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Cruyff benefits business of failed revolution at Ajax
AJAX has over the years become subservient to the business interests of Johan Cruyff.
Dozens of employees from the youth ranks of the club follow a compulsory course at the Cruyff Institute, confidants and friends of the former football player get a place in the Organization and Cruijff sells the plans with the Youth Academy of Ajax to foreign football clubs.
The own funds of the companies of Cruijff is between 2011 and 2013 doubled to more than 5 million euro.
This will be apparent from conversations with fifteen people in and around Ajax and after examining internal documents. The Supervisory Board of Ajax this week appointed former footballer Tscheu La Ling to Advisor to the club. He must ensure that Ajax-Cruyff enter the plan further.
That is football-Business Director Marc Overmars in practice under receivership. Him, along with Assistant trainer Dennis Bergkamp, blamed the plans of Cruyff not good.
' One great compromise
' Two Commissioners will the tasks of the departing General Manager at Ajax take over. It is back to square one, say Ajax States involved. One of the initiators of the administrative change at the club in 2011, entrepreneur Mark Geestman, calls the recent developments ' one great compromise '.
Geestman: ' There is a top-heavy structure in which responsibilities are unclear and again in conflict with the changes such as which were in large majority by the members have been adopted. ' The Supervisory Board supervises the Executive Board, as of this week, which de facto two Commissioners are part. Two advisors, Cruijff and his confidant La Ling, advise the Supervisory Board again.
In 2010 a rotation rotation Cruyff argued at his former club.
He wanted more former football players in the Organization and the influx of young players to the first team had to up. Almost five years later turn out not to those goals have been achieved. From the Youth Academy are certainly six former footballers disappeared, often because they couldn't find in the new policy. The percentage of own youth in the selection took off in 2014 to the level of 2010. Competitor Feyenoord scores this better. The average age of players in the selection took in 2014. AJAX comes with it on a shared fifth place with FC Utrecht.
Family of Cruyff sold in 2012 the plan for the Amsterdam Youth Academy to the owner of the Mexican club Chivas. That owner, Jorge Vergara, negotiated with the daughter of Cruyff. Then he flew to Amsterdam to sign the contract, he says. ' Cruyff promised the Youth Academy of Chivas to the best in the world. ' After nine months the agreement dissolved. Vergara is not to say how much he paid, but Cruyff in the Spanish annual accounts for 2012 by the company of Cruijff shoot the turnover that year up to 6.4 million euros, 5.2 million more than a year earlier.
Cruyff himself does not want to respond.
Tom Kreling, Huib Modderkolk/ volkskrant.