Jong Ajax () (''English: Young Ajax''), also referred to as Ajax II or Ajax 2 is a Dutch
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
team, the reserve team of
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 is based in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
and competes in the Dutch
Eerste Divisie
The Eerste Divisie (, en, First Division) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie and with the third-level Tweede Divisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the ...
.
History
Jong Ajax (''formerly more commonly known as Ajax 2'') is the reserve team of AFC Ajax. The team is composed mostly of professional footballers, who are often recent graduates from the highest youth level (Ajax A1), serving their first professional contract as a reserve, or players who are otherwise unable to play in the first team.
Since 1992 Jong Ajax have competed in the
Beloften Eredivisie, competing against other reserve teams such as
Jong PSV,
Jong FC Groningen or
Jong AZ. It has won the Beloften Eredivisie title a record eight times, as well as the
KNVB Reserve Cup
The KNVB Reserve Cup ( nl, KNVB Beker voor beloften) is a cup competition for the reserve teams of professional football clubs in the Netherlands. The winner qualifies for next year's KNVB Cup; if the cup winner is also the champion in the na ...
three times, making it the most successful reserve squad in the Netherlands. By winning the
Beloften Eredivisie title, Jong Ajax were able to qualify for the actual
KNVB Cup
The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...
, even advancing to the semi-finals on three occasions. Its best result in the Dutch Cup was under manager
Jan Olde Riekerink
Johannes Hendrikus Olde Riekerink (born 22 February 1963) is a Dutch football coach and former professional player who is head coach of Indonesian club Dewa United.
Career Playing career
Born in Hengelo, Olde Riekerink played professionally for ...
in 2001–02, when a semi-final loss to
FC Utrecht in a
Penalty shoot-out
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
after extra time, which saw Utrecht advance, and thus preventing an Ajax vs. Jong Ajax Dutch Cup final.
The 2013–14 season marked the
Jupiler League debut of the AFC Ajax reserves' squad Jong Ajax. Previously playing in the
Beloften Eredivisie (a separate league for reserve teams, not included in the Dutch professional or amateur league structure) players were allowed to move around freely between the reserve team and the first team during the course of the season. This is no longer the case as Jong Ajax now registers and fields a separate squad from that of Ajax first team for the
Eerste Divisie
The Eerste Divisie (, en, First Division) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie and with the third-level Tweede Divisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the ...
, the second tier of professional football in the Netherlands. Its home matches are played at
Sportpark De Toekomst
Sportcomplex De Toekomst (Dutch for ''Sporting complex The Future'') is a sporting complex in Ouder-Amstel, Netherlands, owned by AFC Ajax N.V. The complex comprises nine football fields and is located close to the Johan Cruyff Arena. Its main fie ...
, except for the occasional match in the
Amsterdam 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 only period in which players are able to move between squads is during the transfer windows, unless the player has made less than 15 appearances for the first team, then he is still eligible to appear in both first team and second team matches during the course of the season. Furthermore, the team is not eligible for promotion to the
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 ...
or to participate in the
KNVB Cup
The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...
. Jong Ajax was joined in the Eerste Divisie by
Jong FC Twente
Jong FC Twente (English: Young FC Twente) are the reserve team of FC Twente, a team from Enschede which played in the Eerste Divisie from 2013 to 2015.
Staff
* ''Head coach:'' Michel Jansen
* ''Assistant coach:'' Boudewijn Pahlplatz
* ''Tea ...
and
Jong PSV, reserve teams that have also moved from the Beloften Eredivisie to the Eerste Divisie, replacing
VV Katwijk
Voetbal Vereniging Katwijk is a Dutch football team founded in 1939, based in Katwijk, currently competing in the Dutch Tweede Divisie.
History
Katwijk have become Dutch amateur champions, by winning the overall Topklasse title in 2012–13. A ...
