Ajax players to wear armbands to honor icon Bennie Muller, dead at 85

Amsterdam football club Ajax will take several opportunities to reflect on the death of Bennie Muller this weekend. The team’s former player, and a former Dutch men’s national team member, died at the age of 85, the team announced this week.

The men’s team, the women’s team and Jong Ajax will play football wearing special armbands to honor the Amsterdammer. A moment of silence will also be observed before Sunday’s match between Ajax and RKC Waalwijk in the Eredivisie.

The women’s team takes on Excelsior on Saturday. Jong Ajax will visit Willem II in the Eerste Divisie on Friday.

Muller died earlier this week at the age of 85. The midfielder made waves at Ajax in the 1960s. He played a total of 426 official matches for Ajax 1 between 1958 and 1970, winning five national titles and three Dutch cups with the club. He also joined Oranje for 43 international matches.

Muller made his debut for Ajax against MVV Maastricht in 1958. The midfielder was small in stature, but technically gifted and capable of firing a hard shot. He became a permanent fixture and helped lay the foundation for the team that conquered Europe and captivated football fans around the world in the early 1970s.

His first personal moment of glory was the May 26, 1960, Eredivisie match between Ajax and Feyenoord. The play-off was set up at the end of the season as both teams were tied on 50 points at the top of the table. Ajax won the national championship with a 5-1 victory. “Two years earlier I was still a ball boy, now a champion,” he reflected in an article posted on the Ajax website.

After Ajax lost the 1969 European Cup final 4-1 against AC Milan, Muller lost his starting place under legendary Total Football coach Rinus Michels. Extremely disappointed, he left for former Scheveningen club Holland Sport in 1970.

After his football career came to a close, Muller opened a cigar shop on the Haarlemmerstraat in Amsterdam. He remained a loyal Ajax supporter, and saw his son, Danny Muller, play for the Ajax youth team.

Muller's family planned a private funeral service.