Top 10 Greatest Players Of All-Time: AFC Ajax

AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax are the most successful clubs in the Netherlands. The record Eredivisie and KNVB Cup winners are also one of the biggest and most successful clubs in the world due to the amount of success they accrued over glorious history. 

Since its inception back in 1900, the club has gone on to break numerous records both domestically and continentally. As a result, with such a rich and storied history, there have been many greats over the years who have donned the famous white and red jersey of Ajax Amsterdam. 

Thus, in this article, we have decided to come up with a list of the 10 best AFC Ajax players ever, and to do so, we’ve taken a very specific set of criteria into account, which are as follows:

• Impact
• Longevity
• Statistics
• Trophies

#10 Wim Suurbier

Considered one of the greatest right-backs of all time, Wim Suurbier was part of Ajax’s golden generation of the early 1970’s. He spent 13 seasons at the club, and played a key part in Ajax’s ‘total football’ team of the 70s which lifted the European Cup three times in a row between 1971 and 1973.

Known for his pace and stamina, Suurbier was a regular starter for an Ajax team that won seven league titles among other trophies in his 392 appearances before he went on to join Schalke in 1977.

#9 Johan Neeskens

Johan Neeskens is considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time. He was a crucial member of the Netherlands national team that finished as runners-up in the 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cups, and was the heartbeat of Ajax’s ‘Total Football’ era in the 1970s.

A box-to-box midfielder with incredible stamina, great mentality, and a knack for scoring goals, Neeskens excelled at regaining possession and setting off attacks for his teammates. The midfielder won three straight European Cups with Ajax in 1971, 1972 and 1973 along with two Eredivisie titles, two KNVB Cups, an Intercontinental Cup and two European Super Cups.

A year after Cruyff left for Barcelona, Neeskens followed in his footsteps to make the switch to Camp Nou. 

#8 Frank De Boer

Another product of the famous Ajax youth academy, Frank De Boer was a vital member of Ajax’s 1995 Champions League winning squad. The academy graduate would go on to make 328 appearances for the club between 1988 and 1999.

A versatile, intelligent, and elegant left-footed defender, with an ability to read the game and intercept loose balls, he was capable of playing both on the left and in the centre, and was even deployed as a sweeper. 

De Boer won five Eredivisie titles, two KNVB Cups, three Super Cups, one Super Cup, one Uefa Cup, one Champions League, and one Intercontinental Cup at Ajax. As a manager, he helped the club win four consecutive Eredivisie titles from 2010-11 to 2013-2014. 

#7 Ruud Krol

One of the most famous defenders, not only in Ajax, but also in Netherlands history, Ruud Krol was part of the famous team which won three back-to-back European Cups.

He made 339 appearances for Ajax between 1968 and 1980, captaining the club in his last seven years there after the departures of Johan Cruyff, Johan Neeskens and Piet Keizer.

Krol was so versatile that he could also slot in as a sweeper or a defensive midfielder and did so on multiple occasions for Ajax. Krol won six Eredivisie titles, four KNBV Cups, three European Cups, two UEFA Super Cup, and one Intercontinental Cup with Ajax. 

#6 Jari Litmanen

Jari Litmanen became the first Finnish player to ever play for Ajax and the first to ever win a Champions League when the club won the competition in 1995. 

A journeyman with affiliations with over a dozen clubs, Litmanen’s best days came during his time with Ajax. The attack-minded midfielder joined the club in 1992 and went on to make 159 appearances for the club, scoring 91 goals and winning 14 trophies in his seven-year stay in Amsterdam.

#5 Sjaak Swart

A true one-club man, Sjaak Swart played 596 matches for Ajax in his career, which is a club record. A prolific winger who dazzled opposition players with his pace, trickery and clinical finishing, he is third in the all-time goalscorers list with 228 goals, only behind Piet Van Reenen and Johan Cruyff. 

Nicknamed ‘Mr. Ajax’, he was a crucial part of the club’s European Cup victories in 1971, 1972, 1973. Apart from these three trophies, Swart won seven Eredivisie titles, five KNVB Cups, two European Super Cups, an Intertoto Cup and an Intercontinental Cup at Ajax.

#4 Marco Van Basten

Three-time Ballon d’Or winner Marco van Basten is one of the greatest strikers in history. He won three league titles and one European trophy with Ajax before moving on to AC Milan, where he won three Ballon d’Or awards and helped the club to win the European Cup twice.

The Ajax and Milan legend scored 219 goals in 281 games across all competitions at club level. Among those, 128 came at Ajax from just 133 appearances between 1981 and 1987. The Dutch maestro won three Eredivisie titles, three KNVB Cups and one European Cup Winners’ Cup with Ajax. 

After scoring 300 goals as a professional footballer, Van Basten sadly played the last game of his career at the age of 28 when he suffered an injury that forced him to retire from the game.

#3 Frank Rijkaard

Amsterdam-born Frank Rijkaard lived every local boy’s dream when he made his senior debut with Ajax in 1980. Rijkaard was a tough-tackling midfielder who provided the perfect balance to the team’s attacking flair.

He stayed there for seven years in his first stint, making 205 appearances and also scoring 47 goals. After stints at Sporting and AC Milan, he returned to Ajax in 1993 for two years, leading them to a famous Champions League win in the 1994-95 season.

Rijkaard won 12 trophies at Ajax including five Eredivisie titles and the 1994-95 UEFA Champions League title.

#2 Piet Keizer

Keizer was one of the stars of the Ajax team that dominated Dutch football in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was a left-winger with superb dribbling skills and an eye for goal. 

Keizer played a total of 490 official matches for Ajax, scoring 189 goals between 1961 and 1974 and won three consecutive European Cups (1971, 1972, 1973). Additionally, he won six Eredivisie titles, five KNVB Cups, two European Super Cups, one Intercontinental Cup and two Intertoto Cups.

In many people’s eyes, his talent was overshadowed by the genius of Johan Cruyff, however, there’s no doubt he is still considered one of the greatest Dutch players of all time.

#1 Johan Cruyff

Widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Johan Cruyff was the heartbeat of Ajax in the 1970s. He was the catalyst to Ajax winning three consecutive European Cups from 1971 to 1973 and also led the Netherlands to the World Cup final in 1974. 

A proponent of the football philosophy known as Total Football developed by Rinus Michels, Johan Cruyff was the team orchestrator, with his creative playmaking ability helping the team unlock opposition defences. 

The three-time Ballon d’Or winner left Ajax to move to Barcelona for a world record fee in 1973, with his nine years at Amsterdam yielding 18 trophies, including eight Eredivisie titles.