Are Ajax dark horses to win the Champions League?
Ajax blitzed the group stage – winning ALL SIX games – and in West Ham flop Sebastien Haller have the Champions League’s top scorer… so, led by Man Utd target Erik ten Hag are they now dark horses to become European champions?
- Ajax emerged from the group stage as one of the best teams after perfect record
- Only Bayern Munich scored more than Ajax’s incredible tally of 20 goals
- Erik ten Hag’s men also saw off Borussia Dortmund 4-0 and 3-1 in the group
- Dutch giants have rebuilt effectively despite selling many key 2019 stars
- They will now target a quarter-final spot in bid to see off Benfica in the last-16
Only a handful of clubs have won the Champions League more than Ajax, so when it comes to pedigree in Europe’s top competition they can hardly be described as lightweights.
Their four titles, one more than Manchester United for perspective, are a reminder that while the glory years of the 1970s where Johan Cruyff was helping the Dutch giants dominate Europe may now be a long ago relic, they remain a highly respected football institution.
The trouble is their standing in the European game has perhaps been slightly on the wane given how far Dutch football has regressed in line with the rising popularity of the Premier League, LaLiga, Serie A, the Bundesliga and Ligue Un especially during the Champions League era.
Ajax were one of the most impressive teams in the Champions League group stages this term
Even if the star studded team that won the Champions League in 1995 is still remembered fondly by many fans of the game, there seemed little prospect in the modern day that Ajax could once more go toe-to-toe with Europe’s finest.
The class of 2019 changed all that when they went unbeaten against Bayern Munich, dumped out holders Real Madrid, and saw off Cristiano Ronaldo’s Juventus… only to be beaten on away goals in the dying seconds by Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-finals.
It was always predicted to be a one-off, and that looked even more likely when the stars of the team were gradually sold including Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt, Hakim Ziyech and Donny van de Beek.
But incredibly they head into their last-16 tie against Benfica in stunning form at home and in Europe, as Sportsmail looks at whether the Dutch giants really can lead another shock charge as dark horses to win the Champions League.
There are now hopes they can eclipse the 2019 side that sensationally reached the semi-finals
The new stars (and some old)
You could be forgiven for thinking it would take Ajax another generation to develop a squad as talented as the class of 2019, but Erik Ten Hag’s worked his magic to produce another impressive outfit.
The goals are mainly coming from West Ham United flop Sebastien Haller – more on him later- but a blend of youth, highly controversial transfers and even some handy leftovers from 2019 have got Ajax competing again.
A controversial switch from Feyenoord in his younger years, Jurrien Timber is shining as a centre-back now in Amsterdam, with his value having sky rocketed in the last two seasons after breaking into the team. He may not be the tallest of defenders at 5’10 but it didn’t stop Chelsea or Tottenham from weighing up a potential move last summer for the Dutch international.
Jurrien Timber has been an excellent addition to the Ajax side as part of the defence
In addition, Ryan Gravenberch has also stepped up almost effortlessly from the academy to replace De Jong in holding the midfield.
Also new to the side is Steven Berghuis, another Holland star having made the highly controversial move from Feyenoord to their bitter rivals last summer.
The forward has been vital in the group stages, scoring three goals in total showing that the pressure of playing with such a controversial transfer hanging over him has not hindered his performances so far.
From the 2019 run, former Southampton star and now captain Dusan Tadic, who also netted in the group stage, is part of the midfield, while former Manchester United defender Daley Blind remains the experienced head in the defence.
Haller’s goals
Many West Ham fans will hardly believe it is the same player, but Haller has been incredible this season – you could even argue he is currently the best striker in Europe and back it up with statistics.
Heading into the first leg at Benfica, Haller is the Champions League’s top goal scorer with an incredible 10 goals from just six matches. While a bulk of them came in the opening night where he scored four in the 5-1 win over Sporting Lisbon, he still netted in the following five appearances.
Sebastien Haller has already scored an unmatched 10 goals in the Champions League this term
It’s not just in Europe that he is doing the business either, across all competitions he has scored 28 goals in as many games.
Hammers fans will be wondering why they couldn’t extract the same form during his 18 months in east London where he netted just 14 times in 54 matches following a £45million purchase.
Worried that his recent AFCON appearance might leave him jaded? Fear not he remains in deadly form, scoring six times in just his last four games following the tournament in Cameroon.
The striker has turned his career around since a disappointing spell at West Ham United
Home away from home
Ajax have what many consider to be the favourable second leg at home against Benfica, but it’s been on the road Ten Hag’s side have been devastating for well over a year now.
Not only are Ajax undefeated away from home this season, they have been for the last 30 games which stretches back throughout the entirety of 2021 and goes back as far as the start of December 2020.
Their last defeat away from Amsterdam came at Liverpool in the Champions League group stage when Curtis Jones struck the only goal just short of the hour mark.
It’s not a run that features many draws either – just five in fact. It might be an easy record to turn up your nose at given Ajax’s relatively weak opposition in Holland but in any metric it’s a remarkable run to go on and at the very least will leave them with little to fear heading to Lisbon.
Ajax are unbeaten away since losing 1-0 at Liverpool in a group stage game last season
Group stage stars
If you were harbouring a bit of suspicion this Ajax lot are just a load of flat-track bullies, then it might be worth looking at their group stage form.
There really is not much more they could have done by winning all six of their matches – a feat only matched by Liverpool and Bayern Munich – scoring 20 goals in the process! Only Bayern could better that with 22.
Granted it featured a group containing a very weak Besiktas side and a Sporting Lisbon team who have recently just been decimated 5-0 on home soil by Manchester City, but they also saw off Borussia Dortmund too.
In fact they were by far the better side than the German giants across their two meetings, winning 4-0 at home and scoring three times in the final 18 minutes to triumph 3-1 at Signal Iduna Park.
Write them off at your peril – everyone did in 2019 and they were only seconds away from reaching the final.
Ajax stunned Borussia Dortmund by beating them 4-0 and 3-1 in the group stages this season
Ten Hag’s Midas touch
Mauricio Pochettino has looked a narrow favourite to take charge of Manchester United at the end of the season once Ralf Rangnick’s interim period in charge is up.
But such is the job Ten Hag is doing at Ajax, there is hype over him now being a serious candidate to step into the Old Trafford hot seat this summer.
Ten Hag of course was the brains behind the 2019 run too and turned down a chance to take over at Spurs last year following Jose Mourinho’s April exit, favouring a rebuild in Holland.
Now, as mentioned, Ajax being in a title fight is par for course in Holland but some of their results have been devastating this term.
Since the start of December they have won games 9-0, 5-0 (four times!) and have handed out a 4-0 beating along with a pair of 3-0s too.
Granted the opposition in Holland is perhaps deceptive but whatever Ten Hag has built at Amsterdam it’s certainly not one to be taken lightly by any side heading into the second half of the season.
One might even argue it’s already better than the class of 2019. United and their fans may have one eye on Ajax’s clash with Benfica as they consider who should be laying down the groundwork for an Old Trafford rebuild.
Erik ten Hag’s recent work at Ajax has put him in the frame to take over at Manchester United
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