Ajax has some of the best or at least community-immersed kit launches of any club in the world. A couple of years back they brought out the new kit by crashing a pick-up match in the park with a camera crew, then handing over the shirts to the players they'd just....treated kindly. Several years ago they did a shirt swap in downtown Amsterdam.
Viktor Fischer was wanted by all the big clubs in the world, and it turns out there's a damn good reason. At 18, he's already a fully established member of the Ajax and Danish national sides, with a fresh new contract as reward. He's good. He's very, very good.
But the degree of composure required for an 18 year old to pull off the casual chip shot he did this weekend against NEC is something truly special.
Christian Eriksen of Ajax-Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images
Every league in world football has historic rivalries that are the highlights of each season. Spain has El Clasico,with Catalonian giants FC Barcelona squaring off against their eternal rivals, Real Madrid. Italy has the Derby della Madonnina,when cross-town rivals Inter Milan and AC Milan battle at the clubs' shared stadium, the San Siro.
Siem De Jong's on the cusp of finally moving on from the Ajax nursery to a biggish European club (Sevilla feels good), but this won't endear him to any suitors. Thankfully it was only a friendly, so perhaps no one saw it. Or maybe clubs don't pay attention to one singular faux pas. (Yeah. That.)
Christian Eriksen of Ajax (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
Liverpool has made it clear that top class young talent is a major desire for them to sign in every transfer window. Last summer the links to Ajax and Danish international midfielder Christian Eriksen began and eventually faded.
Graziano Pellè: Ladykiller, Goal Assassin is a post from: Just Football
The men in Heerenveen cheered, the women wept. The cause of this was standing on the pitch, hands to his face. When Feyenoord come to town to face local pride SC Heerenveen, Graziano Pellè won't be on the pitch.
Oranje Wednesdays The Eredivisie Title Race Heats Up.... is a post from: Just Football
De Kuip, one of football's great cathedrals, has seen its fare share of dramas over the years. The events of a few weeks ago when PSV Eindhoven visited was another.
Dick Advocaat said of playing at the ground that it "turns you into a footballer.
The future of Holland? Van Gaal looks to Van Persie and the kids is a post from: Just Football
From the starting line-up of Holland's opening match of last year's European Championships versus Denmark, only one man started in the friendly versus Italy last Wednesday. Robin Van Persie.
Of course, it was a friendly, but it might be a sign of things to come.
Ajax turn to their Danish prodigies to make a difference is a post from: Just Football
When it comes to Danish talent, all eyes have been on Ajax playmaker Christian Eriksen the last few years. But in the season's second half ouverture against Feyenoord, Viktor Fischer popped up and stole the show.
The 10 Series 10 Exciting Young Players to watch in the Eredivisie in 2013 is a post from: Just Football
10 of the most exciting young football players to watch in the Eredivisie in 2013, rising stars breaking through in Holland. Part of The 10 Series brought to you by Just-Football.
Steve has work to do at Twente is a post from: Just Football
Following on from Joey Barton putting a new emphasis on the words of Englishmen abroad (and how those words are spoken), and looking only too happy to do so, the original man of accents himself is one unhappy fellow. Steve McClaren, whose claims to fame have differed over the years from world class coach to promising manager, awful national coach and now simply ‘Schteve', isn't enjoying himself in the Netherlands as he used to.
Good Player Guide #22 Dušan Tadic is a post from: Just Football
Dušan Tadic (FC Twente / Serbia)
After a few Europa League matches against opponents of a relative low stature, FC Twente's summer signing Dušan Tadic made his league debut for his new team against former club FC Groningen.
Oranje Wednesdays: The extraordinary swagger of Wilfried Bony is a post from: Just Football
'Phenomenal' was all a breathless Fred Rutten could say. A word so rarely uttered in the Eredivisie it took many by surprise. Phenomenal you say? In truth no other superlative could do justice to the display of incredible forward play he had the pleasure of witnessing from one of European footballs most in form strikers.
New Feyenoord Home Kit 2012-13 is a post from: Just Football
They have long played second fiddle on the pitch to arch rivals Ajax, however, times may be changing with both teams neck and neck on equal points in 5th and 6th in the Eredivisie table. One thing is for sure, in today's hard fought 2-2 draw in de Klassieker at De Kuyp, Rotterdam is thatnew Feyenoord kit for the 2012-13 season was a lot slicker than the new Ajax away kit.
