FARIOLI RESIGNS AS COACH AFTER AJAX LOSES DUTCH SOCCER TITLE IN LATE-SEASON COLLAPSE

AMSTERDAM (AP) - Ajax coach Francesco Farioli resigned on Monday, following his team´s late-season collapse that saw bitter rival PSV Eindhoven crowned Dutch champion.

Ajax had seemed all but certain to win the league as it held a nine-point lead with five games remaining, but a dire run allowed PSV to make up the deficit in dramatic fashion and clinch a 26th Eredivisie title on Sunday.

"The management and I have the same goals for the future of Ajax, but we have different visions and timeframes about the way we should work and operate to achieve those goals," said Farioli, who was in tears after Sunday´s match.

"Given these differences in the principles and foundations of the project, I feel deep in my heart that this is the best moment to part ways."

Farioli became Ajax´s first Italian coach - and first non-Dutch one since 1998 - when he was appointed almost exactly a year ago.

The 36-year-old had a contract until the end of June 2027.

"I find this incredibly disappointing ... we achieved our goal: qualifying for next season´s Champions League," Ajax Technical Director Alex Kroes said. "Francesco also played a key role in enhancing the high-performance culture at Ajax, for which we are extremely grateful.

"This summer was already set to be a challenging transfer window, and it has now become even more so. It is up to us to ensure that a strong new coaching team is in place when pre-season preparations begin on 26 June."

- Associated Press 

PSV | HIGHLIGHTS | BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPIONS

 

PSV CROWNED EREDEVISIE CHAMPIONS FOR 26TH TIME AFTER HISTORIC AJAX COLLAPSE

PSV's 3-1 away win over Sparta Rotterdam was enough to clinch the title after rivals Ajax squandered a 9-point lead with a late-season collapse. After beating PSV 2-0 in Eindhoven at the end of March, Ajax won just three of their eight league games, beat FC Twente 3-1 on the final day of the season but wasted a lead in the 99th minute against FC Groningen in the second-to-last game of the season, thus wasting a golden opportunity to win a record-extending 37th league title.

Peter Bosz's side won their 13th league title this century, at least four more than any other Eredivisie team, as Ajax follow with nine.

Read all about PSV's title-clinching win over Sparta here

The road to their 26th league title was rocky as PSV won just one of their first seven league games at the start of 2025. However, a gritty 2-1 win over sc Heerenveen kickstarted an imperious run towards the finish line, as PSV won nine of their final 10 games of the Eredivisie season.

PSV stuffed the score sheets this season by scoring over 100 goals. Fifteen different players contributed with goals, an impressive eight of which scored eight or more goals: Luuk de Jong (13), Noa Lang (11), Ricardo Pepi (11), Malik Tillman (11), Guus Til (10), Ismael Saibari (10), Johan Bakayoko (9), and Ivan Perisic (9).

This year's title prolongation marks the fourth time PSV have done this since the turn of the century, winning two straight titles in 2000 and 2001, four titles between 2005 and 2008, and going back-to-back in 2015 and 2016.

Their 2016 victory shares striking similarities to this year's. Ajax dominated most of the second half of the season but threw away their lead in the final game after a 1-1 draw away at De Graafschap.

- Paul Winters

ARNE SLOT'S ACCOLADES

PERFORMANCE ON INTERNATIONAL LEVEL | LEAGUES WITH MOST TEANS IN PLAY-OFFS OR ROUND OF 16" | UEFA

 

AJAX IN TALKS TO SIGN HENDERSON - SOURCES

 

Ajaxb are in advanced talks to sign Jordan Henderson after the midfielder reached an agreement to leave Al Ettifaq, a source has told ESPN's James Olley.

The 33-year-old wants to leave Saudi Arabia after less than six months and has been in discussions to end his lucrative contract early.

The source confirmed Henderson has now agreed a termination but the exact terms are unclear. Henderson will take a huge pay cut from his Saudi salary -- thought to be at least £350,000-a-week ($443,000) -- should he join Ajax.

The Eredivisie club have secured an agreement in principle with Henderson and a medical is planned in Amsterdam later this week as final contract negotiations continue.

Sources in the Netherlands suggest Henderson could sign an 18-month contract with the option of a further year.

- ESPN

CHAOS AT AJAX: INSIDE THE GIANT'S FALL FROM GRACE

A run of five wins in seven league games have helped right things a little for Ajax, but the damage done over the past 18 months will take years to remedy. Peter Lous/Photo by BSR Agency/Getty Images

For Ajax supporters who'd witnessed 18 months of steady decline, this season's nadir didn't come when their Europa League group stage exit was confirmed. Nor was it when they were at the foot of the Eredivisie after a 5-2 loss to PSV Eindhoven.

It was Sunday, Sept. 24. Ajax were playing rivals and reigning champions Feyenoord at the Johan Cruyff Arena, the hosts looking to rediscover their form following two defeats and a pair of draws in the Eredivisie. By the 56th minute, the match had been abandoned after supporters threw flares and fireworks onto the field in protest. Ajax were down 3-0 and the unrest in the stands soon spread beyond the stadium, with fans rioting and parts of the stadium vandalised. Ajax manager Maurice Steijn had been on the job three months and called it a "jet black day."

As workers boarded up the smashed glass doors at the stadium, director of football Sven Mislintat was sacked by interim CEO Jan van Halst; Mislintat had been on the job 129 days and had spent €109m on 12 new players that summer.

"That match was the lowest point. We as club supporters are always behind the club, but when the bucket is full, the bucket is full," Fabian Nagtzaam, director-manager of the Ajax Supporters Association, told ESPN.

The match was completed behind closed doors three days later, with Feyenoord winning 4-0. A month later, Ajax were bottom of the Eredivisie for the first time in the club's history and their Europa League campaign was limping to a premature finish.

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