AZ Alkmaar pile on the misery for Ajax as new director Louis van Gaal watches his team fall into the relegation zone on their return to the Johan Cruyff Arena

• Ajax’s game vs Feyenoord was postponed as fans threw fireworks on the pitch 
• They finished the match behind closed doors but still lost De Klassieker 4-0
• The Dutch side are currently having their worst league start in club history 

Ajax returned to the Johan Cruyff Arena after the debacle against Feyenoord only to lose again, this time going down 2-1 to AZ Alkmaar. 

Vangelis Pavlidis and Dani de Wit both scored for Alkmaar, with Branco van de Boomen’s 73rd minute goal proving nothing more than a consolation. 

This leaves the Dutch giants hanging in the relegation zone, after collecting a mere five points in their six games. 

New director, and ex-Manchester United manager, Louis van Gaal was in attendance to watch a team that is spiralling out of control. 

Before kickoff the city of Amsterdam labelled the stadium a so-called security risk area, with Mayor Femke Halsema deciding to take this step on Saturday after consultation with the Public Prosecution Service and the police. 

Ajax lost again to AZ Alkmaar, putting them into the Eredivisie relegation zone this season

New director Louis van Gaal watched on as the club he formerly managed continues to spiral

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Police were reportedly on the lookout for fans carryig fireworks or weapons as unrest in the club supporters continues. 

It is a club in complete turmoil, with former sporting director Marc Overmars leaving in disgrace in 2022, and CEO Edwin van der Sar resigned a year later for separate reasons.

Last week, Ajax fired their director of football Sven Mislintat, who had only been appointed in May, in a bid to quell unrest in and around the club due to their disappointing results.

Now manager Maurice Steijn is also now very likely to lose his job according to multiple reports from the Netherlands, with the former Sparta Rotterdam head coach already unpopular before a ball the season started.

Ajax are currently going through their worst league start in history, surpassing the 1964/65 season and registering one win, two draws and three defeats so far. 

Speaking after the game Steijn said: ‘It’s very sad.

‘I didn’t see [any positives] today, you have to be that realistic. We started well and I saw freshness in the team, but there are things that are going very slowly.

‘I hope that the fans continue to have confidence in us as a whole. I completely understand the reactions.

‘We offer them very little, so they deserve a compliment. We absolutely must be able to do better. I am confident that we as a staff will succeed in turning this around. I see spirit, that gives me confidence. I will do everything I can 24/7 to take this club back to the top.’ 

Dutch outlets report that manager Maurice Steijn is edging ever closer to losing his job

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