuel Boakye | 7 | 0 | 3+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | ANT | Vurnon Anita | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | NED | Robbert Schilder | 4 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | FW | NED | Rydell Poepon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | MF | ANT | Javier Martina | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | MF | NED | Jeffrey Sarpong | 10 | 0 | 4+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 39 | MF | NED | John Goossens | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | DF | NED | Michael Timisela | 4 | 1 | 2+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 52 | FW | NED | Derk Boerrigter | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 56 | MF | BEL | Jan Vertonghen | 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: ||||||||||||
| 5 | DF | FRA | Julien Escudé | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | BRA | Maxwell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | NED | Nigel de Jong | 24 | 5 | 12+4 | 2 | 5+2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | NED | Daniël de Ridder | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | GK | ROU | Bogdan Lobonț | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 65 | MF | ARG | Sebastián Rusculleda | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
As of 26 November 2011

### Players by nationality

| Nationality | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Total Players |
| Current squad selection | 10 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 23 |
| Youth/reserves squad in AFC Ajax selection | 7 | 1 | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 |
| Players out on loan | 1 | 2 | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 |

## Team statistics
### Eredivisie standings

| Standing | Matches played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Points | Goals for | Goals against | Yellow cards | Red cards |
| 4 | 34 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 60 | 66 | 41 | 57 | 7 |

#### Points by matchday

| Matchday | 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 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 60 |

#### Total points by matchday

| Matchday | 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 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 18 | 18 | 21 | 21 | 24 | 27 | 30 | 33 | 33 | 34 | 37 | 37 | 37 | 40 | 43 | 46 | 49 | 52 | 53 | 53 | 54 | 57 | 60 | 60 |

#### Standing by matchday

| Matchday | 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 | 4th | 6th | 6th | 6th | 5th | 5th | 5th | 5th | 6th | 6th | 6th | 9th | 8th | 6th | 4th | 4th | 4th | 6th | 4th | 7th | 8th | 6th | 5th | 4th | 4th | 4th | 4th | 4th | 5th | 5th | 5th | 4th | 4th | 4th |

#### Goals by matchday

| Matchday | 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 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 66 |

### Overview

* This is an overview of all the statistics for played matches in the season.
| | Friendlies | Amsterdam Tournament | Johan Cruijff Schaal | KNVB Cup | UEFA Champions League | Eredivisie | UEFA Champions League Qualifying Play-offs | Total |
| Matches | 11 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 34 | 4 | 66 |
| Wins | 10 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 18 | 3 | 40 |
| Draws | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 11 |
| Losses | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 15 |
| Home | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 17 | 2 | 30 |
| Away | 10 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 17 | 2 | 37 |
| Yellow cards | 8 | 0 | 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 |

### 2005–06 team records

| Description | Competition | Result |
| Biggest win | Friendly match | Rijnsburgse Boys – Ajax ( 0–12 ) |
| Biggest win | KNVB Cup | FC Eindhoven – Ajax ( 1–6 ) |
| Biggest win | UEFA Champions League | Thun – Ajax ( 2–4 ) |
| Biggest win | Eredivisie | Ajax – RBC Roosendaal ( 6–0 ) Ajax – Sparta Rotterdam ( 6–0 ) |
| Biggest loss | Friendly match | — |
| Biggest loss | KNVB Cup | — |
| Biggest loss | UEFA Champions League | Ajax – Arsenal ( 1–2 ) |
| Biggest loss | Eredivisie | Ajax – Utrecht ( 1–4 ) |
| Most goals in a match | Friendly match | Rijnsburgse Boys – Ajax ( 0–12 ) |
| Most goals in a match | KNVB Cup | FC Eindhoven – Ajax ( 1–6 ) |
| Most goals in a match | UEFA Champions League | Thun – Ajax ( 2–4 ) |
| Most goals in a match | Eredivisie | Ajax – RBC Roosendaal ( 6–0 ) Ajax – Sparta Rotterdam ( 6–0 ) |

