ArenA of uncertainty
Ernst Bouwes
Ronald Koeman has left the building. 'Through the front door', as he told the waiting press, making clear that it was his own decision to leave Ajax.
The board of directors were conspicuous by their absence in the hours that followed. It may have taken them by surprise.
Only four months ago they backed the trainer in favour of technical director Louis van Gaal. Then, Van Gaal left, now it is Koeman, leaving the club in a precarious position. Since 1997 four coaches have not fulfilled their contracts in Amsterdam.
The day after the UEFA Cup exit in Auxerre, Koeman said that he could no longer bring what was needed as an Ajax coach.
Demoralised by a late French winner and the disappointing display of his team on that night and in preceding weeks before, he no longer knew how to lift his team.
The chemistry between coach and players was over, obviously. Koeman decided not to let things drag on.
Ajax, however, are in trouble now as they are left with a struggling team. Except for injury-prone Tomas Galasek the team has few leading players on the pitch. Most defenders and midfielders are too young to boss around, while others are just glad to be in the squad.
Another problem for Koeman was that he had lost the faith of the home support in de Amsterdam ArenA. These are a fickle bunch, not satisfied with an ordinary three-pointer. No, their team has to outplay opponents for ninety minutes, mixing brilliant tricks with dazzling passing moves and bundles of goals.
That is what they have come to expect over the years. Looking back at the Cruyff era between 1965 and 1973 Ajax had a goal average of almost four goals in every league game at home.
In the five years with Van Basten up front (1982-87) they did even slightly better. During the Van Gaal era (1992-97) the average dropped to 'only' three, but there were few complaints as they won three league titles, two European trophies and one Dutch cup.
Until last summer Koeman did slightly worse than Van Gaal with 2.75 goals a game in the Arena but started the season spectacularly with a 6-2 win over NAC Breda. Though after that Ajax started another ten league games and could never offer the supporters more than one goal per afternoon, except against relegation candidates RBC Roosendaal and FC Den Bosch.
The latter took until injury time before Daniel De Ridder and Nourdin Boukhari managed to break the deadlock for the 2-0 win. The fans were, in Barca-style, for several minutes waving their white hankies frantically, like they had done so many times before this season.
Koeman complained afterwards about the lack of support from the terraces where the first whistles had started in the tenth minute of the match. He sensed that the players started to feel uncomfortable in their own stadium and rather enjoyed being on the road.
In the past year Victor Sikora and Nicolae Mitea capitulated under the pressure of the booing public and Koeman heard whistles when he substituted Angelos Charisteas in the second half, who was only playing his fourth home game.
With only one goal to show for, the Greek striker actually has not really validated his huge transfer fee and the fans have given him the thumbs down already. Too early, according to Koeman, but the Greek's goals will arrive too late to save his job.
Charisteas was his last hope to turn the season around. Although last season Koeman had some tough times, especially in fielding a balanced midfield he was saved by the goals of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, which brought enough points to win another title.
However, Ajax thought they could do without the Swede, who was sold to Juventus only one day after his hat-trick in that fateful homegame against NAC Breda.
According to Van Gaal at that time, the club needed their top scorer in Europe, but could win the league without him. So they took the transfer money and hoped to buy a decent replacement. The deal with Roda JC's Arounda Kone fell through on medical terms on the night of the transfer deadline, leaving Koeman without a leading frontman until the winter break.
Scouts flew through Europe during the second half of 2004 and eventually managed to buy Charisteas from Werder Bremen.
It has not worked out yet with the big striker. Belgian Wesley Sonck was offloaded to Borussia Mönchengladbach after an eighteen-months-struggle in Amsterdam to prove himself.
Several other transfers under Koeman have disappointed as well. Tom Soetaers and the aforementioned Sikora were heralded as players for the future, but never made it. The fans are fed up with the transfer policy of the club. Ajax cannot seem to find the fine line between buying and nursing their youth. Their most profilic strikers in the past have been homegrown. Ryan Babel could be so, but, according to Koeman, he is not mature enough to play ninety minutes yet.
This week, assistants Ruud Krol and Tonny Bruins-Slot take over, maybe until the end of the season. Meanwhile, the rumour circus around the vacant manager's seat has taken full swing.
Current youth trainer Danny Blind is mentioned and Johan Neeskens too; both are available right away. Co Adriaanse will be free this summer, but he has vowed never to work for Ajax again.
Other names mentioned are Martin Jol (Spurs) and Henk ten Cate (assistant of Rijkaard at Barcelona). One wonders however, if they are prepared to give up their succesful jobs in those exciting league environments (and Jol has already stated his intention to stay at Spurs) to clean up the mess that remains after eight years of mismanagement in Amsterdam.
Koeman: The fifth coach in succession to feel the pressure at Ajax.
Marco Van Basten: An era of goalscoring yet to be emulated at Ajax.
Charisteas: Euro 2004 hero not yet doing the business at Ajax.