,
SC Veendam
Sportclub Veendam () was a Dutch professional association football club based in Veendam, province of Groningen. Founded on 4 September 1894 as Look-Out, it became P.J. Veendam in 1909, Veendam in 1910, SC Veendam in 1974, BV Veendam in 1997 an ...
and
AGOVV Apeldoorn
AGOVV () is a Dutch association football club based in Apeldoorn. It was established on 25 February 1913. The club played in professional football from 1954 to 1971 and from 2003 to 2013. AGOVV's male first squad plays in 2022–23 in the Tweede ...
, and increasing the total number of teams in the league from 16 to 20.
Jong Ajax left the
Beloften Eredivisie in 2013, having held a 21-year tenure in the reserves league, and having won the league title a record eight times (1994, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2009).
Players
Current squad
:''As of 5 September 2022''
Out on loan
Staff
* ''Head coach:''
John Heitinga
John Gijsbert Alan "Johnny" Heitinga (born 15 November 1983) is a Dutch football coach and a former player who played as a centre back. He manages Jong Ajax, the reserves team of AFC Ajax.
A product of the Ajax Youth Academy, he played for their ...
* ''Assistant coach:''
Michel Kreek
* ''Goalkeeper coach:'' René Stam
* ''Technical Coach:''
Gerald Vanenburg
* ''Team manager:'' Herman Arendse
* ''Physio:'' Tim Glazenburg
* ''Team physician:'' Maikel van Wijk
Former head coaches
*
Aad de Mos
Adriaan "Aad" de Mos (born 27 March 1947) is a Dutch retired professional football manager whose career spanned for almost thirty years.
He has managed teams in his home country, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Greece, as well m ...
*
Pieter Huistra
Pieter Egge Huistra (born 18 January 1967) is a Dutch football coach and former winger. Huistra played for the Scottish Premier Division club Rangers from 1990 to 1995. He left there to play for Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the J. League. In 2001, he ...
*
Adrie Koster
Adrianus Cornelis "Adrie" Koster (; born 18 November 1954) is a Dutch football manager who was most recently the manager of Willem II. He is a former winger and former manager of Ajax, Club Brugge and the Netherlands U21 team.
Career
He pla ...
*
Michel Kreek
*
Alfons Groenendijk
Alfons Groenendijk (; born 17 May 1964) is a Dutch former professional footballer and current assistant coach of Antalyaspor.
Club career
During his career, Groenendijk played for ADO Den Haag, Roda JC, Ajax, Manchester City, Sparta Rotterd ...
*
Jan Olde Riekerink
Johannes Hendrikus Olde Riekerink (born 22 February 1963) is a Dutch football coach and former professional player who is head coach of Indonesian club Dewa United.
Career Playing career
Born in Hengelo, Olde Riekerink played professionally for ...
*
Sonny Silooy
Jan Jacobus "Sonny" Silooy (born 31 August 1963) is a Dutch former professional footballer and football manager. His last team as a manager was United Arab Emirates club Al Shabab under 19. His most successful time as a player was in his period ...
*
Marco van Basten
Marcel "Marco" van Basten (; born 31 October 1964) is a Dutch football manager and retired professional player, who played for Ajax and AC Milan, as well as the Netherlands national team, as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pl ...
*
Louis van Gaal
Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal (; born 8 August 1951) is a Dutch former football player and manager. At club level, he served as manager of Ajax, Barcelona, AZ Alkmaar, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, as well as having three spe ...
*
John van 't Schip
Johannes Nicolaas van 't Schip (; born 30 December 1963) is a Dutch Canadian and former Dutch international footballer, who played as a winger. He spent his club career with Ajax, where they won four Eredivisie titles, a UEFA Cup and a Europe ...
*
John van den Brom
Joseph Anthonius ''John ''van den Brom (born 4 October 1966) is a Dutch former professional footballer and the current manager of Ekstraklasa side Lech Poznań. As a player, he played for Vitesse, Ajax, De Graafschap and Istanbulspor. After h ...
