De Meer Stadion () is the former

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

of Dutch record football champions

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...

. It was opened in 1934 as a result of the club's former stadium being too small. Upon completion, it could hold 22,000 spectators, but accommodating up to 29,500 at its maximum. Over time, as Ajax's popularity and success grew, the De Meer proved to be too small. From 1928 onward, Ajax played their big European games at the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

. The larger venue also hosted Ajax's midweek night games, since the De Meer was not suited for floodlights. The De Meer was abandoned with the opening of the purpose built Amsterdam Arena in 1996, which is now called the

Johan Cruyff Arena The Johan Cruyff Arena ( nl, Johan Cruijff Arena ; officially stylised as Johan Cruijff ArenA) is the main stadium of the Dutch capital city of Amsterdam and the home stadium of football club AFC Ajax since its opening. Built from 1993 to 1996 ...

. The

Netherlands national football team The Netherlands national football team ( nl, Nederlands voetbalelftal or simply ''Het Nederlands elftal'') has represented the Netherlands in international men's football matches since 1905. The men's national team is controlled by the Royal Du ...

played five international matches at the stadium, winning all of them. The first one, on August 22, 1973 was a qualifying match for the

1974 FIFA World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the tenth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the ...

against

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

(5-0). The last one, played on 25 March 1992, was a friendly against

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

(2-0). The final match at De Meer was an

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

game in which Ajax hosted Willem II on 28 April 1996. The home side won 5-1 with

Finidi George George Finidi (born 15 April 1971), known as Finidi George, is a Nigerian professional football coach and former player who is currently the head coach of Nigeria Professional Football League club Enyimba F.C. As a player, he played as a right ...

scoring a hat trick, but the final ever goal in the stadium was scored by Willem II striker

Jack de Gier } Jack de Gier (; born 6 August 1968) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player who played as a forward. He is the current manager of FC Den Bosch. He was nicknamed ''Il Butre'' (The Vulture), after legendary Spain striker ...

.De laatste van Ajax in De Meer: de hattrick, de traan en de titel
- Voetbal International Following the club's departure, the De Meer was demolished to make way for a housing development. However, the area is commemorated by having the new streets named after famous football stadia from around the world. The centrespot was recreated cosmetically as the real centrespot was built over.

References

External links

*
VoetbalStats

english.ajax.nl - De Meer
Architecture in the Netherlands Defunct football venues in the Netherlands De Meer Sports venues in Amsterdam Amsterdam-Oost Sports venues completed in 1934 Sports venues demolished in 1998 Articles containing video clips Defunct sports venues in the Netherlands Demolished buildings and structures in the Netherlands 1934 establishments in the Netherlands {{Netherlands-sports-venue-stub