For those of you that didn’t even realize that ‘Ajax’ is pronounced ‘Eye-yax,’ we agree that the single best reason we can think of for supporting a foreign club, aside from an actual connection to the city, is a US international in their starting eleven.  More than a few of us pick and choose depending on where our Yanks abroad happen to be playing, so here’s how to convince any diehard Ajax supporter that you’re the real deal even before John O’Brien broke into the starting eleven. 

Ok, what have I gotten myself into? 

Aside from the language difference, Americans should be surprisingly comfortable with Ajax.  The in-stadium experience is closer to the NFL and the NBA than you would expect, and the Netherlands in general has become the proving ground for new stadium technologies.  Ajax’s ArenA is just that, and you can see how it influenced stadium design in places like Houston. 

Go ahead and give me the history. 

Ajax was founded as the capital of the republic of Texas in 18….  Sorry, the Houston reference confused me.  Ajax existed for 54 years as an amateur team, which was convenient since all other Dutch clubs were also amateur until 1954.  Eight league and two cup titles didn’t exactly set them up as the dominant Dutch side, and it wasn’t until the late 1960’s that Ajax became Holland’s dominate club.  Three-peating European Cups from 1971 to ’73 and lending most of the players to the “great what if” Dutch national team that lost the ’74 World Cup final to West Germany will do that for you.  Unfortunately, their coach and best players moved to Barcelona and then to the North American Soccer League. 

It took fourteen seasons to win Europe again, but it was the wrong tournament.  Ajax won the ’87 Cup-Winners Cup and the ’92 UEFA Cup with another all-star side.  This time minus the coach, Ajax’s best players moved to Milan.  However, the youth were still there and a squad that eight years later still looks like an all-star eleven won the 1995 European Cup.  If you’re wondering what city they left for, they took the full European option, with all of them including the coach moving to foreign clubs. 

Almost forgot, where exactly am I? 

Amsterdam, which is a lot more than just the set for a Cheech and Chong movie that your high school friends thought it was so let’s just set that aside.  Sure, there’s some interesting extremes in socially acceptable behavior, but the city streets don’t resemble a Grateful Dead reunion.   This should be substantial warning for any city considering lax drug laws even on the severely limited basis you would actually find in Amsterdam.  Rather than the girdle of canals, you become the optimal destination point for every pothead with pretensions in the western hemisphere.  Like Nancy said, “just say no.”

For a better understanding of the city and the club, get a copy of Simon Kuper’s Ajax, Amsterdam, and the Jews.  It will teach you more about Amsterdam than that Cheech and Chong movie where they eat the special salad. 

Well at least I have some reading to do, what are my colors? 

White with a big red vertical stripe running down the center.  It doesn’t get much cooler than that. 

And what have we won?

What haven’t we won.  Four European Cups, a Cup-Winners Cup, a UEFA Cup, and too many domestic titles to count. 

And where should I send the cabby?

The ArenA, modern stadium construction at its finest complete with a retractable roof, a highway running underneath it, and roundly criticized by those that prefer the homey feel of concrete and exposed terracing.  That would be Ajax’s former home, De Meer, the stadium John O’Brien would have seen during his first trip to Amsterdam in 1994.  That stadium was a concrete classic, going over thirty-five years before they installed lights in 1971 and covered stands over a decade later, undersized when Ajax dominated Europe in the early 1970’s, and affectionately referred to as “the club’s living room.” 

Ok, let’s stop pretending.  I’m in it for Johnny O, has he always played for Ajax? 

Leaving California at fourteen and working his way up from the youth system to the senior squad and becoming the first American player to take the field in the Champions League, John O’Brien is as Ajax as anyone on the squad.  And yeah, nowhere near enough is made about how amazing that is in US media outlets, including US Champions League coverage that decided not to focus on the only team with an American player. 

Would my new Ajax supporting friends understand my love of all things O’Brien?

Sure, as a quality component of a squad capable of great things.  After all, he’s one of their own.  Plus, our John tried standup comedy this season, enough to endear him to any group of supporters. 

Who else should I know about? 

Some people think of Ajax as only a talent producer.  You might have seen glossy English magazines outlining where all their elite players ended up, but that overlooks the current Ajax squad which remains among the best in Europe.  This season that squad made it as far as Manchester United in the Champions League, so let’s concentrate on who they are rather than what might have been. 

So what are my chances of being able to lord it over everyone when Ajax wins the Eridevisie? 

Let’s set our aspirations a little higher and go with the Champions League.  Ajax has its domestic rival in PSV Eindhoven, but in all honesty Ajax is one of a few clubs where Europe is what really matters and no serious fan of the European game would write this team off.  Winning what’s now known as the Champions League four times will do that for you. 

Let’s stop kidding ourselves.  What should I say as my Ajax façade melts away? 

Nothing you say in English is likely to do it, so how about muttering “totaal voetbal” when the run of play isn’t going your way and shouting “TOTAAL VOETBAL” when Ajax goes gracefully towards goal.  Yeah, you’re probably better off just working on not pronouncing that “j."  If you find yourself among English speaking fans, just say “So do you think O’Brien is better used in defense or midfield?” and go from there.