TEAM: AJAX 1994-95 ISSUE 1
R
ecent memory of Louis van Gaal will leave you thinking of an eccentric old man, whose press conferences were more entertaining than his Manchester United team’s style of play. In contrast, 20 years before he became the manager of the Manchester club he was in charge of one of the greatest sides in footballing history. From 1993-1996 Van Gaal’s Ajax side were unbeatable in the Eredivisie winning three straight championships. However, it is the 1994-95 side that will forever go down in footballing folklore. Van der Sar, Reiziger, the De Boer twins, Davids, Seedorf, Rijkaard, Blind, Kanu, Overmars, Litmanen – this famous Ajax side reads like a who’s who of Dutch football over the last two decades. During the 1994-95 season, they went an entire campaign unbeaten in both the Eredivisie (scoring 106 goals in 34 games) and the Champions League, where they ultimately saw off Fabio Capello’s stoic AC Milan in the final, thanks to a single goal from 18-year-old substitute Patrick Kluivert. Utilising a unique 3-3-1-3 formation, Ajax usually lined-up that season with two lightening quick wingers in Marc Overmars and Finidi George patrolling each flank with the intelligent, technically superb and mulleted Jari Litmanen behind the youthful Kluivert. Van Gaal packed the midfield with Ronald de Boer, Edgar Davids and Frank Rijkaard protecting the backthree of Michael Reizeger, Frank de Boer and Danny Blind, and Edwin van der Sar in goal. Danny Blind was usually charged with the job of operating as a sweeper which helped negate the opposition’s threat in the attacking
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third. With Reiziger and De Boer charged with man-marking the opposing team’s strikers this left Ajax with numerical superiority at the back as Blind was left to pick up stray balls, midfield runs from deep and as the last defence if Reiziger or De Boer were beaten. Frank Rijkaard was situated as a traditional defensive midfielder tasked with breaking up the play and recovering the ball when Ajax were rarely out of possession. In possession Davids/ Seedorf and Ronald de Boer acted as the engines in a midfield three driving the ball forward to the attacking four. Out of possession however is where Ajax’s use of the centre-mids becomes interesting. Due to the back three’s narrowness
Ajax’s unique 3-3-1-3 formation
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the two centre-mids were asked to track the opposition wingers and fill in as auxiliary fullbacks to nullify the chances of them getting in behind. This was the tactical ploy which made this Ajax team so difficult to break down. Jari Litmanen was the main creative force in the side. Operating as a classic number ten, Litmanen’s main job was to exploit space in between the oppositions midfield and defence, which at the time the majority of teams played a 4-4-2 with two solid banks of four. As soon as Ajax gained possession their first job was to try and find Litmanen in space so he could get quickly into the attacking third and look for the dangerous attacking trio of Kluivert/Kanu, Overmaars and George. Overmaars and Finidi George were instructed to stay as wide as possible to stretch the opposition, allowing them to create as many oneon-one opportunities as possible. It also had the added effect of helping Ajax to retain possession as there was always a switch of play available. Time up front was shared between Nwankwo Kanu and 18 year-old Patrick Kluivert whose jobs were simply to score goals and were involved very little in the actual build up play. There was so much to admire in a team that had an average age of 23 – the speed and precision of their passing; the way they dominated possession; their almost telepathic understanding; their intelligence and technical qualities; the way they maintained numerical superiority in all areas of the pitch; the players’ near-perfect drilling. They were a team that truly captured the imagination of European football and wrote their own chapter into the history books.
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