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De Klassieker (''The Classic'') is the main football rivalry of the Netherlands, between Ajax (of Amsterdam) and Feyenoord (of Rotterdam). The record attendance was on 9 January 1966, when 65,562 watched in Rotterdam.


History


Amsterdam vs Rotterdam

The rivalry between these two clubs goes beyond the football rivalry, it transcends into the city rivalry between Amsterdam and Rotterdam. This city rivalry began when these two cities first received their city rights in the 13th century. The football clubs are the pride of these cities; Ajax to Amsterdam and Feyenoord to Rotterdam. The inhabitants of these cities differ extremely in both attitudes and cultures which is clearly reflected on to the football pitch. The clash is seen as between the artists of Amsterdam and the workers of Rotterdam. Amsterdam is renowned for its culture, having produced many artists and actors. Ajax’s style of play has long been a source of pride for the supporters, and one of irritation for the Feyenoord fans. The Rotterdammers feel that those hailing from Amsterdam possess delusions of grandeur, and there is a saying to reflect these sentiments: "While Amsterdam dreams, Rotterdam works". Rotterdam was forced to work after being bombed heavily in the Second World War by the Nazis. A harbour town, its people are proud of their work ethic, and resentful of Amsterdam's showiness.


Ajax vs Feyenoord

The first encounter between these two clubs was on 9 October 1921 in Rotterdam which was surrounded by controversy. The match initially ended 3–2 in Ajax' favour. This was later officially declared 2–2 due to Feyenoords protest to what they believed was a dubious goal by Ajax. There has also been a competition as who has the biggest stadium between these two clubs which mainly occurred in the 1930s and 1940s. This was done as bragging rights as which city, between Amsterdam and Rotterdam, had the biggest stadium in the Netherlands. The Olympic Stadium was constructed in 1928 and had a capacity of 31,600 which was the biggest in the Netherlands. In 1934 De Meer Stadion was constructed with a capacity of 22,000. Ajax used the Olympic Stadium for European matches and De Meer for domestic matches. The status of the Olympic Stadium being the largest in Netherlands would change in 1937 when Feyenoord opened De Kuip was constructed with a capacity of 64,000. Ajax responded by adding a second ring to Olympic Stadium, also in 1937. After the Second World War, Feyenoord expanded De Kuip to 69,000 in 1949. From the season 1947–48 up to and including 1955–56 no competitive matches were played between these two clubs. This was due to Feyenoord never winning their regional league in this period and hence not reaching the Championship Playoff where they could face Ajax. In order for these clubs to continue playing each other during this period a number of friendlies were arranged. Once the
Eredivise 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 ...
was introduced in 1956–57, regional leagues were abolished in favour of a single national league and hence no championship playoffs were needed. Therefore, Feyenoord and Ajax were able to play competitive matches against each other once more. The two clubs have faced off once a year since then. In the season 1960/61 the highest scoring match between these two occurred. The total number of goals scored was 14 where the score was 9–5 in the favour of Feyenoord. This season Feyenoord won the league with Ajax being second place with 2 points behind first place. Four years later in the season 1964/65 the same scoreline was almost replicated by a 9–4 scoreline in Feyenoords favour. This rivalry heated up considerably in the early 1970s when these two clubs were arguably the best in the world and riots started to break between the sets of fans. During the early 1970s Ajax won 3
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
s and 1 Intercontinental Cup, Feyenoord had won one European Cup, one Intercontinental Cup and one UEFA Cup. All these trophies won by Feyenoord at the time were the first to be won by a Dutch club. This success led to the Netherlands squad being filled with a majority of Ajax and Feyenoord players. These players would be important during 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 ...
and
1978 FIFA World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June. The Cup was won by t ...
in which they displayed what is known to be Total Football. During the season 1980/81, Feyenoord legend Wim Jansen, who played for Feyenoord for 15 years, made the leap to Ajax which created much anger for the Feyenoord fans. On his debut for Ajax, which happened to be an away game against Feyenoord, a Feyenoord fan threw an iceball in Jansen's eye, forcing him to leave the field for treatment. The rivalry intensified even further during the 1983/84 season when Ajax legend Johan Cruyff made the transfer from Ajax to Feyenoord. This was after a contract dispute between Cruyff and Ajax; Cruyff wanted a contract extension, but Ajax balked on account of his age. This transfer angered both fanbases; Ajax fans were outraged that Cruyff had jumped to their biggest rival, while Feyenoord fans did not like the fact that an Ajax legend would be joining their club. Some Feyenoord fans protested his arrival by hanging banners saying "Feyenoord Forever, Cruijff Never" being one of the more civilised ones. Many fans would also whistle and jeer at the newcomer during the friendly pre season games and whenever his name was announced in the stadium. Some fans even refused to enter the stadium whilst Cruyff played there. In the 1983/84 season, Feyenoord and Cruyff lost 8–2 to Ajax which was Feyenoord's worst loss to them ever. However Feyenoord ended up winning the league and cup. Both clubs have fallen from grace over the years, while fan violence has increased, and there is always a heavy police presence at the derby. The most serious incident occurred in the Beverwijk clash in 1997 when Ajax fan Carlo Picornie was killed and several others injured. The riots of 2005 were also a depressing chapter in the history of the two clubs.