#### Top scorers

| Nr. | Name | |
| 1. | Yannis Anastasiou | 10 |
| 1. | Nicolae Mitea | 10 |
| 3. | Nourdin Boukhari | 6 |
| 3. | Nigel de Jong | 6 |
| 5. | Markus Rosenberg | 5 |
| 6. | Daniël de Ridder | 4 |
| 7. | Wesley Sneijder | 3 |
| 7. | Javier Martina | 3 |
| 9. | Rasmus Lindgren | 2 |
| 9. | Julien Escudé | 2 |
| 9. | Jan Vertonghen | 2 |
| 9. | Derk Boerrigter | 2 |
| 13. | Tom De Mul | 1 |
| 13. | Zdeněk Grygera | 1 |
| 13. | Tomáš Galásek | 1 |
| 13. | Ryan Babel | 1 |
| 13. | John Heitinga | 1 |
| 13. | Rydell Poepon | 1 |
| Own goals | Rick Severein (VV Hierden) | 1 |
| Total | Total | 62 |
| Nr. | Name | |
| 1. | Nourdin Boukhari | 1 |
| 1. | Ryan Babel | 1 |
| Total | Total | 2 |
| Nr. | Name | |
| 1. | Klaas-Jan Huntelaar | 16 |
| 2. | Markus Rosenberg | 12 |
| 3. | Angelos Charisteas | 8 |
| 4. | Wesley Sneijder | 5 |
| 5. | Tomáš Galásek | 4 |
| 5. | Nourdin Boukhari | 4 |
| 7. | Hedwiges Maduro | 3 |
| 7. | Thomas Vermaelen | 3 |
| 9. | Steven Pienaar | 2 |
| 9. | Nigel de Jong | 2 |
| 9. | Ryan Babel | 2 |
| 12. | Urby Emanuelson | 1 |
| 12. | Zdeněk Grygera | 1 |
| 12. | Michael Timisela | 1 |
| 12. | John Heitinga | 1 |
| Own goals | Daniel Majstorović (Twente) | 1 |
| Total | Total | 66 |
| Nr. | Name | |
| 1. | Klaas-Jan Huntelaar | 5 |
| 2. | Wesley Sneijder | 2 |
| 2. | Ryan Babel | 2 |
| 4. | Angelos Charisteas | 1 |
| 4. | Nourdin Boukhari | 1 |
| 4. | Thomas Vermaelen | 1 |
| 4. | Mauro Rosales | 1 |
| 4. | Urby Emanuelson | 1 |
| Own goals | Frank Demouge (FC Eindhoven) | 1 |
| Total | Total | 15 |
| Nr. | Name | |
| 1. | Wesley Sneijder | 4 |
| 2. | Yannis Anastasiou | 3 |
| 2. | Nigel de Jong | 3 |
| 4. | Markus Rosenberg | 2 |
| 4. | Ryan Babel | 2 |
| 6. | Nourdin Boukhari | 1 |
| 6. | Klaas-Jan Huntelaar | 1 |
| 6. | Mauro Rosales | 1 |
| Total | Total | 17 |

## Placements

| | Friendlies | Amsterdam Tournament | Johan Cruijff Schaal | KNVB Cup | UEFA Champions League | Eredivisie |
| Status | 11 played, 10 wins, 1 draw, 0 losses | 4th place | Winners Last opponent: PSV | Winners Last opponent: PSV | Eliminated in Round of 32 Last opponent: Internazionale | 4th place 60 points in 34 matches qualified for UEFA Champions League Qualifying rounds |
* Klaas-Jan Huntelaar finishes as top-scorer of the Eredivisie with 33 goals in 34 matches. (17 with Heerenveen / 16 with Ajax)
* Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is voted Player of the Year by the supporters of Ajax.
* Urby Emanuelson and Thomas Vermaelen are voted Talent of the Year by the supporters of Ajax.

