From their foundation in 1900 until the arrival of trainer Jack Reynolds in 1915, Ajax looked destined to be just a run of the mill team floating around the middle of the Dutch league and even getting relegated on more than one occasion. But with Reynolds at the helm, the destiny of Ajax would be changed forever and they would go on to become one of the most illustrious and storied clubs in Europe, and the world, producing some of the most talented players in football. Reynolds laid the foundations of the famous Total Football tactical system in which a player who moves out of position is immediately replaced in that position by a team mate, in turn retaining the team’s structure on the pitch. Besides the goalkeeper, no player had a predetermined role and anyone could play as a defender, midfielder or attacker.

 

The system was implemented by several great teams throughout the 20th century – the 1930’s Austrian Wunderteam were early adopters, River Plate’s La Maquina side of the 1940’s utalised a similar system which was later employed by Hungary’s Mighty Magyars in the 1950’s, and then Rinus Michels, a player on this 30’s Ajax side who played under Reynolds, implemented it to great effect as manager of the club in the 1960’s and then of course there was Ernst Happel’s Dutch national side of the 1970’s who used to Total Football to reach a World Cup final. Jack Reynolds managed Ajax for a total of 35 years and is considered to be one of the best managers Dutch football has ever seen. Reynolds first tenure was from 1915 to 1925, and following his first departure, the clubs fortunes waned. But in 1928 he returned, and again the future looked bright.

 

The 1930’s became known as Ajax’s “Golden Age” – a reference to a period in Dutch history during the 17th century in which the nations trade, science, military and art was among the best in the world.  During this time (the 1930’s, not the 17th century), Ajax gathered 8 regional titles and 5 national championships to become the most successful Dutch team of the era. It began with back-to-back national titles in 1931 and 1932. They took the title away from the Go Ahead Eagles in 1934, who were Ajax’s main challengers throughout the decade. After a two year wait, Ajax became champions again in before going head-to-head for the crown with Feyenoord over the next few years, developing a huge rivalry with the club, which is contested to this day.

 

In 1934, Ajax moved in to de Meer stadium in order to better accommodate their growing fan base and this remained their home until the opening of Amsterdam ArenA is 1996. In 1937 and 1939, two more league title trophies were added. Ajax had truly claimed a spot in European footballs elite by achieving so much in the 1930’s, and their mark on Dutch football had been made. But the 1940’s brought the club and it’s legions of supporters back down to earth.The title was captured by their great rivals Feyenoord, but even worse, Jack Reynolds was captured by the Nazis and was kept as a prisoner of war until the end of WWII. While Ajax managed to win the Dutch Cup in 1943, it went largely unnoticed since Europe was crippled by the war and Holland occupied by the Nazis and was about to be plunged into the Hunger Winter of 1944. Survival from the famine, not football, was on the front of most peoples minds. But it was football that helped bring some normality back to life in the Netherlands after the war, and Ajax would continue to bring joy the people of Amsterdam for decades to come. A runners-up finish in the league in 1946 and another title in 1947 rounded out the era -  a great future was to come.

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Achievements:
Dutch Eredivisie – Champions x6
KNVB Cup – Winners x1

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Star player: Rinus Michels, dob 9 Feburary 1928, pob Amsterdam. Netherlands, nickname: The General

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Rinus Michels played for Ajax for his entire career, as well as playing for the Netherlands. He later became manager of both teams and, in fact, became one of the greatest managers of all time. He is, perhaps inaccurately, credited with the invention of Total Football, although he did develop and tweak it to near perfection. Michels was born near the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam and received a pair of football boots and an Ajax shirt for his 9th birthday. He joined Ajax in 1940 but his career was put on hold during WWII, especially during the winter famine of 1944. He was approached to sign for French club Lille, but as he was on active duty in the Royal Netherlands Army he was unable to go. Michels broke into the Ajax senior team in 1946 and proceeded to make a pretty good impression by scoring 5 goals on his debut, an 8-3 demolition of ADO. That season, Ajax won the regional and national division titles. He became a regular and between 1946 and 1958, Michels made 264 appearances for Ajax and scored 122 goals. Four years after professional football was introduced in the Netherlands though, Michels was abruptly forced to retire due to a back injury in 1958. He only played five matches for the Dutch national team, and all of them resulted in a loss.  After a break from football, Michel returned to Ajax as manager in1965. He transformed Ajax from relegation candidates to four time national champions and three time KVNB Cup winners. He took the club to the final of the European Cup for the first time in 1969, where they were defeated by AC Milan. However, under Michels, Ajax would go on to win three European Cups in succession from 1971, an incredible feat, while modernising the game with Total Football and the offside trap. Michels moved to Barcelona after this, taking with him one of the greatest players in football history, Johann Cruyff. With the pair on board, Barcelona won the Primera Division in 1974 before Michels departed to take the Dutch national team job. Thanks to Michels, Total Football and a squad of highly talented players, the Netherlands reached the final of the 1974 World Cup, defeating Argentina and current world champions Brazil along the way, where they were ultimately defeated by West Germany, however their classy displays made many believe they deserved to win. Michels was eventually lured to the short-lived North American Soccer League where he coach the LA Aztecs. His final club was Bayer Leverkusen, but he returned to the Dutch national team in 1988 for one last, high successful, hurrah. At Euro 88, with Michels as manager again, the Netherlands got revenge on West Germany by eliminating them form the semi-final. It was a highly heated match infamous for it’s post-match tomfoolery including Ronald Koeman pretending to wipe his backside with a West German shirt in front of the German fans. The Dutch convincingly defeated the Soviet Union in the final, claiming their first national honor and bringing them to the forefront of international football for the next 30 years. His authotarian management style earned him the nickname “The General”, and he was once quoted to say “Football is like war. Whoever behaves too properly, is lost”. This is often misquoted as “Football is war” which Michels regretted as he did not intend to equate war with football. In 1999, he was named as FIFA’s Coach of the Century and the Rinus Michels Award for the best managers in Dutch football, is named in his honour. He died following a heart surgery in 2005.