Violence between Ajax and Feyenoord

Since the 70's there have been many clashes between the supporters of both clubs, of which Beverwijk in 1997 was infamous. One Ajax fan, Carlo Picornie, was beaten to death by rival supporters, triggering more strict policies from the Dutch football association KNVB to tackle hooliganism. As a result of the incident, the two Klassiekers in 1997/98 were played without away fans. In 2004 Feyenoord player
Jorge Acuña Jorge Cristian Acuña Concha (born 31 July 1978 in Ovalle), also known by his nickname Kike Acuña, is a Chilean football manager and former footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Born in Ovalle, IV Region of Coquimbo, Acuña joi ...
was taken to hospital with head, neck and rib injuries after Feyenoord players were attacked by Ajax hooligans during a match between the reserve teams of both clubs.Feyenoord's Acuña hurt after attack by Ajax hooligans
chinadailly.com
Another Feyenoord player, Robin van Persie, had to be rescued by Ajax coach
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 Europea ...
and player
Daniël de Ridder Daniël Robin Frederick de Ridder (born 6 March 1984) is a Dutch former professional footballer. He played as a winger operating either on the right or left side but would occasionally play a more advanced role. He represented Ajax, Celta Vigo, ...
. In April 2005, riots took place around Feyenoord's ground involving hooligans from both sides and the riot police. Travelling Ajax fans had demolished the train transporting them to Rotterdam, and were forced to wait outside the stadium until the match was over. Meanwhile, Feyenoord supporters who had just seen their team lose 2:3, were determined to clash with rivals from Amsterdam, who had not seen the match. Hooligans filmed by police were shown on national TV. Virtually every hooligan on TV handed himself in. In February 2009, the mayors of Amsterdam and Rotterdam made an agreement with the KNVB to ban visiting fans from the away games for the next five seasons in an effort to curb the violence. However, after Ajax fans threw fireworks on the field during the 2014 KNVB Cup Final, Ajax banned its supporters from traveling to Rotterdam through at least the 2016-17 season. In March 2015, the Ajax clubhouse was burned down for which the cause is officially unknown. However the police and Ajax fans suspected Feyenoord fans to have been behind this event. Ajax hooligans planned a revenge attack on Feyenoord fans but were stopped by police. In February 2016, an incident took place in Amsterdam Arena where an effigy of
Kenneth Vermeer Kenneth Harold Vermeer (born 10 January 1986) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club FC Cincinnati. A product of the Ajax Youth Academy, Vermeer has played for Jong Ajax, Willem II on loan, ...
, who made the crossing from Ajax to Feyenoord, was hanged from a stand occupied by the Ajax ultra group
VAK410 The VAK410 (Dutch, "Section 410") was a Dutch Ultras group associated with AFC Ajax. The name comes from the name of their initial stand in Ajax's home stadium, the Amsterdam Arena. Background VAK410 was founded on 26 January 2001 by fanatic s ...
. In response, Ajax closed the sections normally used by VAK410 for the next edition of De Klassieker at the Arena, and banned season ticketholders from those sections from attending the match. Hooligans often chant anti-Jewish slogans when their team faces Ajax. That is because Ajax has had a long association with the city's Jewish community. And Ajax supporters sometimes refer to themselves as Jews and use the Star of David symbol. In May 2019, an amateur match between AVV Swift, of Amsterdam, and
SC Feyenoord Sportclub Feyenoord, also known as Feyenoord AV, is an amateur football club from Rotterdam, Netherlands. It is the amateur branch of the professional football club Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club (as ...
in Amsterdam was marred by fan trouble after the game when Feyenoord fans travelled to Amsterdam to show support for SC Feyenoord and came into contact with Ajax fans who were there to show support for AVV Swift. Later in the same month, there was an incident during the U19 league title deciding game between Ajax and Feyenoord at
De Toekomst Jong Ajax () (''English: Young Ajax''), also referred to as Ajax II or Ajax 2 is a Dutch association football team, the reserve team of Ajax. It is based in Amsterdam and competes in the Dutch Eerste Divisie. History Jong Ajax (''formerly more ...
in Amsterdam. Before the game, Ajax fans threw stones the players bus of Feyenoord U19. After 30 minutes, the match had to be suspended due to Ajax fans trying to attack the Feyenoord players' families in the stands. The match had to be rescheduled to a later date where no fans were allowed to attend the fixture.