## Results

All times are in CEST

### UEFA Champions League
#### Play-off round
#### Group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ARS | AJX | THU | SPP |
| 1 | Arsenal | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 2 | +8 | 16 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 |
| 2 | Ajax | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 11 | Advance to knockout stage | 1–2 | — | 2–0 | 2–1 |
| 3 | Thun | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 4 | Transfer to UEFA Cup | 0–1 | 2–4 | — | 1–0 |
| 4 | Sparta Prague | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 2 | | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | — |

#### Knockout stage
##### Round of 16
### Amsterdam Tournament
#### Final standings of the LG Amsterdam Tournament 2005

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | Pts |
| Arsenal | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| Porto | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Boca Juniors | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Ajax | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |

### Friendlies
## Transfers
### Summer

For a list of all Dutch football transfers in the summer window (1 July 2005 to 1 September 2005) please see List of Dutch football transfers summer 2005.

#### 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 |
| Pius Ikedia | Forward | 1 July 2005 | RBC Roosendaal | - |
| Thomas Vermaelen | Defender | 1 July 2005 | RKC Waalwijk | - |
| Abubakari Yakubu | Defender | 1 July 2005 | Vitesse | - |
| Loan | Loan | Loan | Loan | Loan |
| Juanfran | Defender | 1 July 2005 | Beşiktaş | - |
| Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer |
| Markus Rosenberg | Forward | 6 June 2005 | Malmö FF | €5.3M |
| Olaf Lindenbergh | Midfielder | 9 June 2005 | AZ | €1.2M |
| Free Transfer | Free Transfer | Free Transfer | Free Transfer | Free Transfer |
| Edgar Manucharyan | Forward | 15 April 2005 | Pyunik | - |

#### 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 |
| Rasmus Lindgren | Midfielder | 9 August 2005 | Groningen | - |
| Tom de Mul | Midfielder | 24 August 2005 | Vitesse | - |
| Loan return | Loan return | Loan return | Loan return | Loan return |
| Filipe Luís | Defender | 1 July 2005 | Figueirense | - |
| Gastón Sangoy | Forward | 1 July 2005 | Boca Juniors | - |
| Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer |
| Rafael van der Vaart | Midfielder | 1 June 2005 | Hamburg | €5.5M |
| Wesley Sonck | Forward | 1 July 2005 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | €2.5M |
| Abubakari Yakubu | Midfielder | 1 July 2005 | Vitesse | €0.75M |
| Daniël de Ridder | Midfielder | 31 August 2005 | Celta Vigo | ? |
| Free | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Pius Ikedia | Forward | 1 July 2005 | AZ | - |
| Ruud Kras | Defender | 13 July 2005 | Dordrecht | - |
| Anthony Obodai | Midfielder | 30 August 2005 | Sparta Rotterdam | - |

### Winter

For a list of all Dutch football transfers in the winter window (1 January 2006 to 1 February 2006) please see List of Dutch football transfers winter 2005–06.

#### 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 |
| Victor Sikora | Midfielder | 1 January 2006 | Heerenveen | - |
| Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer |
| Klaas-Jan Huntelaar | Forward | 29 December 2005 | Heerenveen | €9M |

#### 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 |
| Stanley Aborah | Midfielder | 4 November 2005 | FC Den Bosch | - |
| Victor Sikora | Midfielder | 1 January 2006 | NAC Breda | - |
| Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer | Transfer |
| Julien Escudé | Defender | 18 January 2006 | Sevilla | €1.5M |
| Bogdan Lobonţ | Goalkeeper | 22 January 2006 | Fiorentina | €1.2M |
| Nigel de Jong | Midfielder | 26 January 2006 | Hamburg | €3.5M |
| Free | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Sebastián Rusculleda | Midfielder | 29 December 2005 | Boca Juniors | - |
| Maxwell | Defender | 2 January 2006 | Internazionale | - |