October 1988

Ajax... Fifteen Years Ago

The outraged F-Side seems to have calmed down a bit now coach Kurt Linder and the entire Ajax board have disappeared from the stage. However, times are still more troubled than ever. The new board of interim chairman André Kraan hardly knows where to start. The first team sits in a historically low 13th slot on the Eredivisie table, after a dramatic month without a single win. Elimination in the first round of the UEFA Cup also seems close after a 4-2 defeat in Lisbon. And, finally, two hard-working interim coaches - Spitz Kohn and Louis van Gaal - are working with a squad that could use reinforcement. But there's no money.

Luckily for the new board their term of service starts with a very welcome win (the first after three defeats and a draw) in the first round of the KNVB Cup. In spite of the fact that the opponent is one of the First Division's weakest (SVV from Schiedam) the away win of 0-6 is a major relief to the team, which plays in a 'classic' 4-3-3 formation again with Robbie Witschge and John van 't Schip as the wingers. Players such as Werdekker, Verlaat, Scholten, Bergkamp and - highly remarkably - Arnold Mühren are left out.

The next morning, however, it turns out that Ajax's trip through hell has not come to an end yet. On Monday 03 October, a couple of days prior to publication, the board is informed that the upcoming issue of Nieuwe Revu magazine will feature a cover story on alleged financial irregularities at Ajax. The issue hits the stores on Wednesday, the day of the return leg between Ajax and Sporting Lisbon. Nieuwe Revu claims that Ajax accepted large sums of money under the counter for players such as Felix Gasselich and Søren Lerby, in the years between 1979 and 1985.

The accusation comes as a bolt out of the blue for the new Kraan board, but are serious enough for the Dutch Fiscal Investigation Service (FIOD) to announce a thorough investigation of the Ajax archives at De Meer. The club has now to come to the point where things can hardly get worse. On top of the dismal season's start, a case of tax fraud is now hanging over De Meer like a thick, black cloud. How long will it take for the FIOD to come to a conclusion? Weeks? Months? Years?

The Amsterdam crowd, for one, seems to have lost faith. Some 40,000 seats of the Olympic Stadium remain empty for the return leg in the first round of the UEFA Cup. Kohn and Van Gaal do the only thing they can possibly do: change stuff. Youngsters such as Marciano Vink, Wim Jonk and both of the Witschge brothers play from the start.

Ajax starts with good hopes and determination, playing some of its best football so far. The team seems to score the early goal it was hoping for, but Aron Winter's strike is disallowed by referee Prokop. Minutes later a Winter header is cleared off the line. Luck is not on Ajax's side these days. This becomes painfully clear as an erratic Wouters pass is picked up by the Portugese, who unfold a lethal counter-attack: Silas scores, 0-1, 22nd minute. Ajax attacks desperately, knowing that three goals are now required. By the time Mark Verkuyl equalizes in the 80th minute, by firing home via the body of a defender, hope has already evaporated. The spectators slink off as the final minutes tick away. Maside makes it 1-2 to Lisbon on another deadly counter-attack. It doesn't matter anymore. It's over.

Time for... PSV. Reigning Dutch and European champions. Nice timing. Things can still get worse...

The weather gods have designed a proper background for the 08 October game at the Olympic Stadium: pouring rain, which has turned the pitch into a swamp under a dark, gray sky. Is this still a 'top game'? Not if you look at the table, on which Ajax is 13th. Not if you look at the stands: the rotting, grey concrete of the colossus of Amsterdam-South is showing. Less than 10,000 spectators have climbed the old concrete steps to see Ajax perform. The lucky ones are under the roof of the main stand. The real 'diehards' are stuffed together in one end, hiding under each other's umbrellas. The opposite end remains empty. How depressing can the setting of an Ajax home game get?

The most remarkable name in the starting eleven is young Frank de Boer, who makes his Ajax-1 début in the hardest times and most dismal circumstances. The 18 year-old left-footer, however, plays with remarkable self-esteem. Ajax has a good start anyway, putting the guests under pressure and creating the better chances. Encouraging applause resounds at 'the Olympic' as the referee blows the half-time whistle. Van Gaal and Kohn replace a defender (Larsson) by a striker (Bergkamp). The cycle must be broken today. Someday.

Ajax continues to play freely in the second half, knowing that they have nothing left to lose. And finally, finally... Lady Luck decides to smile on the deeply fallen Amsterdammers. The fortunate moment comes in the 59th minute, as an Eric Gerets backpass slurpingly comes to a stop in one of the puddles of mud on the pitch, just outside Hans van Breukelen's penalty area. Robbie Witschge arrives earlier than the onstorming goalie, slips past him and stays calm from a tight angle: 1-0!

The goal provides the team with enough of an adrenaline boost to make it to the finish line, fighting for every inch. The decisive moment comes in the 84th minute, as Van Breukelen can only stop an Ajax counter-attack by committing a foul. Robbie Witschge becomes the hero of the day by converting from the spot: 2-0. The sense of liberation after the final whistle is enormous. Is this Ajax's escape from the downward spiral? Against - of all opponents - PSV?

It's starting to feel like it on 12 October, during the away fixture at VVV. A tough one, as Ajax lost its last two games in Venlo. Not this time, though. Mark Verkuyl and Dennis Bergkamp put Ajax two goals up. A late strike by Jeroen Boere comes too late for the hosts: 1-2. Oh, the sweet taste. Ajax's play is still shaky, but the team cautiously comes out of its shell.

Robbie Witschge is rewarded for his fine play in recent weeks with an invitation letter from Holland boss Thijs Libregts for Oranje's second World Cup qualifier, in Munich against West-Germany. Wouters and Winter are also in the squad. How strange it feels: playing the Germans feels so 'different' since the historic win in Hamburg during Euro 88. Wouters is the only Ajacied to see action in Munich's Olympia Stadium, where Holland notches a praiseworthy 0-0 draw.

Next opponent in De Meer: FC Groningen on Sunday 23 October. Ajax seems diffident in the first half, but the swagger slowly returns in the second. Mark Verkuyl - the tall, long-haired defender, who is developing into an excellent left-back for Ajax - opens the scoring against his previous club, after which Dennis Bergkamp and Stefan Pettersson seal the deal. Ajax 3, FC Groningen 0. Three wins in a row. That's more like it. Finally, Ajax has more wins (5) than defeats (4) again...

For Ajax, October 1988 ends in Utrecht's Nieuw Galgenwaard Stadium, where the traditionally aggressive and physical home side takes an early lead, courtesy of Marco Boogers. The game gets nasty and referee Van Swieten gives no less than six yellow cards. Ajax, however, ends up getting what it deserves: a Dennis Bergkamp equalizer (72'). 1-1 is the final score.

At the end of October the season seems to be lost, but at least the team's winning again, which is - traditionally - the most effective way to keep the fans quiet. There is, however, still an interim captain at the helm. Therefore, an independent committee - presided by Nico Gianotten - is assigned to do research on how to 'cure' the club and to recruit a new board and chairman. Gianotten and his colleagues are to present their recommendations to the Board Of Members on 08 December. Ajax, the once great Ajax, knows that it has to make a new start... (MP)

Next month:

• Improvement in the Eredivisie...?
• The first 'Classic' against Feyenoord

Related links

• Discussion: Ajax History
• History: 1988-1989: On The Edge