Lance Knight
12-20-2005, 01:37 PM
Despite Champions League success, Ajax faces player desertion
Associated Press
Posted: 2 minutes ago
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - Tunisia defender Hatem Trabelsi had a choice between a new contract with Ajax or an uncertain future as a free agent.
He's heading for the door.
Trabelsi's intended departure would be the latest from Ajax, raising questions about the competitive future of one of Europe's most storied teams.
"Obviously, it is painful to see the players leaving," Ajax coach Danny Blind told The Associated Press. "But it is normal in soccer. Players come and go. We will find replacements."
Ajax is still in contention in the Champions League and faces Inter Milan in the first knockout round. But chances for a repeat appearance next year are slim. Ajax is a distant fourth in the Dutch league, and lost five games before the winter break - its worst start in 40 years.
After dipping as low as ninth place last month, the team is still eight points behind Feyenoord and 11 behind leaders AZ Alkmaar and PSV Eindhoven.
Former Ajax star Johan Cruyff thinks his former club's problems run deep, especially in the ranks of management.
"At Ajax, no single element of the organization is running in synchronization with any of the others. At this moment nothing is functioning right, and that's very sad," Cruyff said in Sport Bestuur & Management magazine this week. "It's high time for a purge of the whole club, at every level."
Trabelsi joins Brazilian defender Maxwell, Netherlands midfielder Nigel de Jong and South Africa's Steven Pienaar in saying they won't stay when their contracts expire at the end of the season.
De Jong is rumored to be in talks with Manchester United, while Dutch media report Pienaar has already signed with Borussia Dortmund.
Trabelsi, who featured on the Tunisian team that won the African Cup of Nations last year, is angling for a spot at Arsenal or possibly Liverpool.
"I have been here for five years," Trabelsi said. "There are more opportunities in England and I think it's time for me to meet my destiny."
Supporters are grumbling, and Blind may have Ajax's Champions League performance to thank for keeping his job.
"We have a very good team but experience is lacking," Trabelsi said. "My personal view is that selling players like Mido and (Zlatan) Ibrahimovic was not a very good idea."
Mido was sold to Marseille in July 2003 after clashing with former coach Ronald Koeman. Ibrahimovic moved to Juventus.
Homegrown talent Rafael van der Vaart failed to live up to his early talent at Ajax, but has blossomed in his first season at Hamburg.
On the other side, the ?5 million (US$6.7 million) purchase of Greece striker Angelos Charisteas as a replacement for Ibrahimovic has proved a flop, followed by another ?5 million buy of Sweden striker Markus Rosenberg. They have scored a disappointing 16 goals in 42 games combined.
"Although the morale of the players has been down, our main goal is to get good results," Blind said. "Our performance in the last two games was very good so we hope to maintain that form."
Louis van Gaal left Ajax last season in protest at the club's purchasing policies and has since led AZ Alkmaar to the top of the Dutch league and an impressive showing in the UEFA Cup. Koeman then resigned and has since done well at Benfica.
Board members Klaas Nuninga and Hein Blocks resigned in October over differences with chairman John Jaakke, often criticized for having a business rather than soccer background.
"If a club that's been in existence 100 years can't find a new chairman from within its own ranks, something gigantic is wrong," Cruyff said.
Associated Press
Posted: 2 minutes ago
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - Tunisia defender Hatem Trabelsi had a choice between a new contract with Ajax or an uncertain future as a free agent.
He's heading for the door.
Trabelsi's intended departure would be the latest from Ajax, raising questions about the competitive future of one of Europe's most storied teams.
"Obviously, it is painful to see the players leaving," Ajax coach Danny Blind told The Associated Press. "But it is normal in soccer. Players come and go. We will find replacements."
Ajax is still in contention in the Champions League and faces Inter Milan in the first knockout round. But chances for a repeat appearance next year are slim. Ajax is a distant fourth in the Dutch league, and lost five games before the winter break - its worst start in 40 years.
After dipping as low as ninth place last month, the team is still eight points behind Feyenoord and 11 behind leaders AZ Alkmaar and PSV Eindhoven.
Former Ajax star Johan Cruyff thinks his former club's problems run deep, especially in the ranks of management.
"At Ajax, no single element of the organization is running in synchronization with any of the others. At this moment nothing is functioning right, and that's very sad," Cruyff said in Sport Bestuur & Management magazine this week. "It's high time for a purge of the whole club, at every level."
Trabelsi joins Brazilian defender Maxwell, Netherlands midfielder Nigel de Jong and South Africa's Steven Pienaar in saying they won't stay when their contracts expire at the end of the season.
De Jong is rumored to be in talks with Manchester United, while Dutch media report Pienaar has already signed with Borussia Dortmund.
Trabelsi, who featured on the Tunisian team that won the African Cup of Nations last year, is angling for a spot at Arsenal or possibly Liverpool.
"I have been here for five years," Trabelsi said. "There are more opportunities in England and I think it's time for me to meet my destiny."
Supporters are grumbling, and Blind may have Ajax's Champions League performance to thank for keeping his job.
"We have a very good team but experience is lacking," Trabelsi said. "My personal view is that selling players like Mido and (Zlatan) Ibrahimovic was not a very good idea."
Mido was sold to Marseille in July 2003 after clashing with former coach Ronald Koeman. Ibrahimovic moved to Juventus.
Homegrown talent Rafael van der Vaart failed to live up to his early talent at Ajax, but has blossomed in his first season at Hamburg.
On the other side, the ?5 million (US$6.7 million) purchase of Greece striker Angelos Charisteas as a replacement for Ibrahimovic has proved a flop, followed by another ?5 million buy of Sweden striker Markus Rosenberg. They have scored a disappointing 16 goals in 42 games combined.
"Although the morale of the players has been down, our main goal is to get good results," Blind said. "Our performance in the last two games was very good so we hope to maintain that form."
Louis van Gaal left Ajax last season in protest at the club's purchasing policies and has since led AZ Alkmaar to the top of the Dutch league and an impressive showing in the UEFA Cup. Koeman then resigned and has since done well at Benfica.
Board members Klaas Nuninga and Hein Blocks resigned in October over differences with chairman John Jaakke, often criticized for having a business rather than soccer background.
"If a club that's been in existence 100 years can't find a new chairman from within its own ranks, something gigantic is wrong," Cruyff said.