Celtic vs Ajax: clash of the fallen giants

The two former European Cup winners meet in the Europa League on Thursday night, with a win essential to avoid being eliminated

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It had been, admitted Edwin van der Sar, a tough week. Over the weekend, Ajax’s marketing director sought solace from the trials of the day job by taking in a Simply Red concert and afterwards sharing a glass of red wine with his friend Mick Hucknall. Across the North Sea, Van der Sar’s counterparts in the Celtic hierarchy were reflecting on a similarly trying few days. For one of these two grand old clubs the week to come promises to be just as bad.

Celtic host Ajax at Parkhead in a Europa League tie that both must win if they are to avoid being knocked out of a second European competition before Christmas. Both failed to make the Champions League group stages and between them have been unable to muster a single Europea League win in their four Group A games.

On Wednesday, Celtic were coming to terms with the fact that their captain Scott Brown will be out for up to three months out with a knee injury.

Meanwhile, in Amsterdam Van der Sar is dealing with the fall-out of Wim Jonk’s departure as head of the club’s academy, which in turn prompted Johan Cruyff to quit as an adviser.


 Ajax players react after being dumped out of the Champions League at the qualifying phase earlier this season
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It is 48 years since Celtic won their sole European Cup, a dozen years since they last reached a European final. Ajax lifted the last of their four European Cups in 1995 and their last appearance in the final was a year later. Between them they have been reduced to savouring occasional one-offs. Each has beaten Barcelona in recent times, lonely victories that act as a reminder of what the huge crowds that still flock to watch them once expected.

“There is a lot of expectation because of the club’s history,” said Ronny Deila at last week’s occasionally fractious Celtic AGM,

The same could be said by his Ajax counter-part Frank de Boer, except as a born-and-bred Ajax man, there really is no need.

History hangs heavy in Glasgow and Amsterdam and there are similarities too in the way in which each club is trying to address their reduced standing. The onus more than ever is to grow their own. Both are financially stable and planning for the future with a prudency that would please Gordon Brown. It is a policy dictated by necessity.

“Celtic is unbelievably huge but the money here is not so huge,” Deila said soon after he arrived at the club. Celtic’s wage bill is the same as 2003, when they reached the Uefa Cup final, but their income is around £4m less. Ajax too have slithered down football’s financial pecking order. Not since 2007 have both featured in Forbes’ list of the world’s richest clubs. Much of it comes down to television rights; TV companies pay more to show two English Premier League games than they spend on an entire season of Scottish football. Ajax are similarly hampered by domestic limitations – Dutch league clubs share £6.7m of TV monies, which is only slightly more than is on offer in Scotland.

Last season Ajax’s average attendance was 49,403, Celtic’s 43,951. Celtic have some 40,000 season-ticket holders. “We are third in the UK for that behind Manchester United and Arsenal,” says chief executive Peter Lawwell.

Each has phenomenal support and it is not easy for fans to accept their current status. The way to change that, according to both clubs, is to look within. “My vision is to play the Celtic way from youth to first team with young Scottish players,” said Deila.

It is a vision shared by today’s opponents. “We want to have the best young team in Europe,” said Van der Sar last year. Ajax already have a youthful side, with eight of the team that beat Cambuur 5-1 on Saturday 23 and under.

But how good they are remains open to question.

“Ajax will continue on its chosen path,” said Dolf Collee, the club’s general manager, in confirming the departure of Jonk.

He had sat alongside Dennis Bergkamp, Marc Overmars, de Boer and Van der Sar as part of the club’s technical heart, charged with overseeing the vision installed following the Cruyff-led “Velvet Revolution” at the start of the decade.

In Glasgow everyone is staying put. On Saturday Celtic were booed off after drawing with Kilmarnock. If they do not win on today they are out of Europe. Ajax too are on the brink. Somebody is going to have another bad week.