Honours

Ajax and Feyenoord are the first and third most successful clubs in the Netherlands respectively, with Ajax winning more silverware than Feyenoord in nearly every competition: 73 to 39. This total includes both domestic and international trophies. Both clubs had their greatest international success in the early 1970s, when they were considered to be two of the best clubs in the world. During this time, Ajax won three European Cups, whereas Feyenoord won one European Cup and one UEFA Cup.


Statistics (since 1921)


Results (since 1921)


Records


All-time top scorers


Highest-scoring matches (8+ goals)


Crossing the divide

There have been quite a few players who have played for both Ajax and Feyenoord. The most controversial players being Johan Cruyff and Wim Jansen. In addition to this there have been some managers who have managed both teams.


From Feyenoord to Ajax

Henk Groot Hendrik Groot (22 April 1938
, Ajax.nl, Retrieved 28 May 2013 (Dutch)
– ...
– 1965 direct transfer
Ruud Geels – 1974 not a direct transfer between the clubs
Jan Everse – 1977 direct transfer
Wim Jansen – 1980 not a direct transfer between the clubs
Jan Sørensen Jan Johnsen Sørensen (14 May 1955 – 16 February 2024) was a Danish professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. He most notably played professionally for Belgian club Club Brugge KV, ...
– 1987 not a direct transfer between the clubs
Arnold Scholten – 1995 direct transfer
Dean Gorré Dean Roberto Gorré (born 10 September 1970) is a Dutch-Surinamese football coach and former player. He is currently the interim coach of the Curaçao national team. Playing career Gorré made his debut on 20 April 1988 for SVV. He also went ...
– 1997 not a direct transfer between the clubs
Richard Knopper Richard Knopper (born 29 August 1977) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Club career Born in Rijswijk, Knopper began his career with Feyenoord but, still in his youth, moved to rivals AFC Ajax, makin ...
– played in the Feyenoord youth system
Henk Timmer – 2002 direct loan transfer
Leonardo Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate ...
– 2007 not a direct transfer between the clubs
Evander Sno Evander Sno (born 9 April 1987) is a Dutch football coach and former player. He played as a defensive midfielder. During his active career, Sno played for numerous clubs in his native Netherlands, but also had spells in Scotland with Celtic and ...
– 2008 not a direct transfer between the clubs
Ronald Graafland Ronald Graafland (;In isolation, ''Graafland'' is pronounced . born 30 April 1979 in Rotterdam) is a retired Dutch footballer who played for Feyenoord, Excelsior, Vitesse and Ajax. Honours Club Feyenoord * Eredivisie The Eredivisie ( ...
– 2010 direct transfer
Anwar El Ghazi Anwar El Ghazi (Arabic: أنور الغازي; Riffian-Berber: ⴰⵏⵡⴰⵔ ⵍⴴⴰⵣⵉ; born 3 May 1995) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a winger for PSV and the Netherlands national team. He played for Ajax, Lille a ...
– 2013 played in the Feyenoord youth system
Kostas Lamprou Kostas Lamprou ( gr, Κώστας Λάμπρου; born 18 September 1991) is a Greek professional association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Eredivisie club Feyenoord. Club career Early year ...
– 2017 not a direct transfer between the clubs
Oussama Idrissi Oussama Idrissi ( ar, أسامة ادريسي; born 26 February 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for La Liga club Sevilla and the Morocco national team. Born in the Netherlands to Moroccan parents, he has represented th ...
- 2021 played in the Feyenoord youth system
Steven Berghuis Steven Berghuis (born 19 December 1991) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays for Eredivisie club Ajax and the Netherlands national team. He can play as either a winger or attacking midfielder. Berghuis made his debut for the Netherland ...
– 2021 direct transfer