*
Gerard van der Lem
Gerard van der Lem (born 15 November 1952) is a retired football winger from the Netherlands, who made his professional debut for FC Amsterdam on 12 August 1973 against PSV Eindhoven. He later played for Roda JC, Feyenoord Rotterdam, Sparta ...
*
Hans Westerhof
Hans Westerhof (born 24 November 1948) is a Dutch football coach and currently supervisory board member at SC Heerenveen. Besides the Netherlands, he has coached in the United States and Mexico.
As a player, Westerhof played for BV Veendam and ...
*
Aron Winter
*
Fred Grim
Johann Georg Friedrich "Fred" Grim (born 17 August 1965) is a Dutch football coach and former player who most recently worked as head coach of Willem II. A former goalkeeper, Grim represented Ajax and Cambuur during his playing career.
Playin ...
*
Gery Vink
Gery Vink (Born 30 August 1965) is a Dutch association football coach.
Career
Gery Vink is the current head coach of the Ajax A2 selection of Dutch football club AFC Ajax. He was previously head coach of the reserves team Jong Ajax, having be ...
*
Marcel Keizer
Marcel Keizer (born 15 January 1969) is a Dutch football coach and former player who is the manager of Emirati club Al Jazira.
His playing career as a midfielder began at Ajax and was mainly spent at Cambuur, and he had brief spells managing bo ...
*
Michael Reiziger
Michael John Reiziger (, born 3 May 1973) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played mainly as a right back, currently the assistant manager of AFC Ajax.
After making a name for himself at Ajax, with whom he won one Champions League ...
*
Mitchell van der Gaag
Honours
Official trophies (recognized by UEFA and FIFA)
National
*
Eerste Divisie
The Eerste Divisie (, en, First Division) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie and with the third-level Tweede Divisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the ...
(1):
2017–18
*
Beloften Eredivisie (8): 1994, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2009
*
KNVB Reserve Cup
The KNVB Reserve Cup ( nl, KNVB Beker voor beloften) is a cup competition for the reserve teams of professional football clubs in the Netherlands. The winner qualifies for next year's KNVB Cup; if the cup winner is also the champion in the na ...
(3): 2003, 2004, 2012
*
KNVB Amateur Cup The KNVB Amateur Cup ( nl, KNVB Beker voor amateurs) was the cup competition for amateur football clubs in the Netherlands. The winner qualified until 2016 for the amateur super cup match against the national Hoofdklasse champion.
The cup was ...
(1): 1984
*
KNVB District Cup The KNVB District Cup ( nl, Districtsbeker) is a cup competition for amateur football clubs in the Netherlands. The competition is held in each of the six districts of the Royal Dutch Football Association. The 24 semi-finalists qualify for next-s ...
(4): 1984, 1987, 1993, 1994
*KNVB Raven Cup (1) : 1956
International
*
HKFC International Soccer Sevens
The HKFC Soccer Sevens, formerly known as the International Soccer Sevens, is an annual invitational seven-a-side football tournament which is organised and hosted by Hong Kong Football Club. Held since 1999, many young professional players have m ...
Main Tournament – Shield winners:
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
Other trophies
* Den Helder Maritime Tournament (2): 1996, 2010
See also
*
Ajax Youth Academy
The Ajax Youth Academy (Dutch: ''Ajax Jeugdopleiding'') is a football youth academy based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, from where the organization manages a total of 13 youth teams (ages 7–18). The academy is the primary youth clinic of Dutch foo ...
, Youth Academy of the club
References
External links
Dutch information of Jong Ajax/Ajax BDutch information of Jong AjaxAjax F-Side – ASD / AFCA Supportersclub
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Jong Ajax
AFC Ajax
Football clubs in the Netherlands
Association football clubs established in 1992
Football clubs in Amsterdam
Dutch reserve football teams
1992 establishments in the Netherlands