Cruijff Turn: Can Ajax legend’s son rescue Amsterdam club from current tailspin
Ajax is in talks with Johan Cruijff’s son, Jordi, regarding the Technical Director position. The position is set to be vacated by Alex Kroes, with the club in crisis. Johan, after whom Ajax’s stadium is named, had also worked on the board from 2003 to 2012, and the club is now hoping that Jordi can bring some much-needed stability.
According to De Telegraaf, Cruijff spoke to the club’s general manager, Menno Geelen, and the club’s director, Marijn Becker. Cruijff spent his youth career at Ajax before playing for clubs like FC Barcelona, Manchester United, and Celta de Vigo. He also worked as a sporting director for Barcelona until two years ago. He currently works as an advisor for the Indonesian Football Association.
Ajax is in chaos. After a historically bad end-of-season run resulted in the Amsterdammers finishing second behind PSV in the Eredivisie season, Italian manager Francesco Farioli left the club, citing disagreements with the board. Former manager and player John Heitinga was hired, but he was sacked a few weeks ago after a disappointing start to the season, in which Ajax is at the bottom of the 36-team UEFA Champions League.
Kroes, who has worked at Ajax since March 2024, offered his resignation along with Heitinga’s firing. He had been urged by board members to remain in the position until a replacement has been found.
Thus far, the results have not improved since Heitinga’s sacking; some may say they have gotten worse. Under interim manager Fred Grim, the Amsterdammers lost away to FC Utrecht before falling to a defeat at home to Excelsior for the first time in the club’s history.
It has been reported that Ajax is going to wait with hiring a new manager until a Technical Director has been brought in. According to De Telegraaf, the hiring of Cruijff would make it more likely that Ajax will opt for a foreign manager.
Ajax will continue their search for a first win or even draw in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday evening when they face Portuguese side SL Benfica, who have also lost every game thus far.
