page_title: History of AFC Ajax
section_title: Professional football and the road to the top
hierarchical_section_title: History of AFC Ajax / Professional football and the road to the top
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: Nationaal Archief Beschrijving: Japanse voetbalfans met Johan Cruijff (na training Ajax) Datum: 13 juli 1982 Vervaardiger: Anefo / Bogaerts Bestanddeelnummer: 932-2446 URL: [1] Voor meer informatie over het Nationaal Archief: www.nationaalarchief.nl Voor meer foto's uit deze en andere collecties, bezoek onze Beeldbank:, www.beeldbank.nationaalarchief.nl U kunt ons helpen onze kennis van de fotocollecties te verrijken door tags en commentaren toe te voegen. Herkent u mensen of locaties of heeft u een bijzonder verhaal te vertellen bij één van de foto's, laat dan een reactie achter (als u ingelogd bent bij Flickr) of stuur een mailtje naar: flickrthecommons@nationaalarchief.nl
context_page_description: AFC Ajax is one of the most successful clubs in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax is the most successful club in the Netherlands, with 34 Eredivisie titles and 19 KNVB Cups.
  Ajax is historically one of the most successful clubs in the world; according to the IFFHS, Ajax were the seventh-most successful European club of the 20th century. The club is one of the five teams that has earned the right to keep the European Cup and to wear a multiple-winner badge; they won consecutively in 1971–1973. In 1972, they completed the continental treble by winning the Eredivisie, KNVB Cup, and the European Cup. Ajax's last international trophies were the 1995 Intercontinental Cup and the 1995 Champions League, where they defeated Milan in the final; they lost the 1996 Champions League final on penalties to Juventus.
  Ajax is also one of three teams to win the continental treble and the Intercontinental Cup in the same season/calendar year; This was achieved in the 1971–72 season. Ajax, Juventus, Bayern Munich and Chelsea are the four clubs to have won all three major UEFA club competitions.
context_section_description: In 1955, professional football was finally permitted in the Netherlands. Ajax was still far from the international top, as was demonstrated in the European Cup match against Vasas SC, where they were beaten by the Hungarians 4–0 in the Népstadion. Similar European failures followed in 1960, with Ajax being knocked out by the Norwegian amateurs of Fredrikstad FK and in the Cup Winners' Cup in 1961 by Újpest of Ferenc Bene.
  Ajax achieved some success on the domestic level, earning the first Eredivisie-championship in 1957 and again in 1960, the 1960 title decided by a playoff after equalling in points with arch-rivals Feyenoord. Ajax cruised to a 5–1 victory with a hat trick by striker Wim Bleijenberg.
  Bleijenberg was not the top scorer, however. Henk Groot – the younger brother of Cees Groot, who had scored 100 goals for Ajax in his five-year stay – arrived in 1959 from Stormvogels and scored 38 goals in 1959–60 and 41 in 1960–61. He was a vital part of Ajax in the early 1960s, replacing star striker Piet van der Kuil, who had left for PSV in 1960. Alongside the man who would later become Mister Ajax, Sjaak Swart, Co Prins, Ton Pronk, Bennie Muller and a young Piet Keizer, Ajax added the National Cup in 1961 and the Intertoto Cup 1962 to their trophy cabinet.
  After missing out on the championship after a 5–2 defeat against PSV in 1963, Ajax entered a period of decline in the national league. Henk Groot left to Feyenoord that summer, and in 1964–65, they were near relegation. Things improved after former player Rinus Michels replaced Vic Buckingham as the head manager. Ajax managed to secure a midtable spot under Michels; however, Buckingham's second tenure saw the introduction of Johan Cruyff during a 3–1 loss at GVAV.
  Michels started a revolution in Amsterdam, beginning with the return of Henk Groot and Co Prins, as well as the signing of goalkeeper Gert Bals. Michels built a side around the vision of "Total Football," sacrificing players who he considered not to be good enough or fit the style of play. The most notable example of this was defender Frits Soetekouw – replaced by Ajax' new captain Velibor Vasović – whose own goal aided the victory of Dukla Prague in the quarter-final of the European Cup in 1966–67, after Ajax had knocked out Beşiktaş and defeated Liverpool 5–1 at the Mistwedstrijd.
  Ajax sealed their second consecutive championship in 1967. They were not as dominant as the previous year, but with a seemingly unstoppable attack, they scored no less than 122 goals (still a national record), of which 33 were from Johan Cruyff, who, at just 20 years of age, was already the team's star player. It was also the season for another important milestone—for the first time in history, Ajax won the double (after defeating NAC Breda in the cup final).
  It earned them European Cup qualification, being knocked out by Real Madrid in the subsequent season, with Veloso scoring the winner for Los Merengues in extra time after two 1–1 draws, results which greatly enhanced the reputation of the club.
  Ajax won the Dutch title of 1968 overtaking Feyenoord, the league leaders for much of the season, and reached the European Cup final of 1969 in Madrid against Milan. In qualifying for the European Cup Final, Ajax defeated 1. FC Nürnberg in the first round. They were almost knocked out by Benfica in the second, losing 1–3 to them in Amsterdam but winning the second leg in Lisbon, 1–3. The decisive third match in neutral Paris was won 3–0 through two goals by Inge Danielsson and one by Cruyff. They repeated this score at home against the next opponent, Czechoslovak club Spartak Trnava, in the next round, but struggled in the second leg, narrowly qualifying on aggregate. In the final, Milan, lauded for their excellent defence and counter-attacks, easily won 4–1, with Pierino Prati opening the scoring after seven minutes and going on to score a hat-trick, while Velibor Vasović was the only Ajax player on the scoresheet after scoring from a penalty. Milan's win was capped by a goal by Angelo Sormani.
caption: Johan Cruyff played at Ajax between 1959–73 and 1981–83, winning 3 European Cups; his #14 is the only squad number Ajax has ever retired. Cruyff came back to manage the club from 1985–88.
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