John Heitinga left Liverpool earlier this year in May to pursue a fresh challenge as the head coach of Ajax Amsterdam.
Image Credits: Imago Images
John Heitinga departed Liverpool in the summer with considerable fanfare, trading his role as Arne Slot’s trusted lieutenant at Anfield for the glittering opportunity to manage Ajax—the club where he spent 18 years as a player and accumulated 218 appearances.
The move promised a homecoming of sorts, a chance for the 41-year-old former Netherlands international to restore the Johan Cruyff Arena to its former European prominence.
Instead, Heitinga’s tenure has deteriorated into something far closer to a cautionary tale.
Just months into his two-year contract at the Amsterdam giants, the former Liverpool assistant finds himself engulfed in crisis on multiple fronts, with mounting pressure from supporters and an increasingly uncertain future at the Dutch powerhouse.
Heitinga’s side suffered a humbling 3-0 hammering at home to Turkish side Galatasaray in the Champions League this week.
The Dutch side are now bottom of the UEFA Champions League standings, with four losses out of four.
In the Eredivisie, the situation is not better for the ex-Liverpool coach.
Currently languishing in fourth position, Ajax finds itself eight points adrift of both PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord at the summit, an alarming gap that suggests the title race is already slipping beyond their reach.
And it seems the supporters have had enough.
The AFCA Supporters Club has called unequivocally for Heitinga’s removal from the dugout, with an excerpt from their statement reading:
“The AFCA Supportersclub has a lot of respect for Johnny Heitinga as a player. This will always be the case, he remains a child of the club. But now we judge him as the coach of Ajax 1.”
“After 11 league games with 13 loss points and 8 points behind the number 1, the sad display in the Champions League and a way of football that constantly brings tears to your eyes, we can only come to one conclusion; Johnny is not the right coach for this Ajax 1.”
“It’s time for a new coach with experience!”
“We call on Alex Kroes and the other technical policymakers to come up with a solution and take action immediately. This is no longer tenable. The sporting decline must now really be stopped.”
It remains to be seen if the Ajax board take action, and would be even more interesting to see if Heitinga would consider a return to Anfield if he does get sacked.
The former Everton player was appreciated by both the players and Arne Slot when he departed, with Slot in particular very vocal in hoping Heitinga stayed last summer.
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