By David Gold
November 29 – Ajax Amsterdam’s members have asked club legend Johan Cruyff, and his four fellow Advisory Board members, to step down from their positions to resolve a bitter dispute between them.
Cruyff had been angered at the appointment of Louis van Gaal by his fellow Board members as the general director of the Dutch champions without his knowledge.
Cruyff and van Gaal do not see eye to eye, and after the former declared that he would not work alongside his fellow Board members the club’s members council decided to step in to settle the row, rather than allow it to go to a shareholders meeting next month.
The dispute related to Cruyff’s technical vision for restoring the club to its former glory, which has involved bringing in a number of former players, including Dennis Bergkamp and Wim Jonk.
It has been a difficult week for the Dutch club off the field, as Cruyff, who helped Ajax win the European Cup three times as a player in the 1970s, was accused of racism towards Edgar Davids by Steve ten Have, both fellow Board members.
“This Board could not continue and therefore we made this choice,” members council chairman Rob Been Jr. said.
“Now we choose an interim Board of three members, who will vote for the club at the shareholders meeting on December 12 and after that we will form a council of members, who will appoint a new board of commissioners.
“But none of the five members of the recent board will return as commissioner in the new Board.”
Despite his departure, Cruyff’s blueprint for the club will form the basis of their future strategy, as it was said that the members’ council still supported his ideas and would look to take them forward.
Contact the writer of this story at zib.l1734783878labto1734783878ofdlr1734783878owedi1734783878sni@d1734783878log.d1734783878ivad1734783878
Related stories
November 2011: It’s either van Gaal or Cruyff as decision time approaches for Ajax
November 2011: Johan Cruyff and Edgar Davids play down race row