March 1987

Ajax... Fifteen Years Ago

Football seems a side-issue today. Much more than about FC Den Haag and Ajax, people have been talking about a possible confrontation between the notorious F-Side and probably the most feared hooligans in Holland: The Hague's Mid-North Side. Zuiderpark Stadium looks like a encampment on Sunday, 01 March, 1987.

In a horrifyingly grim atmosphere, twenty-two men are trying to concentrate on football. Youngsters Aron Winter and Dennis Bergkamp are in the line-up, while coach Johan Cruijff still has to miss out on his injured captain, Marco van Basten. But Johnny Bosman does the honours, giving Ajax a 0-2 lead in 25 minutes' time.

After that, things run out of hand in a sickening way. Hooligans break through the separating fences. Massive fights take place inside and outside the stadium. Home-made bombs explode on the pitch. At half-time, police and referee Van Ettekoven decide that it would be irresponsible to resume the game. FC Den Haag vs Ajax is broken off. That night, Holland is shocked by the TV footage of blood-covered faces and Red Cross personnel carrying motionless bodies out of Zuiderpark Stadium. It's a miracle that no-one died. From now on, hooliganism is a political issue.

But there's no time to reflect. Only three days after the black day in The Hague, Ajax is due in Malmö, Sweden, for the first quarter final game in the European Cup Winners Cup, the first time since 1980 that Ajax has reached further than the first or second round.

On the day of the game, it starts snowing so heavily in Malmö that the referee can no longer see both goals from the centre-circle. The pitch can no longer be kept snow-free. Some two thousand Ajax fans are already inside the stadium, as the speaker announces that the games is off. Ajax refuses to play the home game first, so the clubs agree to play on Saturday, 14 March, only four days before the return leg. For the second time in four days, Ajax travels back to Amsterdam with no final result in its pocket.

Before returning to Sweden, two Rotterdam opponents are waiting. On Sunday, 08 March, Excelsior is easily beaten (3-0), in a game which is only interesting for one reason: Marco van Basten recovered from his ankle injury and is subbed in the second half. He celebrates his return to action by scoring Ajax' second goal of the day. The remaining two are scored by right-back Danny Blind, who finally starts to play comfortably at his new club, and Aron Winter, who turned 20 the day before the game and plays as if he has tons of experience. The crowd loves him, and 'Amsterdammified' his name to Arie.

On Wednesday, as the players' thoughts are already in Malmö, Ajax is due at 'The Castle' in Rotterdam, against Sparta in the third round of the KNVB Cup. A dull 0-0 is the result, after which Ajax is lucky to win the penalty shoot-out. For the next round, the Amsterdammers are paired with distressed First Division side Vitesse, from Arnhem.

It's no longer snowing in Malmö's Pilsdamm Park, but the pitch is still a mess. 20,186 people are watching. Bosman and Van Basten get excellent chances to score, but it's obvious that Ajax has trouble with the simple but effective kick 'n' rush play that English coach Roy Hodgson taught the Swedes. Torbjörn Persson converts a doubtful penalty just before half-time, after which the far from impressive Swedes cling to their lead: 1-0, and a tough game at De Meer ahead.

De Meer is packed with 24,775 fans as, finally, European post-winter break football returns to Amsterdam. And they get what they want: an early goal, as Marco van Basten furiously fires in the upper corner to level the score on aggregate. 17 year-old Dennis Bergkamp finally shows what Cruijff had already seen. Today, the thin, shy winger is unstoppable.

Van 't Schip wins a penalty, but Van Basten aims yards too high. Ajax needs a second goal. It takes over an hour before Aron Winter scores it, shortly after which Marco van Basten adds a gracious third. Ajax perpetrates some gallery-play, but is punished for that as Stanley Menzo drops a Persson free-kick, leaving the rebound for Lindman. A second Malmö goal would be fatal. After ten nervous minutes, Stanley Menzo makes his second mistake of the evening, this time in math: for a few seconds, he thinks Ajax will be eliminated with this score. He rushes to bring the ball back into play and then shakes his head in misery. In reality, the 3-1 is more enough to advance. A semi final slot is a fact. The draw brings Spanish side, Real Zaragoza, as the opponent. Away game is first.

Only one hurdle to jump before the crucial game in Eindhoven, against PSV. For the second time in two weeks, Sparta is the opponent. This time De Meer is the venue, and this time it's a lot easier: before 9,000 spectators, Marco van Basten opens the scoring in the 6th minute, after which Aron Winter (him again!) and Van Basten (him again!) wrap it up in the latter stages of the game.

The PSV game is next, but Cruijff's preparations are interrupted by Holland's midweek Euro 88 qualifier against Greece, on 25 March in Rotterdam. No less than nine Ajacieden are selected: Wouters, Spelbos, Silooy, Rijkaard, Mühren, Van Basten, Bosman, Van 't Schip and - a reward for his fine Ajax performances - Oranje debutantee Aron Winter. Seven Ajacieden play fom the start; Bosman and Winter are brought on when Holland needs a goal. Saravakos had given Greece an early lead. Marco van Basten's equalizer in the 56th (his sixth official goal this month!) is not enough. The final result is a disappointing 1-1 draw, the second draw at home, after a 0-0 against Poland. It's starting to look worrying for Holland.

As for Ajax: three days left to prepare for PSV…

The Eindhoven team is slightly ahead in the table. The full two points are required. The clash in sold-out Philips Stadium is a clash of football cultures: a sassy, young Ajax squad against an experienced, rock-solid PSV team, with veterans such as goalkeeper Hans van Breukelen, right-back Eric Gerets, midfielder Willy van de Kerkhof and striker René van der Gijp. Plus, of course, the two Ajacieden PSV bluntly 'stole' at the beginning of the season: Gerald Vanenburg and Ronald Koeman.

PSV's big man, however, is Ruud Gullit. "All PSV can do is buy," Ajax fans tend to say. Cruijff chooses for experience and fighting spirit in midfield, lining up Jan Wouters instead of Aron Winter. Ajax is the better team for a long time. Gerets gets sent off after receiving a second yellow card. Nevertheless, PSV is slowly getting more dangerous. Eight minutes before the end, a string of defensive errors allows Ruud Gullit to slip past Stanley Menzo and score the winner.

It was a busy, often euphoric month, but one with a bitter beginning (in The Hague) and a bitter end (in Eindhoven). Ajax is still going for two cups, but the 1-0 defeat in Eindhoven has seriously damaged the quest for the league championship… (MP)

Next month:

• modest Eredivisie opponents; chasing PSV
• back in the spotlights: the Zaragoza games