January 27 – Ajax have dismissed their coach Alfred Schreuder following a disappointing run of seven Eredivisie matches without a win.
Last weekend, the Amsterdam club were lucky to a get a point away to Feyenoord in De Kuip, but a new draw in midweek prompted the Ajax hierarchy to push Schreuder, who had arrived from Club Brugge in the summer following Erik ten Hag’s departure to Manchester United, to the exit door.
Ajax sit in fifth in the league table, seven points behind league leaders Feyenoord.
“This is a painful decision, but it’s necessary,” said Ajax chief executive Edwin van der Sar. “Regardless of the good start to the season, we lost a lot of unnecessary points. The football itself was precarious too.”
After the draw with Feyenoord, Ajax on paper had easier fixtures with Volendam, Excelsior, Cambuur and RKC, but the Amsterdam side failed to ignite against a defensive Volendam, bereft of confidence and creativity. The visitors had 84% of possession and 13 attempts on target at the halfway stage, but simply couldn’t find the net. In the second half, Mohammed Kudus equalised following Damon Mirani’s opening goal, but it was not enough to save Schreuder’s job.
“We gave Alfred our time and trust to change the way things were going. It became clear to us that he could not change the tide,” said Van der Sar.
“Regardless of the many transfers that took place, we consider the squad fit for a championship. We lost a lot of points over the last few weeks and sadly saw a lack of progression.”
Schreuder had been an assistant coach to Julian Nagelsmann, Ronald Koeman and Erik ten Hag, but in spells as head coach at Hoffenheim, Club Brugge and Ajax he largely failed. In Belgium, he won a league title before returning to Amsterdam.
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