From Ajax to Feyenoord

Eddy Pieters Graafland Eduard Laurens "Eddy" Pieters Graafland (5 January 193428 April 2020) was a Dutch professional football player and coach. As a player, he was the goalkeeper of Ajax, Feyenoord and the Netherlands. In 1970, his last season as a professional, he w ...
– 1958 direct transfer
Henk Groot Hendrik Groot (22 April 1938
, Ajax.nl, Retrieved 28 May 2013 (Dutch)
– ...
– 1963 direct transfer
Theo van Duivenbode Theo van Duivenbode (born 1 November 1943) is a Dutch former footballer who played for Ajax and Feyenoord and was part of their European and Intercontinental Cup victory in 1970. Club career Born in Amsterdam, van Duivenbode made his senior de ...
– 1969 direct transfer
René Notten Reinirus Wilhelmus Antonius Notten (20 November 1949 – 22 August 1995) was a Dutch footballer and manager who last worked as head coach of the Aruba national football team. He made five appearances for the Netherlands national team between 197 ...
– 1978 direct transfer
Johan Cruijff – 1983 direct transfer
Johnny Rep – 1984 not a direct transfer between the clubs
Simon Tahamata Simon Melkianus Tahamata (born 26 May 1956) is a Dutch-Moluccan Association football, football coach and former professional player who played for Dutch and Belgian clubs. He also played 22 times for the Netherlands national football team, Dutch n ...
– 1984 not a direct transfer between the clubs
Keje Molenaar Cornelis Ignatius Maria (Keje) Molenaar (born 29 September 1958 in Volendam) is a retired Dutch footballer who was active as a defender. Molenaar made his professional debut at FC Volendam and also played for Ajax Amsterdam, Feyenoord Rotterd ...
– 1985 not a direct transfer between the clubs
Tscheu La Ling Tscheu La Ling (Chinese: 林球立; pinyin: ''Lín Qiú Lì''; born 6 January 1956) is a Dutch former professional footballer of mixed Dutch and Chinese descent, who played for clubs in the Netherlands, Greece and France. His name has been spelle ...
1986 not a direct transfer between the clubs
Martin van Geel Martin van Geel (born 27 November 1960 in Goirle) is a retired Netherlands, Dutch footballer who was active as a midfielder. Van Geel made his professional debut on at 24 August 1977 Willem II (football club), Willem II, and also played for AFC ...
– 1988 not a direct transfer between the clubs
Arnold Scholten – 1989 direct transfer
Rob Witschge Robert Witschge (born 22 August 1966) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent most of his 14-year professional career with Feyenoord, but started out at Ajax, amassing Eredivisie totals of 281 matches and 3 ...
– 1990 not a direct transfer between the clubs
Harvey Esajas Harvey Delano Esajas (born 13 June 1974) is a Dutch former footballer who played as a defender. Club career Feyenoord and Eerste Divisie Born in Amsterdam of Surinamese descent, Esajas made his debut in professional football in 1993–94 with ...
– 1992 played in the Ajax youth system
John van Loen Johannes ("John") Maria van Loen (born 4 February 1965 in Utrecht) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a striker. he earned seven caps for the Netherlands national football team, with which he scored one goal. He played in ...
– 1993 direct transfer
Ronald Koeman – 1995 not a direct transfer between the clubs
Peter van Vossen – 1998 not a direct transfer between the clubs
Diego Biseswar Diego Marvin Biseswar (born 8 March 1988) is a professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Greek Super League club PAOK. Born in the Netherlands, he represents the Suriname national team. Early life He was born in Amsterdam to Sur ...
– 2001 played in the Ajax youth system
Evander Sno Evander Sno (born 9 April 1987) is a Dutch football coach and former player. He played as a defensive midfielder. During his active career, Sno played for numerous clubs in his native Netherlands, but also had spells in Scotland with Celtic and ...
– 2005 played in the Ajax youth system
Henk Timmer – 2006 not a direct transfer between the clubs
Angelos Charisteas – 2006 direct transfer
Tim de Cler Tim de Cler (born 8 November 1978) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a left-back for Ajax, AZ, Feyenoord and AEK Larnaca. Early life De Cler is born and raised in Leiden, South Holland. In Leiden, he grew up in a neighbou ...
– 2007 not a direct transfer between the clubs
Ronald Graafland Ronald Graafland (;In isolation, ''Graafland'' is pronounced . born 30 April 1979 in Rotterdam) is a retired Dutch footballer who played for Feyenoord, Excelsior, Vitesse and Ajax. Honours Club Feyenoord * Eredivisie The Eredivisie ( ...
– 2011 direct transfer
John Goossens John Goossens (born 25 July 1988) is a Dutch former professional footballer who mainly played as a defensive midfielder, although he was capable of playing in several positions in midfield, and even as a left winger. Since his retirement from fo ...
– 2012 played in the Ajax youth system
Bilal Basacikoglu __NOTOC__ Bilal may refer to: People * Bilal (name) (a list of people with the name) * Bilal ibn Rabah, a companion of Muhammad * Bilal (American singer) * Bilal (Lebanese singer) Places *Bilal Colony, a neighbourhood of Korangi Town in Karachi, ...
– 2014 played in the Ajax youth system
Warner Hahn Warner Hahn (born 15 June 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Kyoto Sanga. He formerly played for FC Dordrecht, Feyenoord, PEC Zwolle, Excelsior, Anderlecht, Go Ahead Eagles and IFK Göteborg. Born in the Netherla ...
– 2014 not a direct transfer between the clubs
Kenneth Vermeer Kenneth Harold Vermeer (born 10 January 1986) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club FC Cincinnati. A product of the Ajax Youth Academy, Vermeer has played for Jong Ajax, Willem II on loan, ...
– 2014 direct transfer
Marko Vejinović Marko Vejinović (born 3 February 1990) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Eredivisie club Heracles Almelo. Having started his professional career with AZ, with whom he won the Dutch Championship, he went o ...
– 2015 played in the Ajax youth system
Jan-Arie van der Heijden Jan-Arie van der Heijden (born 3 March 1988) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre back, most recently for Eredivisie club Willem II. Club career Ajax Born in Leiden, Van der Heijden made his debut for Ajax in a league match ...
– 2015 not a direct transfer between the clubs
Eljero Elia – 2015 played in the Ajax youth system
Danilo Danilo is a given name found in Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Serbian. Notable people with the name Danilo include: Athletes Footballers * Danilo (footballer, born 1979), Brazilian footballer Danilo de Andrade * Danilo (footballer, born 19 ...
– 2022 direct free transfer


