Ajax have appointed John Pantzhip as head coach.
The club announced on its website on Tuesday (ET): “Former Ajax player Fantzip has signed a contract with the club as head coach from October 30, 2023 to June 30, 2025. Fantzijn and Ajax have agreed that Fantzijn will take on the role of technical director from July 1, 2024.”
Fantzip played for Ajax from 1981 to 1992 before leaving for Genoa in Italy. After his playing career, he served as a youth and assistant coach at Ajax from 1997 to 2001.
He later coached the Dutch national soccer team under Marco van Basten. He continued his coaching career with stints in Australia, Mexico, and the Netherlands before taking over as head coach of the Greek national soccer team in July 2019, succeeding Angelos Anastasiadis.
However, he resigned in November 2021, a month before his contract expired, following a third-place finish in the final round of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Ajax were thrashed 5-2 by rivals PSV Eindhoven in the 10th round of the 2023/24 Eredivisie at the Philips Stadion in Eindhoven, Netherlands on Sept. 29 (ET).
With the loss, Ajax now have one win, two draws, and five points from eight games, dropping them to 18th place in the league and a whopping 25 points behind first-place Eindhoven.
After winning 36 Dutch Eredivisie titles, reaching the Champions League quarterfinals and the round of 16 in the group stage, it’s been a busy season for the Dutch league’s top team.
They’ve spent a whopping €100 million on transfers. However, coach Söderre was fired due to poor results and legendary player Daley Blind was released as a free agent.
To make matters worse, the club failed to qualify for the Champions League this season, falling behind rivals PSV and Feyenoord due to poor form.
Also, after parting ways with Heynckes, they hired Sparta Rotterdam coach Maurice Stein. However, his incomprehensible personnel and tactics have resulted in only one win this season. Even in a rebuilding season, a 15th place finish in the league was unacceptable.
Ajax also hired Sven Mischlintat as director of football, but the club launched an investigation into a potential conflict of interest related to recent player signings by a German agency that holds a stake in Mischlintat’s personal company. Ajax eventually parted ways with Mischlintat on September 25 (local time).
Eventually, the departure of the aggressively invested Obermars and Vandessar, the club’s failure to qualify for the Champions League after spending a lot of money on transfers, the current 15th place finish in the league, and the current situation with Michelinthaat had exhausted the patience of Ajax fans.카지노사이트
Eventually, the club made a decision. The club announced on its website on Thursday that “Ajax and Maurice Stein are parting ways with immediate effect. The club management and Steyn have jointly decided that the trainer has decided to resign from his duties,” the club formalized.
They have now appointed Pantzscheib as interim coach. Jan van Halst, president of Ajax, said: “John is a true Ajax player with a lot of experience at home and abroad, both on and off the pitch. We believe he is the right person to make a positive difference to the team’s current performance. Initially, he will be the first team coach. In the long term, he will also take on another technical role.”
“I am happy that the deal has been finalized and I am looking forward to a new start at the club where it all started,” said Pantzscheib. I spoke to everyone involved about the matter and was left with a very good feeling. Ajax needs to move to the next level quickly and I’m happy to be able to contribute to that.”