Ajax underwent a period of change incomparable to any other club in Europe over the summer – and yet they have remained locked on the same course.
The Dutch giants lost their manager, director of football and many of their star players during a tumultuous time. Erik ten Hag left for Manchester United, taking two of the club’s most prized players with him. Marc Overmars left in February after admitting to sending a series of inappropriate messages to female colleagues. The summer transfer window saw a whole host of players leave Amsterdam.
But, somewhat remarkably, Ajax arrive on Merseyside for their Champions League tie against Liverpool on Tuesday evening in wonderful shape, in form which contrasts sharply with their opponents. Here Mirror Football takes a look at how they’ve managed to achieve continuity from the Ten Hag era and the threats they will pose to Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Transfer upheaval
When looking at Ajax, two weeks after the summer transfer window closed, there is an obvious place to start. The club has recently undergone major upheaval in terms of personnel, with several first-team regulars departing over the summer.
A simple list shows the extent of the gutting. Among others, Ajax lost Antony (£85.5m, Manchester United), Lisandro Martinez (£55m, Manchester United), Sebastien Haller (£26m, Borussia Dortmund), Ryan Gravenberch (£16m, Bayern Munich), Perr Schurrs (£9m, Torino), Nicolas Tagliafico (£3.5m, Lyon), Noussair Mazraoui (free, Bayern Munich) and Andre Onana (free, Inter Milan).
Some of that money was reinvested. Ajax brought in Steven Bergwijn (£25.8m, Tottenham ), Calvin Bassey (£22.6m, Rangers), Brain Brobbey (£17m, RB Leipzig), Owen Wijndal (£8m, AZ Alkmaar), Ahmetcan Kaplan (£8m, Trabzonspor), Francisco Conceicao (£4m, Porto) and Jorge Sanchez (£4m, Club America).
That is quite the turnover, but the early signs are good – and that has a lot to do with the man they have placed in charge.
Shrewd Schreuder
Ajax knew they were in for a rocky summer transfer window, so wisely opted for continuity instead of revolution. The club, who are led by former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar and former striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, wanted someone who could pick up where Ten Hag left off after winning the Eredivisie title last season.
Enter Alfred Schreuder, a coach who has worked under Steve McClaren (FC Twente), Julian Naglesmann (Hoffenheim), Ronald Koeman ( Barcelona ) and Ten Hag (Ajax) as an assistant and had just won the Belgian Jupiler Pro League as manager of Club Brugge.
“I am a coach in the same vein as Erik ten Hag,” Schreuder said upon his arrival at Ajax in June. “The way of playing, the way of working, and that we feel that you have to work really hard in training to be able to get to that level of intensity.
"In doing so, I want to give a lot of freedom to my players, but also to my staff. Ultimately, I think it’s very important to have a sense of unity.”
Schreuder was not going to tear up the Ajax playbook. More of the same was expected – and that is what he’s delivered.
Flying form
Ajax have made a flying start to the 2022/23 season. So far they have won all seven of their games by an aggregate scoreline of 25-3, keeping clean sheets in their past five matches in the Eredivisie and Champions League.
While they might be expected to triumph in the Eredivisie, where they have won the past three completed seasons, they have already shown they mean business in the Champions League too.
Ajax systematically dismantled Rangers in their opening Group A game last week, winning 4-0 in a match they dominated from start to finish. The goals came from Edson Alvarez, Steven Berghuis, Mohammed Kudus and Bergwijn and showed just how dangerous the Ajax style of play can be when executed to perfection.
"Ajax have shown in the last years we can compete at this level,” Schreuder said in his press conference before the Liverpool game. “It's a big compliment for the people here at Ajax to get a strong squad again. We signed a few players and some young players have come in, which fit into the Ajax system. It gives us new energy."
Ten Hag philosophy
Schreuder promised more of the same from the Ten Hag era and that is what he’s brought in thrilling style.
Asked what his philosophy was upon arrival in June, the 49-year-old answered: “A lot of changing of positions, but still keeping a good structure. Being dominant is part of what Ajax is. Attacking a lot and playing in the opponent’s half, which comes with that.”
He added: “In principle, we know what Ajax is like, with the 4-3-3, whether it’s with a number 10 or two number eights, we’ll have to see. But Ajax are known for wide players and for defenders that push high up the pitch, for wide players who come inside – one wide player outside and the full-back on the inside. You have to be very flexible with that and use a lot of variation. It’s about occupying the right areas of the pitch.”
That freedom was on display against Rangers, who could not cope with Ajax’s free-flowing and ambitious movement on the ball and their disciplined press without it.
The front six of Bergwijn, Kudus, Dusan Tadic, Berghuis, Alvarez and Kenneth Taylor rotated with the ease of players deeply familiar with the Ajax style, while defenders Jurrien Timber, Bassey, Daley Blind and Devyne Rensch were not shy to push up either.
Liverpool warned
As a Ten Hag acolyte, Schreuder has been keeping a watchful eye over his former colleague’s progress at United, so it was no surprise to hear that the 2-1 win over Liverpool last month has been studied.
"I have looked at the United match and what they did,” Schreuder said. “There are certain things they did that are applicable to us. You have to be good with the ball against these kinds of teams. You need to have guts and courage. Courage is key. If you have that, then you have a chance."
The word “courage” was frequently used by Schreuder in his pre-match press conference. And Napoli’s 4-1 win over Liverpool last week showed just how impactful such an approach can be against Klopp’s out-of-form side at the moment.
“We are also good. We try to play our own game,” Schreuder explained. “You have to have courage and tomorrow, if we can do that, we have a chance. If you don't have it, it is going to be difficult, especially one on one."
Liverpool have been warned.
