History
Ajax was founded in Amsterdam on March 18, 1900. With five national championships (1931, 1932, 1934, 1937, 1939), Ajax was the most successful Dutch team of the nineteen thirties. In 1955, professional football was finally permitted in the Netherlands. Ajax achieved their first Eredivisie championship in 1957 and again in 1960.
Ajax won the championship in 1966 and 1967, scoring a record breaking 122 goals including 33 from Johan Cruijff, and again in 1968, and reached the European Cup final of 1969 against AC Milan. In 1969–70 Ajax won the Dutch league championship, winning 27 out of 34 games and scoring 100 goals.
The 1971 European Cup final saw Ajax beat Panathinaikos 2-0 with goals from Dick van Dijk and Arie Haan. Ajax completed the treble of European Cup, Dutch National Championship and the KNVB Cup in 1972 before adding the Intercontinental Cup. In 1973, Ajax won a third consecutive European Cup and another Dutch championship.
The departure of Johan Cruijff for FC Barcelona in 1973 signalled the end of this period of success. In 1977, Ajax won their first domestic championship since 1973. Johan Cruijff returned to the club in 1981, with the club producing some talented youngsters in the mid-1980s such as Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard.
Cruijff returned in 1985 as the new manager and Ajax ended the season with 120 goals, of which 37 were from van Basten. Ajax won the '87 Cup Winners Cup and reached the final again the following season. Cruijff departed prior to the second Cup Winners Cup final and with most of the 80's stars such as van Basten also leaving, Ajax once again declined.
Managed by Louis van Gaal, Ajax won the 1992 UEFA Cup. Dennis Bergkamp scored six goals in the competition and was the top goalscorer in Dutch football in 1991 and 1992.
Ajax won the UEFA Champions League 1994-95 and the league title. The season saw an unbeaten run in the national league and the final season for Frank Rijkaard, while striker Patrick Kluivert came off the bench to score a late winner to beat AC Milan in the final of the Champions League. Ajax went on to beat Brazilian side Grêmio on penalties to win the Intercontinental Cup. The following season, Ajax lost to Juventus on penalties in the European Cup final.
However, the subsequent period saw the departure of manager van Gaal along with an exodus of many key players including Clarence Seedorf in 1995; Edgar Davids, Michael Reiziger, Finidi George, and Nwankwo Kanu in 1996; Patrick Kluivert, Marc Overmars, and Winston Bogarde in 1997; Ronald de Boer and Frank de Boer in 1998; and Edwin van der Sar and Jari Litmanen in 1999.
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