Emotional new beginning in Amsterdam: Jordi Cruyff takes responsibility and wants to lead his father’s club out of the crisis.
Jordi Cruyff begins his task at Dutch top club Ajax Amsterdam with special feelings. “It goes without saying how much this means to me and my family,” said the 51-year-old, son of club legend Johan Cruyff. He hopes, emphasizes the new Technical Director of the record champion, that he can make his father “proud.”
Jordi Cruyff starts on February 1st, with a contract until June 2028. He will especially need to find a new coach for the team after John Heitinga was dismissed in November. Ajax is 18 points behind league leaders PSV Eindhoven. Johan Cruyff, who passed away in 2016, had led Ajax to three consecutive European Cup victories in the early 1970s.
“In the stadium named after my father”
“He is with me every step of the way. I think he would be proud and happy,” said Jordi Cruyff. He wants to lead Ajax back to success, “in the stadium named after my father, and at the club that has been important to me since childhood.”
Jordi Cruyff played in the youth system at Ajax before moving to Barcelona with his parents. As a player, Cruyff Jr. was under contract with FC Barcelona and Manchester United. Most recently, he worked as an advisor to the Indonesian Football Association. He had previously also worked for FC Barcelona; as a coach, he was active in Ecuador, at Maccabi Tel Aviv, and with two Chinese clubs.