Ajax must continue the search for a new technical director as ex-Liverpool man Julian Ward seemed to be on his way to Amsterdam, but will not succeed Marc Overmars. The Englishman is no longer a candidate for the position.
Ward is not the new technical director of Ajax after all
Since the painful departure of Overmars at the beginning of February last year, Ajax has been looking for a successor. Go Ahead Eagles owner Alex Kroes, among others, was in the picture, but that transition also failed. Initially, Gerry Hamstra took over the duties, assisted by Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, until the summer. That period was extended, but the Amsterdammers continued to look for an external permanent solution.
Ajax hoped for a long time that it would first get a football affairs commissioner to succeed Danny Blind, who left in the summer of 2021, but did not succeed in that search, which the club hoped to get hold of in March with a new director football matters. Several conversations with Ward were held, but without result.
“A technical director is very important to us,” said general director Edwin van der Sar earlier this month. “We still intend to have that completed before the end of March. It’s not much different than scouting players and trainers,” Van der Sar explained about the search. “Who are available? What are the qualifications? What is his vision of youth? And what is his track record with purchases and sales? Age, experience, the playing style he adheres to; it all plays a role.”
In the meantime, Ajax would have already switched through, with the sights no longer on England, but on Germany. According to De Telegraaf, the German Sven Mislintat is in the picture. Mislintat was sporting director of VfB Stuttgart until a few months ago. And in the past was active as a scout for Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal.
African final tournament can really bother Eredivisie
Talking about Ajax, the football calendar of the Eredivisie and the schedule of the upcoming battle for the African Cup overlap exactly. On Thursday it was announced that the Africa Cup tournament will start on January 13, one day after the end of the winter break in the Netherlands.
The KNVB announced the matchday calendar for the 2023/24 season at the end of last year. It became clear that the season starts on August 11, 2023 and ends on June 2, 2024. Halfway through the season is the winter break, which starts immediately after the end of the second cup round (December 21) in the Netherlands and ends on Friday, January 12.
A day later, the battle for the Africa Cup will start. Because the tournament starts a day after the end of the winter break in the Netherlands, there is a good chance that Eredivisie clubs will have lost their strongholds for a long period of time. Last year, players such as Sébastien Haller, Mohammed Kudus (both Ajax at the time), Ibrahim Sangaré (PSV) and Souffian El Karouani (NEC) participated in the tournament on behalf of their country. The Africa Cup of Nations final will be played on February 11.
