Unique or not unique - that's the question!
From the desk of the Editor
Menno Pot
October 5, 2004
Unique or not unique - that's the question! Or perhaps the
question should be: 'unfortunate' or
'cunning'...?
Either way: Ajax had a few tiny things to explain
to their supporters after the
4-0 hammering by Bayern München. Not only about the
result as such, and the stark contrast with the
club's explicit ambition at the start of the season
to compete in the Champions League, but also about
the black Adidas uniforms the Germans were wearing
when they strangled Ajax. Did they buy those at the
Ajax Fanshop, or what...? It was the exact same kit as
Ajax's "unique, limited edition" away kit for
domestic and European cup games!
Admittedly, the black kit with a red collar is unique in
at least one way: Ajax never released a separate away
kit for cup and European fixtures before. This season
supporters can buy replicas of the Eredivisie away
kit (yellow jersey, marine blue shorts) or
the cup kit (black). You can also buy
both. This is not against the law and it's a safe bet that
the Ajax marketing department will have no objections against
it either.
Two different away kits. It's a long
tradition of many popular clubs, especially in
England, but something new for Ajax. The black cup kit was
presented as a "unique" jersey, exclusively designed by
Adidas in the colours of the crest of the city
Amsterdam. If you wanted to buy it you had to be
quick, as it was going to be released as
a "limited edition" on 31 August, during a
special (and very succesful) 'evening sale' at the Official
Ajax Fanshop at the Amsterdam ArenA.
Hundreds of fans wore the black away top
to Munich's Olympiastadion for Ajax's first away game in
the Champions League. Ajax were going to wear it, no doubt.
Bayern's home colour is red - and this season they even
have white sleeves. Before the game live video
footage from the dressing rooms was shown on the big screens of
the Olympiastadion. Ah, this must be the Ajax dressing room!
There they are, the black jerseys, waiting for the Ajax players
to put them on. But hang on a minute... The names on the back
of the jerseys are not Van der Vaart or Pienaar, but
Ballack and Makaay!
Half an hour later the game kicked off and it
appeared that hundreds of Ajax supporters were actually wearing
the colours of Bayern Munich, albeit with ABN
AMRO printed on it instead of T-Mobile. Yes, indeed:
not Ajax but Bayern played in the "unique" black kit
with red accents. And they didn't borrow them. It is the German
side's special Champions League kit for this season. Home
and away, if possible.
Oops. Ajax knew that they had something to explain. On
Monday 04 October the club published a special statement on the
official website. "The similarities between the black Ajax
jersey and the black Bayern jersey are unfortunate at the very
least."
'Unfortunate'. Right. That's a word you can use. For the
record, the Independent Ajax Fanclub (OFA) prefers the word
"deceit": "The Zlatan affair is still fresh and there you go:
we're being f#cked with once again. A special evening sale was
organized to cash in on this special, unique
jersey. An exclusive kit, limited edition, on sale as
long as supplies last. Yeah, right. The Ajax supporters rose to
Adidas' bait, only to find that this new, special, unique
and exclusive Ajax jersey is available
everywhere."
Back to the official statement on
Ajax.nl: "Ajax were informed a few weeks ago that
Bayern München picked an almost identical kit as Ajax for
their Champions League matches (home and away)."
A few weeks ago? So they could have informed the
supporters before the Bayern game, giving them
the chance to at least wear other colours than those of
Bayern?
"Black is, unfortunately, not a unique colour in football.
This incident, however, does not undermine the power of the
black jersey. The idea for it was born in Amsterdam.
It makes a player feel strong."
Now that's very true. The scientific proof for
this claim was provided by Bayern München. Their players
seemed to feel very strong in their black kits indeed. In
fact, the black jersey also seems to have an
extremely strong psychological effect on the
opposition, best described as total paralysis.
All's well that ends well, though. Or in the words of the
great Johan Cruyff: there's an advantage to every
disadvantage. The black cup kit may turn out to be
'unique' after all, as it may end up the only official Ajax
jersey never worn in an official game. In their statement
on Ajax.nl the club reluctantly admit that Ajax will
not wear the jersey in any of their first round
Champions League fixtures. Maccabi Tel-Aviv play in yellow, so
Ajax can wear the red and white home jersey in both games
against them. The home kit will also be worn in
the home game against Bayern München. The away game at
Juventus is a special case: Ajax can't wear the home kit in
Turin, as Juve wear white socks and shorts. The black
'cup kit' is also out of the question, as the legendary
Juventus home top is 50% black. For that reason Ajax will
wear the yellow and blue 'Eredivisie away kit' in Turin.
Which means, in practice, that the there is a fair chance
that the 30 July Amsterdam Tournament fixture
against Panathinaikos will remain the
only game in which the black kit was worn. A
friendly, mind you. For several years Ajax have done
everything to lend an 'official' status to the lucrative
pre-season tournament at the Amsterdam ArenA. But we all know
it's not. Those games are friendlies.
Meanwhile, it's safe to say that Ajax's chances of advancing
to the second round of the Champions League are not too
good, if only because we won't play in the black away
kits. The world knows that an 'Ajax in black' would
have paralyzed the opposition while feeling
absolutely invincible themselves. But now that the
team will have to make do with the home jersey, or even the
Eredivisie away kit known as the 'skidmark
jersey', there seems to be a realistic chance that Ajax
will not make it through the winter in the Champions
League.
Whether Ajax will get to wear the 'cup kit' or not
in the remainder of the season will depend on
their results in group C: Ajax will pull into the UEFA Cup
if they finish third - and in that case they will need the
black uniforms if they're paired with a team playing
their home games in red and white. If Ajax finish
bottom in the group the European campaign will be over. In
that case the only remaining chance for the 'cup
kit' to be used will be the Amstel
Cup. If Ajax play an away game, that is, and
if the home side play in red and white.
Now, would it be a unique situation in the history of Dutch
football if the kit remains unused in official games?
Had Ajax USA been an official vendor of the jersey, we
should have said ' yes' for commercial reasons. But no: it
happened before - and we chuckled over it. Last season
Feyenoord released a yellow 'European' away kit.
It remained unused due to their early
elimination.
So no, it wouldn't be 'unique'. But it would surely
be 'unfortunate'.
-
Menno
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