Ajax USA in Amsterdam 2001
Ajax in April 2001 was the first-ever Ajax USA organized
trip to see Ajax play in the Arena. A small group of attendees,
from Seattle WA, Toronto Canada, Media PA, Haddonfield NJ, Fort
Lauderdale FL and Pleasant Hill, CA gathered in Amsterdam for a
week of Ajax fun.
We received a gracious and hospitable reception from Ajax,
and we enjoyed excellent weather and company. Despite the
last-minute cancellation of the first of our two scheduled Ajax
games (Vitesse), our week was packed with great activities and
experiences. The following pictures and notes only begin to
tell the story. (Click on each picture to see a larger
version.)
Saturday, April 21 was the day the guests arrived in
Amsterdam. We met for the first time that evening, in the bar
of the very pleasant Hotel Ibis Stopera. It was immediately
clear that this was a good group, diverse in background but
united by a love of football and especially Ajax. I knew it
would be a good week.
Sunday, April 22 was a free day. Most folks chose to
acclimate themselves by walking aimlessly through Amsterdam,
visiting museums and sampling the city's great international
foods. Menno, Bastiaan and I played some muddy football in
Vondelpark. In the evening, Menno took some members of the
group to the Stephen Malkmus concert at De Melkweg.
Monday, April 23 was simply an amazing day. Menno and
I began the day with an extremely productive meeting with Ajax
Public and Media Relations folks, who were eager to smooth the
path for future trips -- good news for you folks hoping to go
next year! Then, our wonderful host Simone Freling personally
escorted us directly onto the training pitch outside the Arena,
where we were allowed to observe Ajax 1's morning workout.
We stood just a few feet from the Ajax players as they were
put through the paces in fitness and dexterity training. We
also had a great conversation with the legendary Ajax character
Sjakie, even though he speaks no English and we understand no
Dutch. At the end of practice, we stood with the entire Ajax
team and coaching staff for a few photographs. (Richard
Witschge had some amusing comments about Ben Bell's Ajax
tatoo.)
After training, we enjoyed a great lunch in SoccerWorld pub,
during which we grabbed an opportunity to take a picture with
Louis van Gaal, Nikos Machlas and Edwin van der Sar, among
others. While standing and chatting with van Gaal, I decided
not to mention our disappointment over the cancellation of the
Vitesse game.
Then it was time for our private, guided tour of the Arena
(again, thanks to Simone) including a visit to the infamous
Arena pitch (which looked beautiful, by the way), and then a
complementary tour of the fantastic Ajax Museum. We also paid a
visit to the Ajax Fanshop, where we were treated to a special
"Ajax USA" discount. (Some people got a little carried away,
but nobody got hurt.)
We then left the Arena and made the 15 minute walk to De
Toekomst, for the Ajax 2 match against De Graafschap 2. We said
a brief hello to John O'Brien before the match, for the benefit
of the AT5 camera crew who put us up to it. The match was very
interesting. O'Brien played well, and Ajax won easily, 5-0.
During the match, we soaked in the unique "Ajax family"
atmosphere of De Toekomst. Ajax legends like Danny Blind,
Johnny Rep and Johan Cruijff mingled with current Ajax 1
players and fans alike. Nobody seemed too bothered by their
presence. After the game, we met up with O'Brien again, this
time in De Toekomst bar, and congratulated him on his fine
free-kick goal.
It was an amazing night. Ben Bell got to meet his idol,
Danny Blind. We all chatted amicably with John O'Brien and Joey
Didulica, the talented Australian goalkeeper for Ajax 2, and
enjoyed an endless supply of free drink coupons, thanks to the
generosity of the De Graafschap coaching staff.
Tuesday, April 24 was completely different, but in
some ways, more wonderful. It was the day of the Ajax
Historical Walking Tour, researched and written by Menno Pot
and Bastiaan Vercouteren; a very personal experience which took
the better part of a day and was fascinating from beginning to
end. Highlights of the tour included the stirring history of
the Jewish Quarter, a visit to De Meer (now a
construction site) and Betondorp, or "concrete village,"
the childhood home of Johan Cruijff. We also visited the home
of the first American Ajacied, Eddy Hamel, and Olympic Stadium,
home of so many great moments for Ajax.
Wednesday, April 25 was Holland World Cup Qualifier
day, and so we all took the train down to Eindhoven at midday.
We arrived early, just in time for a great lunch at a pancake
house. Then we relaxed and enjoyed some beers while the city
center became increasingly over-run by orange-clad soccer
fans.
The game itself was over before it started; Holland toyed
with Cyprus like a cat with a mouse, finally settling the score
at 4-0. Afficionados will tell you that Holland did not play
very well. To us, it was a magnificent display.
Thursday, April 26 was another free day. A few of the
attendees took advantage of the non-football day to take in the
tradition of the season: a bus trip to De Keukenhof
tulip fields. Others visited the Van Gogh museum and other
sites of the city. Meanwhile, Menno and Jim had the pleasure of
personally interviewing Co Adriaanse and Kees Zwamborn; both
interviews will be published in their entirety later on Ajax
USA. In the evening, we all enjoyed a night of comedy at at
Boom Chicago in Leidseplein. And at midnight, we toasted
our friend Ben Bell to celebrate his 40th birthday.
Friday, April 27 was, finally, our day to see Ajax
in action at the Arena. The opponent was NAC. Before the game,
we visited the 't IJ Brewery in Amsterdam, a traditional brewer
of handcrafted Dutch ales and lagers. The brewery and pub
operates under a functioning windmill. After the game, we met
up with a few of our Amsterdam-based members in a brief Ajax
USA member reunion (of sorts) at Het Vervolg bar, at Biljmer
station.
Saturday, April 28 was the day most of the attendees
of Ajax in April left Amsterdam. It was actually very sad to
say goodbye to these friends whom we'd known for only a week.
As much as I am already looking forward to next year's trip, I
don't think there will ever be a group quite as attuned to one
another as 2001.
Monday, April 30: Queens Day! A few of us did stick
around long enough to experience Queens Day. And what an
experience it is! Over a million visitors to Amsterdam (more
than doubling the city's population), all dressed in orange and
having a fantastic time. We had typical Queens Day weather;
beautiful and warm throughout the day.
We were fortunate enough to find places on a boat for the
entire afternoon, which afforded us the quintessential Queens
Day experience, a "canal's eye view" if that makes any sense.
In addition to the "all of Amsterdam is one big party" thing,
we also saw bungee jumping and the immortal Piet Keizer aboard
his own canal boat.
Ajax in April 2001 was, by all accounts, a great success. I
want to extend a personal "Thank You!" to the six intrepid
travelers who braved the uncertainty of being first-timers. I
think they would agree: it was a risk well rewarded.
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