With the showings of smaller clubs, from the less prominent leagues in Europe advancing deep in the Champions League last season(Porto/Monaco in the final), I think Ajax must feel they have a legit chance to go deep. When Ajax won the European title in the mid 90s, did they have more money then they do at this current time? It seems like if we could have hung on to the studs like Chivu, Trabelsi and some of the others who seem to get away or are about to leave, Ajax would still be as strong as anyone. With all that said, I still think Ajax will be the class of the Eredvisie and a team that will be a tough out in the Champions League, just wanted to get some other opinions and find out how things were different when Ajax was arguably the dominant force in the early/mid 90s.
the loss of chivu was really too much. he is an amazing defender and was the only true leader on the team (litmanen never played). vd meyde ended up being a big loss to as they never found someone to fill in his spot. mitea ended up being a revelation, but he was/is a bit small and inexperienced for things such as the CL. throw in injuries and lack of depth and there goes this past yr's CL. i still think they could have won it 2 yrs ago, but oh well. if the only player they lose this summer is trabelsi, they find a right winger, and there arent that many injuries then they have a chance to go deep. oh ya they could also lose raffy and it wouldnt hurt really. hopefully anastasiou (sp?) can fill in for zlatan if he gets injured, he did play well this yr. then they have the De's (Ridder and Mul) filling in on either wing, Obodai in the middle, Vermaelen is supposed to be good, and i am sure they will buy some other young guns or have some from their academy be able to fill in for depth.
Ajax' budget back then was about 1/3rd of the current budget if I'm not mistaken. But in financial terms Ajax is still one of the smallest players in the CL. Sometimes the pieces just fit together perfectly.
imo he isn't meant to play as a #9 in a 4-3-3, in a 4-4-2 yes. i would like to see him and zlatan partnered like that, but i THINK that only happens in the CL. if he doesnt get a shot in his true position this yr i hope he leaves and kicks a$$ elsewhere.
Wow, that really surprises me that they could succeed with such a low budget. As for next season, it would be great to keep Ibrahimovic and Trabelsi, if they some how manage that, they should be a legitimate contender.
havent been following ajax news? trabelsi is gone. he went to court against ajax trying to get out of his contract, but ajax won. he doesn't want to be there and wont cuz ajax will sell him.
Yes Ajax in 95 didnt have high budget, almost all players came from own youth(Kluivert,Davids,Seedorf,Reiziger,Bogarde,Overmars,vdSar,deBoers etc)
well the 9 when zlatan was injured, up till they got anastasiou (sp?), but they played him as a right winger.