UEFA EURO 2020TM:
Amsterdam – where it’s all about Ajax
Football was revolutionised in Amsterdam. Johan Cruyff and Rinus Michels invented "voetbal totaal" – a tactic that still shapes the sport today.
Football was revolutionised in Amsterdam. Johan Cruyff and Rinus Michels invented "voetbal totaal" – a tactic that still shapes the sport today.
This is our local Arden
Divided jersey art that polarises fans
Football jerseys, divided and as a work of art – Amsterdammer Floor Wesseling came up with this unique idea during the 2004 European Championships in Portugal. So what is it that makes football so passionate and exciting in the first place? That’s right, it’s the rivalry between two teams. In this vein, Wesseling sewed his first test jersey together; one half the Netherlands and the other half Germany. His project "Blood in Blood out" was born.
Wesseling received a great deal of criticism for precisely these rival shirts. He sees things differently, "Your biggest rival is also part of your own identity. As a club you simply need that rival."
Through the years the project grew ever bigger and more complex. Wesseling sewed together ever more jerseys into works of art. And the football scene took notice. Football stars then started approaching Floor to ask whether he could create a special jersey for them.
Round of 16
June 26
Wales – Denmark
Denmark and Wales visit Amsterdam. The Round of 16 was on. And for the Danes it was a very special match, as it was the first UEFA EURO 2020TM match that they had to play abroad. Arden knew that too, of course. That's why he searched for Danish fans in his hometown in order to find out in person, what the fans think about Amsterdam and what the match against Wales means to them. Thanks to the 4-0 win by "Danish Dynamite" the Danish visitors will certainly keep good memories of Amsterdam.
Matchday 3
June 21
North Macedonia – Netherlands
Johan Cruyff. The name alone gets football fans excited all over the world. And Amsterdam was his city, he was born here. Arden takes us to the origins of Cruyff, showing us the house little Johan used to live in as a kid. Afterwars he visited the Johan Cruijff Arena to see a 3-0 win of his Dutch team against North Macedonia.
Matchday 2
June 17
Netherlands - Austria
Today, Arden was on a very special mission. He showed us the so-called fan connecters, which are supposed to connect all football souls in Amsterdam. Great idea! We are curious to see where Arden will take us next.
Matchday 1
June 13
Netherlands – Ukraine
A day, all in orange.
Arden takes us through the orange streets of Amsterdam on his first matchday and gives us a real glimpse into the sheer passion that the Dutch have for football and their national team. It’s barely possible to imagine more fervent support.
Amsterdam and the UEFA EURO 2020TM
The Johan Cruyff Arena, named after football idol Johan Cruyff, is the cathedral of Dutch football, with the national team playing almost every international match there. The stadium will also host all three of the Oranje's group games at UEFA EURO 2020TM, which was postponed to this summer, as well as a round of 16 match. According to current plans, roughly 25 percent of the stadium's capacity, i.e. 12,000 fans, are expected to attend the European championship live.
Amsterdam and football
Ajax, Ajax, Ajax. In Amsterdam, everything revolves around the biggest club in the Netherlands. While in other European cities several clubs fight for the favour of fans, the Dutch capital only has eyes for the “Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax”. Red and white are the only game in town and adorn every corner.
The team had only won the title twice before a certain Johan Cruyff made his debut in November 1964. Together with coach Rinus Michels, the midfield genius turned Ajax into world-beaters. Their first joint title followed in 1966. Cruyff and Michels launched a tactical revolution with their ‘voetbal totaal’: aggressive pressing, constant position changes – all novelties in the game. The attractive offensive football of the 4-3-3 system still characterises Dutch football today. It’s a philosophy, and one that also defines the ethos of youth training at the Ajax Academy: Better to lose 3-4 attractively than to park the bus and win 1-0.
The Ajax of the 1970s became the team that set the tone: In 1971, 1972 and 1973, the Amsterdammers won the European Champion Clubs’ Cup, the precursor to today’s Champions League. In 1995, Ajax achieved the feat again when the team of Patrick Kluivert, Edgar Davids and Clarence Seedorf defeated AC Milan in the final.
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The city’s greatest football moment
The Dutch were at the height of their powers in 1974, but Germany were too strong for Cruyff and co in the World Cup final in Munich. It was not until 14 years later that the Oranje won their first, and to this day only, major title. The Netherlands became European champions by beating the then Soviet Union 2-0, including a goal of the century from Marco van Basten.
But the greatest football moment for the city of Amsterdam was the day after the final, 26 June 1988. The team of van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard and Ronald Koeman brought the European Championship trophy to the people not on a bus but – as Amsterdam would have it – on a boat on the city’s grachten (canals). Tens of thousands flooded the streets of the capital, with farcical scenes taking place at times: People jumped into the water out of sheer joy, and several boats broke down from excessive partying. All of Amsterdam was on its feet to pay homage to its European Championship heroes.