Oranje Wednesdays: Ajax struggling ahead of de Klassieker against old enemy Feyenoord is a post from: Just Football
October 24th is just another normal day in Rotterdam, but for some locals a poignant anniversary, one that will not be celebrated. It was on this day two years ago Feyenoord suffered their heaviest league defeat, a 10-0 mauling at the hands of PSV, in Eindhoven.
New Ajax Away Kit 2012-13 is a post from: Just Football
The new Ajax away kit for the 2012-13 season could either be considered as bold and courageous or quite simply an eyesore. Ajax will play their away games this season in a combination of dark and light blue fused with a fluorescent lime green.
New Ajax Home Kit 2012-13 is a post from: Just Football
As part of Just Football's Oranje Wednesdays feature, going forward we will take a look at the fashion of Dutch teams on the same day. We are first going to look at the nation's most successful club, a club steeped in history and tradition, it is the one and only Ajaxand theirnew home kit for the 2012-13 season.
Oranje Wednesdays: Thriller in Arnhem, AZ lose their cool is a post from: Just Football
The inhabitants of Arnhem and Enschede have witnessed some memorable moments already this season. It was the same again in their recent eagerly anticipated home games separated by nineteen hours. On this occasion it wasn't a tale of two cities, but of two penalty areas; one incident leading to a missed opportunity, the other bedlam.
Oranje Wednesdays: Stanley Menzo The first 'modern keeper' is a post from: Just Football
Oranje Wednesdays is a new regular Dutch football feature on Just Football. Today we take a trip down memory lane to look at Stanley Menzo, the first modern keeper:
It was fitting that Athens was the backdrop of Ajax ending their fourteen year wait for European silverware – the Greek capital a stone's throw away from Salamis Island where their namesake ruled as King – when they won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1987.
Nijmegen Eendracht Combinatie (usually called NEC and sometimes NEC Nijmegen)is currently in seventh place in the Dutch Eredivisie table after fourteen matches played. While the club has never won...
Vitesse Arnhem (full name: Stichting Betaald Voetbal Vitesse) has emerged as one of the surprise packages for the 2012/13 Dutch Eredivisie season. Never league champions and last runners-up in...
Liverpool Manager Brendan Rogers (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers witnessed the first true match where his charges executed what he has been preaching since his arrival at Anfield when the Reds thrashed Wigan Athletic this week. There are still places for improvement in the squad and according to Rodgers' comments from Goal.
On November 4, former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin Van Der Sar will compete in his second New York City Marathon. He is running to raise awareness and funds for the...
Kevin Strootman of PSV (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
Manchester United has gotten the green light to being their true pursuit of PSV Eindhoven and Netherlands international forward, Kevin Strootman. The young Dutchman is believed to be a January transfer target for the English giants and could produce an interesting transfer saga if it all comes to pass.
Vitesse Arnhem's rise to the summit of the Dutch Eredivisie this season confirms their position as one of the most surprising and impressive outsiders throughout Europe's major domestic football leagues. While the majority of the major leagues across the continent have been already decided by mid-April, or are currently led comprehensively by an established football powerhouse, in Holland the story reads somewhat differently.
Utrecht's Mike van der Hoorn somehow managed to chip the ball into the side netting during a clearance. His reaction was fairly subdued, of course, because when you're 3-0 down, what does another matter? Mike also has a discussion with the referee. Presumably he was attempting to bribe him to have it attributed to someone else.
Jozy Altidore's torrid form figured to set some records, and on Sunday he made a new milestone all his own.
The U.S. Men's National Team striker scored his 24th goal of the 2012-2013 season in all competitions in AZ's 1-1 draw vs. Waalwijk. The goal helped Altidore break the record for goals in a season in all competitions by an American, a record he shared with Clint Dempsey, who set the mark last year.
This crazy red card incident happened in the Dutch Eredivisie tie between Ado Den Haag and Roda, where both Sanhaib Malki and Mike van Duinen went for a 50/50 challenge in which their laces got tangled and as Malki tried to release himself Van Duinen went down and the rest as they say his history.
If ever there was a goal which deserved a little man-love on the sidelines, this is it. Rajiv van La Parra oh-so-casually chips the keeper from outside the box, the ball seemingly suspended in time, in glorious fashion. One would think the only way this could be better is if it were in the dying moments of a final.
At first this looks like a lack of coordination gone viral, but as the ball is in the air, check out the asshole on the left who swipes at the ball, perhaps getting a nick but at the very least, distracting the fan whose red cheeks are now on the internet. This is funny. When you're five.