Managers

Hans Kraay was manager at Ajax during 1974/75 and at Feyenoord during 1982/83 and 1988/89.
Leo Beenhakker has been a manager at both clubs numerous times.
Ronald Koeman was manager at Ajax during 2002 and 2005, was Feyenoord manager during 2011 and 2014.
Peter Bosz played for Feyenoord between 1991 en 1996, was technical director for Feyenoord during 2006 and 2009. Became Ajax manager in 2016.


See also

* Big Three (Netherlands) *
AFC Ajax–PSV Eindhoven rivalry The rivalry between Ajax and PSV , most commonly known as ''De Topper'' is one of the main football rivalries of the Netherlands. It is between Ajax, of Amsterdam and PSV, from Eindhoven and is highly contested. Although not as charged as De Klas ...
*
Amsterdam derby Amsterdam Derby (''Stadsderby'') refers to matches played between professional and amateur football clubs of Amsterdam. Such clubs include AFC, Ajax, Blauw-Wit, DWS, JOS Watergraafsmeer, Swift, De Volewijckers, VVA and Zeeburgia. An Amsterdam ...
*
Rotterdam derby The term Rotterdam derby refers to the local derbies in Rotterdam played between two of the three professional football clubs Feyenoord, Sparta Rotterdam or Excelsior. It specifically refers to individual matches between the clubs, but can also ...
*
Twentse Derby The Twentse Derby is a Dutch football derby between FC Twente Football Club Twente () is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, sometimes known internationally as Twente Enschede. The club was formed in 1965 by the m ...
* List of association football rivalries


References


External links


''Geschiedenis van de Klassieker: Ajax-Feyenoord'' (History of the Classic: Ajax-Feyenoord)
(Dutch, translation available)
AFC AjaxFeyenoord
{{Feyenoord Rotterdam AFC Ajax Feyenoord Football derbies in the Netherlands Articles containing video clips