Betting on AFC Ajax

Betting on Ajax is a popular activity among many betting enthusiasts. This should not come as a surprise, when you consider how many fans the club attracts across the Netherlands.

At the same time, of course, there is a very large group that, to put it mildly, has somewhat less affinity with ‘020’. We do not exclude the possibility that, for this reason, betting against Ajax also happens occasionally.

Betting on Ajax is always interesting

The advantage of an illustrious top club like Ajax? It virtually always provides interesting matches to bet on. Check the history. For some matches, you can almost blindly enter the 1. This usually does not involve high odds, but as part of a combination bet it is nice to have some ‘certainties’.

Disclaimer: we understand that there is never such a thing as a 100% watertight certainty, especially in football. You get what we mean however.

Betting on Ajax in the Eredivisie

In addition, Ajax often evokes something in opponents. That ‘something’ sometimes causes results that are favourable to us, the people who like to bet on football. Prefer to see their bets multiplied by the highest odds. For instance, Ajax sometimes gets wet during those damned “Sunday lunch” matches. Against clubs like FC Utrecht, for instance.

A club like AZ also likes to put an extra portion of fight in the ring in the North Holland derby. Especially since the ‘Arne Slot period’, this has been increasingly successful.

In fact, you could say Ajax has a fearsome opponent. Just for fun, check Ajax’s statistics against Heracles. So every season there are those typical Eredivisie matches that make betting on Ajax more interesting.

Betting on Ajax in the Champions League

Finally, of course, there are Ajax’s Champions League nights. Anyone who put their money on Ajax in the really big games in the Ten Hag era will think back to them with a big smile. Winning away at clubs like Juventus, Real Madrid, Dortmund. Or draws against superpowers like Chelsea and Bayern Munich.

You can imagine that there were fine odds on these. Which made betting on Ajax a lucrative activity. Thanks to these and other successes, Ajax is now naturally in a stronger position with the bookmakers. There is a lot of value to be found in betting on Ajax on Tuesday and Wednesday nights however.

History of the club

Fans of Ajax can probably easily name the founding date: 18 March 1900. Han Dade, Carl Bruno Reeser and Floris Stempel had already founded football club Union in 1893, but it went defunct a few years later. So in the early 1900s, Football Club Ajax was founded in Café Oost-Indië in the Kalverstraat.

In the first years after its foundation, Ajax played in lower classes at the NVB, until they brought in Irish trainer John Kirwan in 1910. He piloted the club to the highest level a year later. However, relegation to the Second Division followed again in 1913/1914, the only time in Ajax’s history that it was relegated. The next promotion was followed by the first successes: the national cup in 1917 and the national title in 1918 and 1919.

Ajax to the top

After the meagre 1920s with just three departmental titles, the successes returned in the 1930s. With eight division championships and five national championships, Ajax definitely established itself at the top. Yet World War II and reconstruction would have its repercussions on the Amsterdam club.

After the introduction of professional football in 1954, Ajax started achieving success again. With players like Sjaak Swart, Bennie Muller, Piet Keizer, Wim Suurbier and Johan Cruijff, things moved quickly in the 1960s.

After three league titles in a row between 1966-1968, the final of the European Cup I followed in 1969, which was lost to AC Milan. Two years later, Ajax’s European hegemony began: the club won the 1971, 1972 and 1973 European Cup I, the 1972 World Cup for club teams and the 1972 and 1973 European Super Cup.

The hand of Cruijff

Several meagre years followed after the departure of Johan Cruijff and the retirement of Sjaak Swart, among others. By the end of the 1970s, there was rebuilding and among many national titles came several hands full of successful players from the youth side however.

Cruijff, who returned in 1981, was able to get players like Marco van Basten, Frank Rijkaard, John van ‘t Schip and Gerald Vanenburg to flourish.

In 1987, Cruijff was at the helm as coach of Ajax, which won the European Cup II. A few years later, the Louis van Gaal era began. He started as assistant coach in 1988 and would become head coach in 1991.

With a new generation including Frank and Ronald de Boer, Edwin van der Sar, Marc Overmars, Jari Litmanen and Patrick Kluivert, he led Ajax to great successes: the UEFA Cup in 1992, three national titles, a KNVB Cup and, of course, the Champions League and World Cup for Clubs in 1995.

The “Velvet” Revolution

From the late 1990s, however, there was another dip in the club’s successes. Between 1999 and 2010, Ajax only grabbed the national title twice (with coach Ronald Koeman).

After Johan Cruijff’s Velvet Revolution in 2010, Frank de Boer was appointed coach. He would lead Ajax to four league titles in a row, but not European success or a KNVB Cup. However, the club did re-establish itself as a trainer of top talents, so its finances continued to improve.

A minor European highlight came in 2017 under Peter Bosz, when Ajax reached the Europa League final (but lost to Manchester United).

In recent years, Ajax definitely put itself back on the map of Europe under Erik ten Hag’s leadership. In 2018-2019, he took the Eredivisie title again with Ajax after a five-year drought and came very close to reaching the Champions League final.

In 2020, Ajax finished first again but was without a national title (corona) and in 2021 and 2022, the Eredivisie title also went to Amsterdam.

