Football Season Guide

Ajax came close to triumph but ultimately undid all the good work they'd done throughout the season by throwing away a nine-point lead in the last four matchdays (an unprecedented achievement in the Eredivisie), thus handing the title to PSV. A shocking blow that resulted in the dismissal of coach Francesco Farioli, who had taken over a team coming off the worst season in their history and, with an unspectacular but highly pragmatic style of play, had led them to the top of the table for a long time. Their run in the Europa League was decent: after finishing the group stage in 12th place, they were eliminated in the round of 16 by Eintracht Frankfurt. The new coach is the young Johnny Heitinga who is at his first experience with the first team as head coach. Heitinga certainly knows the environment very well, having played for Ajax and having coached youth teams for many years. Last season he was Liverpool's assistant manager. As for the transfer market, the most significant departure is that of Jordan Henderson, an important player who, however, has not made the necessary contribution, also due to numerous injuries. Furthermore, the loan of another experienced player, defender Daniele Rugani, who was especially useful in the second half of the season, was not renewed. The results in the pre-season friendlies were not bad at all (4 wins and a draw) until the heavy 3-0 defeat against Como, a team that finished 10th in Serie A last season.