The departure of Edwin van der Sar has major consequences for Ajax. Which panels will shift in the Johan Cruijff Arena, now that the leader is going to leave? VoetbalPrimeur is looking into it.
Van der Sar announced on Tuesday morning that he is leaving. After a disastrous season, the general manager no longer sees a future at the Amsterdam club and – exactly 37 weeks after his contract extension until mid-2025 – keeps the honor to himself. After seven seasons as Ajax’s biggest boss, he is ‘finished’, according to the 130-time international. These are the (possible) consequences of his decision.
Who will succeed Van der Sar at Ajax?
The big question: what will Ajax do now? Van der Sar will hand over his duties to his fellow board members from Thursday. The Supervisory Board of Ajax has asked him to formally stay on until August 1. “We wanted Edwin to stay, but his decision was firm and we have to respect that,” says chairman Pier Eringa.
The intention is that Ajax will announce a new management composition around August 1. Eringa: “Our ambition is to add someone with an Ajax background to the top.” The word ‘add’ seems essential here: it is obvious that Ajax will pass on someone from the management. Menno Geelen, currently commercial director, seems to have the best credentials.
A message for you ❌❌❌ pic.twitter.com/dHjwYXXYod
— Edwin van der Sar (@vdsar1970) May 30, 2023
Another candidate is Maurits Hendriks. The new ‘chief sports officer’ has been taking up more and more space in recent months. According to De Telegraaf, he even prepared internally for a takeover of power. Or put more simply: Hendriks would prey on Van der Sar’s job.
Nevertheless, Eringa announces that she will also look externally, ‘to use all conceivable possibilities’. A headhunting agency will be engaged for this. “But of course we also use our own network,” explains the chairman of the supervisory board. “We think it is important that a certain amount of Ajax background is guaranteed at board level.”
Velvet Revolution extinguished
After the departure of Van der Sar, the Velvet Revolution, spurred thirteen years ago by Johan Cruijff, has more or less died out. The goal to get more ex-players in leading positions within Ajax has certainly had results. Van der Sar and Marc Overmars were the figureheads of this.
For the Amsterdam club it is now important to bind real Ajax players to the club again. It won’t be easy: there are few former players with a CV that is perfect for leading a listed company with 400 employees.
Moreover, the new general manager will have a lot to choose from, as is already clear. It is chaos in Amsterdam, where the headache files keep piling up. Last week, the board of directors indicated that it would resign, technical manager Gerry Hamstra has left and chief scout Henk Veldmate also closed the door behind him.
In addition, trainers such as Michael Reiziger and Gerald Vanenberg are calling it a day and it is still unknown whether interim John Heitinga will also be at the helm next season. “If you add it all up, it’s quite a lot,” Eringa is quoted by NOS.
Clear way for Bosz and Bogarde to return?
Peter Bosz joined Rondo and Studio Voetbal two months ago to talk about football, but his media appearances were completely overshadowed by his open application to become coach of Ajax again. One problem: Van der Sar was still at the helm of the Johan Cruijff Arena at that time.
In 2017, Van der Sar was one of the reasons for the departure of Bosz, who had led Ajax to the Europa League shortly before. The trainer wanted to remove Dennis Bergkamp, Hennie Spijkerman and Carlo l’Ami from his technical staff, but Van der Sar did not grant his wishes. Bosz drew his conclusions and left for Borussia Dortmund.
Since Alfred Schreuder’s resignation at the end of January, Bosz is seen by many as the absolute top candidate again. However, Van der Sar would have refused to make contact, even though Bosz denies that there are still old problems. Now that Van der Sar has left, it is logical that the rumor mill is running at full speed again: Bosz is the candidate to replace Heitinga as head coach of Ajax.
And then there’s Winston Bogarde. Between 2020 and 2022, the former top defender was a highly valued force as an assistant to Erik ten Hag. But when Alfred Schreuder came, Bogarde suddenly had to leave. How could that happen? “You have to ask Van der Sar that”, Bogarde recently responded to Rondo. “I did not receive an explanation, but a statement that there was no more room for me.”
Bogarde was clear: as long as Van der Sar was still there, Ajax didn’t have to call him anymore. His subsequent anecdote spoke volumes. “I once asked him if there were any career opportunities for me. It seemed like I was asking a strange question. He said, no, there are no career opportunities for you, you remain in youth. He then got up and walked out of the room. I sat there and thought: what kind of weirdo is that, dude?”
Also consequences for Mislintat
With Sven Mislintat, Ajax has brought in a director of football affairs, who left a good impression around his first transfer – Branco van den Boomen came over from Toulouse FC. But the German will not be happy with Van der Sar’s departure. He eventually left the field at Arsenal and VfB Stuttgart, after the people who brought him to the club had already disappeared from the scene.
In the meantime, the composition of the Ajax selection is urgently needed: preparations for the new season will start in four weeks. “I hope there will be clarity soon, so that everyone knows where he stands next season,” Davy Klaassen said after the last game of the (3-1 loss at FC Twente).
What will Van der Sar do now?
Van der Sar looked back on an ‘incredibly difficult period’. “I now need to distance myself, relax and do other things.” There is a good chance that his fellow villagers in Noordwijk will often see him cycling – one of his great hobbies. And then? Manchester United maybe? His old club already tried to get Van der Sar to Old Trafford for a place in the management…
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