Club icons of Ajax

The list of Ajax club icons could of course become innumerable, but we try to make a small selection by dividing it into decades.

Before the 50’s

Perhaps not a name everyone knows, but Jack Reynolds was one of Ajax’s most successful coaches. He was Ajax’s coach from 1915-1925, 1928-1940 and 1945-1947. In 25 years, he took eight national titles and a national cup with the club.

His coaches included Gerrit Keizer and Wim Anderiesen, who came to over 300 matches for Ajax in the 1920s to 1940s. Piet van Reenen played 237 games, but is Ajax’s all-time top scorer with 273 goals.

The 50’s and 60’s

So after the introduction of professional football, Ajax built up to the successes of the late 1960s and early 1970s. From 1956-1973, Mister Ajax Sjaak Swart was of course indispensable in this. With 603 matches, he is also the absolute record holder, which he will probably always remain.

Swart’s teammates in those years, chronologically speaking, included Gé van Dijk, Ger van Mourik, Henk Groot, Bennie Muller, Ton Pronk, Piet Keizer, Wim Suurbier, Johan Cruijff, Barry Hulshoff, Ruud Krol and Heinz Stuy.

The 70’s

Swart also played for two years with Rinus Michels, who was an Ajax player from 1946-1958. He led the club to four national titles and in 1971 to its first Europa Cup I.

As coach, Romanian Stefan Kovacs took the Europa Cup I with Ajax in 1972 and 1973. So, after the three titles in a row in the Europa Cup I, with most of the players who had started at Ajax in the 1960s, came somewhat meagre years.

Piet Schrijvers, Dick Schoenaker, Søren Lerby and Tscheu La Ling came to over 200 games in the 1970s and 1980s. Arnold Mühren started at Ajax in 1971 and, in addition to a European Cup I, would win the European Cup II on his return in 1987.

The 80’s and 90’s

In this decade, Ajax, with Johan Cruijff as player and later as coach, would train many players who would later become European champions with the Dutch national team in 1988: Marco van Basten, Frank Rijkaard, Gerald Vanenburg, Wim Kieft, John van ‘t Schip and John Bosman.

In addition, it was also the transition to the new generation that would celebrate European successes from 1987, including Dennis Bergkamp, Wim Jonk, Stefan Petterson Frank de Boer, Ronald de Boer, Danny Blind, Sonny Silooy and Aron Winter.

In the 1990s, of course, Edwin van der Sar, Marc Overmars, Jari Litmanen, Edgar Davids and Winston Bogarde were added. Under the guidance of Louis van Gaal, of course.

The 2000’s and onwards

After the 2000’s, players did not stay at one club for so long, but plenty of players who left a lasting impression at Ajax still came: Daley Blind, Maarten Stekelenburg, Siem de Jong, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, John Heitinga, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart, Tomas Galasek, Luis Suarez, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Lasse Schöne and Davy Klaassen.

Incidentally, the most successful presidents were father and son: Jaap van Praag from 1964-1978 and Michael van Praag from 1989-2003.

Looking back at 2021/2022

Ajax had a 2021/2022 season of mixed success. It started with the 4-0 defeat against PSV in the Johan Cruijff Schaal, missing out on a first prize. Until the winter break, however, things went fantastically well in both the Eredivisie and the Champions League.

Ajax decisively won all its group matches in the Champions League from Borussia Dortmund, Sporting and Besiktas. In the Eredivisie, Ajax was one point behind PSV at the winter break.

From January, things went slightly differently than Ajax had hoped in Europe. That is, because in the Champions League eighth final, Benfica was just too strong. Anyone who placed a bet on Ajax at that match did not expect to lose their bet.

However, betting on Ajax’s country title was once again a hit. In the Eredivisie, Erik ten Hag’s team lost just once and there were draws with Vitesse and AZ at the end.

Due to Ajax’s scoring drive and some missteps by PSV, the Amsterdammers took the national title. PSV did end the season with one more prize. This is was for the KNVB Cup final, where they were too strong for Ajax by 2-1.

Looking ahead for 2022/2023

Marc Overmars had to leave as technical director in March. It was up to his successor Gerry Hamstra and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to manage all those mega-transfers.

They reinforced Ajax with the likes of Steven Bergwijn, Calvin Bassey, Brian Brobbey, Owen Wijndal, Francisco Conçeição and Lorenzo Lucca. By contrast, Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United), Sébastien Haller (Borussia Dortmund), Ryan Gravenberch (Bayern Munich) and Nicolás Tagliafico (Olympique Lyon) were no longer retained.

Alfred Schreuder thus has a different selection to work with than his predecessor Erik ten Hag. On paper, however, this squad should be a lot stronger than the rest of the Eredivisie. The expectation is therefore that the title will once again go to the Amsterdammers.

However, anyone who has paid a bit of attention in recent seasons knows that Ajax always has a lesser period. Keep that in mind when betting on Ajax. It is precisely in betting on losing points then that there is the most value.

The club will also want to be successful again in the Champions League however. Surviving the group stage would be nice with opponents Liverpool, Napoli and Rangers. Ajax is ambitious and it would obviously be good for Dutch football.