It’s been just five short years since Erik ten Hag’s swashbuckling Ajax swatted aside Real Madrid in their own Bernabeu backyard en-route to the Champions League semi-finals, but for fans of the Dutch side worldwide it seems like a lifetime ago.
Boasting a stellar cast of the likes of Frenkie de Jong, Hakim Ziyech, Dusan Tadic and Matthijs de Ligt, Ajax played some scintillating soccer throughout that European campaign, only to be downed by Lucas Moura’s last-gasp semi-final second-leg away goal that broke the hearts of those inside the Johan Cruijff ArenA and beyond.
Since then, Ajax has been on a downward spiral spanning the laughable to the lamentable which culminated in one of the worst seasons in the club’s storied history last campaign.
The Amsterdammers will take on Philippe Clement's Rangers side this afternoon in a pre-season friendly an hour's drive east of their home ground at the Sports Park Mulderssingel, just outside Zwolle.