The 2025/26 season has not been a great one for Dutch giants Ajax. A fifth-place finish in the Eredivisie means that the club from the country’s capital will have to take part in the play-offs for a place in the Europa Conference League next season.
Their play-off campaign has been complicated by the need to move their semi-final first leg against FC Groningen on 21st May to Volendam because of pop star Harry Styles’ residency at the Johan Cruyff Arena in late May and early June.
Another disappointing campaign
The fact that the play-off is being moved away from the Johan Cruyff Arena is just another complication to what has been an underwhelming campaign in Amsterdam for Ajax.
The team finished the regular Eredivisie campaign in fifth place, missing out on automatic qualification for any European competition. They finished the season 29 points adrift of eventual champions PSV Eindhoven. After finishing in second place last season, a fifth-place finish is highly underwhelming.
A relative lack of goals
One key factor in PSV’s title-winning campaign was their lethal attack, as the team from Eindhoven scored an impressive 101 goals in the Dutch top-flight. NEC Nijmegen scored 77 goals, while Ajax’s arch-rivals Feyenoord found the net 70 times during the regular league campaign.
Ajax’s goal tally of 62 was not great compared to their rivals in the league. Highly rated young Belgian attacking midfielder Mika Godts has been the standout for Ajax in terms of goals this season, scoring 17 and producing 12 assists.
However, the next-highest goalscorer was a veteran former Dutch international, Wout Weghorst, with just eight Eredivisie goals. Another veteran, midfielder Davy Klaassen, scored six, as did Israeli international Oscar Gloukh.
It was a similar story in front of goals last season, as now-departed midfielder Kenneth Taylor finished as the team’s top goalscorer with just 15 goals, with the likes of Weghorst and Klaassen also finishing amongst the top goalscorers.
The best Ajax teams of the past have always been built on a strong attacking style of football, with a decent defensive foundation.
Rescuing something from the season
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Whatever happens in the Europa Conference League play-offs, it is difficult to call this season a successful one for Ajax. Once again, their rivals PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord have enjoyed stronger campaigns.
Getting through to the Europa Conference League and securing some form of European football for next season will at least rescue something from what has been an underwhelming campaign, to put it kindly, but in truth, many fans of the Dutch giants will feel like it is too little too late, as they wait for the glory days to return to their once formidable club.