This is the place to discuss all the people supervising and working for the actual football players. From head-coach Ronald Koeman and his assistants to the directors, managers and board-members.

The reason to start this thread right now is the fact that I just wrote an ode to a true Ajacied for Ajax USA: good old Sjaak Wolfs, also known as Sjakie, who has retired this summer... Check it out:

http://www.ajaxusa.com/desk/an-ode-to-sjakie.html

In fact,TWO THUMBS UP to Menno for his awesome piece on a true Ajax legend. Meet Sjakie Wolfs just once and you are better for it.In a sport too often dominated by overpaid crybabies,Sjakie is one of the real good ones..and a character if ever there was. Sjakie's dedication and service to our beloved club comes thru in every word Menno has written in his "From the desk" piece.

There's a story on VI.nl now about Ajax's candidates for the position of technical director:

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Louis van Gaal and Frank Arnesen are two of the candidates for the job of technical director at Ajax, said coach Ronald Koeman in RTL5 football talkshow Voetbal Insite. The position has been vacant for about two months now, since Leo Beenhakker unexpectedly announced his departure and moved to Mexico in June.

In Voetbal Insite Ajax coach Ronald Koeman commented on Ajax's interest in signing Frank Arnesen, currently working at PSV as 'manager transfers & scouting'. "He's on a list of candidates which I help putting together myself. Louis van Gaal is on it also. We will take our time to see what to do." Koeman did not want to comment on the name of Piet Keizer, who was also mentioned by the hosts.

Frank Arnesen claims not to have been contacted by the Amsterdam club, for which he played in the late 1970s. "If this happens, I think they will contact the club first. That's the way Ajax and PSV treat each other." The Dane still has a contract for two years in Eindhoven.

Louis van Gaal has been unemployed since January, after he was dismissed by Barcelona. He worked for Ajax as a head-coach and a technical director.

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Can't he go to the jungle of Indonesia and stay far away from the team ??? He's a loser now....

Arnesen or Keizer ja....Uncle Louis....nee!

Arnesen would be fine.
Louis v. Gall??? I don't think so....him and Koeman in the same town is a recipe for disaster!

Meanwhile, the talk about Leo Beenhakker's successor go on and on. I have to stress the fact that the media are basically just brainstorming and guessing. But it's interesting anyway.

You have already read the names of Louis van Gaal and Frank Arnesen in this thread. According to Het Parool however, the main candidate for the job is Wim Jansen. We know the man in Holland as a Feyenoord legend who played for Ajax from 1980 to 1982. Our British friends may remember him as a very succesful manager of Celtic.

The most important advantage for Jansen is the fact that he is a very close, personal friend of Johan Cruijff's. Cruijff has dropped his name on several occasions in the past and he is always raving about the Jansen's qualities as a manager and tactical footie genius.

So, that's name #3 then... and you can add the name of foprmer Ajax defender and NAC head-coach Ronald Spelbos to your list as candidate #4. Newspaper De Telegraaf reports today that he is the most important candidate for the job of technical director of Ajax. De Telegraaf claims that he is in fact at the top of Ajax's wishlist (which I don't believe).

The rumors about a Louis van Gaal return to Ajax (as a technical director) are very persistent... Ajax Netwerk reports that both Voetbal International magazine and prominent TV journalists Barend & Van Dorp have underscored once again that Van Gaal is still the number one candidate to replace Leo Beenhakker.

The other candidates they mentioned are Ronald Spelbos, Frank Arnesen (we already heard those names earlier) and Piet Keizer! The latter was not linked to the position of technical director at Ajax before.

I can't believe Keizer is interested in the job, tho. He's very indifferent to the world of football, these days. I don't think he feels like accepting a management job at Ajax.

Anyways - bottom line is that Van Gaal is still mentioned by at least two fairly reliable sources... Also: I saw an interview with the new chairman (John Jaakke) on AT5 the other day. Seems to be a very good guy, I must say. He said that Ajax intends to present a new technical director very soon.

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Originally Posted by AFCA 1900

I can't believe Keizer is interested in the job, tho. He's very indifferent to the world of football, these days. I don't think he feels like accepting a management job at Ajax.

Anyways - bottom line is that Van Gaal is still mentioned by at least two fairly reliable sources... Also: I saw an interview with the new chairman (John Jaakke) on AT5 the other day. Seems to be a very good guy, I must say. He said that Ajax intends to present a new technical director very soon.

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Koeman was Van Gaal's assistent in Barcelona, so they have been able to work together in the past.
I think Van Gaal would make an excellent TD. Lately he has been analyzing Oranje for Dutch tv and he made a calm and reasonable impression. If he keeps that up as TD I think he is the perfect guy. In his new position he no longer has the media to worry about, so that alone should make him more relaxed.

I am all for handing over the controls of the Technical Director's job to a true Ajacied...Louis van Gaal...as long as he understands that he is TD and not coach.He sure knows the Ajax system inside and out. I am kind of surprised that someone like Danny Blind hasn't even been considered,at least so far as the media report.He may not have the coaching experience of van Gaal, i.e. to help in judging talent, but he has worked inside the system more recently than LvG.Waiting on Isabel.

It's practically garantueed that Blind will become head coach (of Ajax or some other club) in the not too distant future. TD is a long term function, so it will have to be someone without any coaching ambition.

It's interesting to wonder what will happen to Ronald Koeman after this season. If Frank Rijkaard will 'drown' at Barcelona (which I think he will) I am sure that Koeman will be their man for next season. If they ask him, he'll say 'yes'.

If Frank Rijkaard can keep himself upright at Barcelona two things can happen. If Dick Advocaat gets sacked by the KNVB (which he surely will if we don't qualify - and maybe even even if we do) they will ask Koeman as his successor. The other candidate was Guus Hiddink (again), but he just accepted a job as PSV's next general director for next season.

I am not sure whether Koeman is interested in becoming the next Oranje boss. He will play boring friendlies only in 2004 and an almost equally boring string of World Cup qualifers in 2005. Coaching the national team has become a very tough job - and it won't be very interesting in the upcoming two years (if we don't make it to Euro 2004).

Personally, I think if Rijkaard survives in Barcelona, Koeman may well extend his contract at Ajax. He seems to be happy with his current job and he seems to believe very strongly in the quality of this generation - and the next.

In other words: it will all depend on Rijkaard's achievements with Barcelona. I hope he will do well for them, for various reasons: 1. I would like Koeman to stay, 2. it would make me very sad to see Rijkaard getting destroyed in the Barcelona snakepit. I wish him the very, very best, because he's a unique, sensible and intelligent gentleman in the egocentric world of football. One day he will coach Ajax-1, I'm sure.

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Originally Posted by Arthur
TD is a long term function, so it will have to be someone without any coaching ambition.

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I agree with Arthur very much. We can't have persons with a itch to jump around on thet position. We need someone with both managerial and football skills (two who are hard to combine - just look at all the conflicts between players and managers around the world). Someone who's good with people but still can take decisions that aren't always comfortable. I'm not sure van Gaal is suitable - but then again I don't really have any good suggestions either. Very tricky question this.....