Ajax was beaten 6-0 by arch-rivals Feyenoord on Sunday, its biggest loss in 97 years. “You can lose, but not like this,” captain Steven Bergwijn said after the humiliation.
It was Ajax’s eighth defeat in the league, putting them in sixth place in the table and seven points off a European qualification spot. They are 33-point leaders PSV Eindhoven and seven-point fourth-placed AZ Alkmaar in hopes of qualifying for Europe.
Ajax looked confident of avoiding their worst season of 1964/65, finishing in 13th place. That year the legendary Johan Cruyff joined the youth team and Ajax won the league the following season. But it’s hard to see the four-time European champions bouncing around. return so temporarily this time.
The 6-0 defeat to Feyenoord was a record margin of victory in a ‘Klassieker’ between the two most sensible Dutch teams, although it may have been greater: a seventh sending off for offside.
“Ten, ten,” chanted house enthusiasts in Rotterdam, where there were only house enthusiasts; House enthusiasts are welcome after years of violence.
The gulf between the two clubs is clear from the numbers. Feyenoord had 30 shots, 15 of them on target. Ajax had one. Ajax had only 39% part-time ownership. Igor Paixao, Yankuba Minteh and David Hancko scored in the first half to give Feyenoord a 3-0 lead.
Minteh and Paixao scored in the half, as did Quinten Timber to complete De Kuip’s takedown.
Feyenoord handled Ajax’s defense in tatters, and the second half looked more like an educational consultation than an exercise in ownership.
The Rotterdam newspaper Algemeen Dagblad described it as “a beating forever”.
“Ajax is in a moment where things are going badly,” coach John van ‘t Schip said. “But they were men who were opposed to children, even schoolchildren. “
“It was embarrassing
It’s a huge blow to what has been a terrible season on and off the pitch for Ajax.
There were four coaches: John Heitinga, Maurice Steijn, Hedwiges Maduro and now Schip.
A 10-game winless streak left them in last place in the Eredivisie in November, ahead of 25 of rivals and league leaders PSV Eindhoven.
They were knocked out of the domestic cup by USV Heracles in December and from the Europa Conference League by Aston Villa in March.
If the disorder in the room wasn’t enough, there would also be a lot of chaos in the convention room.
“Kroes is very naïve,” said club president Van Praag. “We don’t want him back. It’s not a playground here.
But his words backfired on him. On Friday, it became known that Van Praag had not claimed his own shares (about 100 shares) with the competent authorities.
“Welcome to the Ajax pitch,” read the bitter headline from the Ajax fans’ association.
They compare the club’s current state to a playground “full of landmines and where the swings are loose, the slide stops halfway and the sandpit is empty. “
‘Ajax playground’
The enthusiasts, clearly, have had enough. Ajax’s home game against Feyenoord earlier in the season was deserted after 55 minutes when fans threw flares onto the pitch when their team was already 3-0 down.
Frustration erupted as enthusiasts scuffled with the stationary police. Some enthusiasts even destroyed their own stadium, while players remained in the locker room for their safety.
To add insult to injury, Feyenoord scored a fourth goal when the match resumed three days later.
“This season we beat them 10-0. Es special,” sang Feyenoord’s Quinten Timber.
Ajax, which won the last UEFA Champions League in 1994/95 and has the likes of Cruyff, Marco van Basten and Dennis Bergkamp, “played like a relegation team” against Feyenoord, according to public broadcaster NOS, according to the fans’ association. A “fitting end to a disastrous week. “
“Feyenoord scores at Ajax,” headlined the association’s editor-in-chief in his timely report.
“To all Ajax enthusiasts we wish the best of luck with the coffee machine in the office, as there are limits to what they can carry as fans. “