Ajax crisis as directors quit over conflict with Cruyff
Source: Agencies |
April 1, 2011, Friday
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AJAX'S board of directors tendered its resignation amid a bitter disagreement with club icon Johan Cruyff about how to return the former European champion to its glory days.
Club chairman Uri Coronel said he and the two other directors of the club will remain in place until replacements can be found, adding on Wednesday that "Cruyff is more important than us."
Ajax is currently in third place in the Dutch league, which it has not won since 2004. It had asked Cruyff, who helped turn the club into a European powerhouse in the 1970s, to form an advisory panel to improve its performance.
But the club's chief executive Rik van den Boog refused to carry out all of Cruyff's recommendations, which reportedly included firing some longtime employees.
Coronel said he backed Van den Boog, and hoped his own resignation would help break the impasse.
"This process, especially the continuing unrest around the club, is extraordinarily damaging for Ajax," he said at a news conference.
The standoff could lead to an extraordinary general meeting of club members at which Cruyff's influence and recommendations would either be decisively endorsed or rejected in the election of a new board.
Arriving at the club on Wednesday night, Cruyff said he was surprised by the board's decision, but did not know whether it would help him push through his reforms.
"What's an advantage, what's a disadvantage?" he said.
Among his recent ideas to strengthen Ajax, Cruyff proposed bringing together former players Dennis Bergkamp and Wim Jonk as technical advisers to coach Frank de Boer. That would mean replacing De Boer's current assistant, Danny Blind - another former Ajax star.
Coronel said the board insisted it has the last word on hiring and firing staff, leading to the standoff with Cruyff.
Club chairman Uri Coronel said he and the two other directors of the club will remain in place until replacements can be found, adding on Wednesday that "Cruyff is more important than us."
Ajax is currently in third place in the Dutch league, which it has not won since 2004. It had asked Cruyff, who helped turn the club into a European powerhouse in the 1970s, to form an advisory panel to improve its performance.
But the club's chief executive Rik van den Boog refused to carry out all of Cruyff's recommendations, which reportedly included firing some longtime employees.
Coronel said he backed Van den Boog, and hoped his own resignation would help break the impasse.
"This process, especially the continuing unrest around the club, is extraordinarily damaging for Ajax," he said at a news conference.
The standoff could lead to an extraordinary general meeting of club members at which Cruyff's influence and recommendations would either be decisively endorsed or rejected in the election of a new board.
Arriving at the club on Wednesday night, Cruyff said he was surprised by the board's decision, but did not know whether it would help him push through his reforms.
"What's an advantage, what's a disadvantage?" he said.
Among his recent ideas to strengthen Ajax, Cruyff proposed bringing together former players Dennis Bergkamp and Wim Jonk as technical advisers to coach Frank de Boer. That would mean replacing De Boer's current assistant, Danny Blind - another former Ajax star.
Coronel said the board insisted it has the last word on hiring and firing staff, leading to the standoff with Cruyff.
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