Personal Introductions Thread

[Kowalczyk]

There's that homo-erotic connection again between Ajax players and its fans.

... says a guy who sings "hand in hand, comrades" with 40,000 fellow F-word supporters every two weeks.

K.

[Dave the mac]

Hi - let's see if I have any of this right. Somewhat of a unusual site (for me - I'm no techie) so I've no idea if this is a good place to start. I'll have a go however and see what happens. Keeping it short in case I've got it all wrong.

Well then, a little bit about me: Without a doubt, well now that I think about it I'm having doubts, I'm the biggest Ajax fan in my hometown of Seattle. We used to have a pretty good club here in the old NASL days...which may tell you how old I am. All of our good players were from oversea's and started to follow them in our offseason. Then the 1974 World Cup came round and got interested in the Dutch team. By the time the next WC came round in 78' I was hooked and knew most of the players and got to see the Final Live. Which was no small feat in those days!

Anyway, things snowballed and I got to see Ajax play in Vancouver, Canada on Sunday May 22nd 1984 at 7:30 PM. (I still have the ticket stub). I got to see a lot of Dutch players. Rudd Krol played for Vancouver for a year or two and of course got to see the great man Johan Cruyff play several times.

Well I could go on and on, it's actually a fascinating story, but am leaving shortly to go watch Netherlands vs Czech R. play at the only pub in town that shows such stuff.

I love Ajax - I've been to New York (New Jersey actually) to see Ajax - met Jimbo - and on the first Ajax USA trip to Amsterdam - then once again on my own, Meno was so kind to get me a ticket so I could stand in the F-Side with him and his mates! Thanks again for that. I hope to add some more posts soon.

[DanK]

Hi - let's see if I have any of this right. Somewhat of a unusual site (for me - I'm no techie) so I've no idea if this is a good place to start. I'll have a go however and see what happens. Keeping it short in case I've got it all wrong.

Well then, a little bit about me: Without a doubt, well now that I think about it I'm having doubts, I'm the biggest Ajax fan in my hometown of Seattle. We used to have a pretty good club here in the old NASL days...which may tell you how old I am. All of our good players were from oversea's and started to follow them in our offseason. Then the 1974 World Cup came round and got interested in the Dutch team. By the time the next WC came round in 78' I was hooked and knew most of the players and got to see the Final Live. Which was no small feat in those days!

Anyway, things snowballed and I got to see Ajax play in Vancouver, Canada on Sunday May 22nd 1984 at 7:30 PM. (I still have the ticket stub). I got to see a lot of Dutch players. Rudd Krol played for Vancouver for a year or two and of course got to see the great man Johan Cruyff play several times.

Well I could go on and on, it's actually a fascinating story, but am leaving shortly to go watch Netherlands vs Czech R. play at the only pub in town that shows such stuff.

I love Ajax - I've been to New York (New Jersey actually) to see Ajax - met Jimbo - and on the first Ajax USA trip to Amsterdam - then once again on my own, Meno was so kind to get me a ticket so I could stand in the F-Side with him and his mates! Thanks again for that. I hope to add some more posts soon.

Welcome to our Home Dave the Mac.

[afckeeper95]

hep, I was gonna post about Bogdon and suddenly realized that it would be sort of strange for a lenghty post without introductions. Sort of like when old people talk to themselves on the bus. It's just weird..

I've been checking in with Ajaxtalk regularly since we played Bundby last fall (yes, I know theyre spelled Brondby/Brøndby, but theyre heckling name in my neck of the woods is bundby 'cause bund means bottom as in rock bottom and by means city or village as in rock-bottom-suck-ass-ville) But that's beside the point as the colonel in Monty would say. Some of my friends are Bundby fans and therefore kept heckling me about facts and what the ajax fans thought of their chances. I remembered an Ajax USA forums years ago and proceeded to find Ajaxtalk in order to get some English-written opinions about the game. anyways, that was the story of me stumbling on to this forum, which I btw enjoy reading very much. oh yea - short bio: Graduate student from Denmark that has lived overseas of and on. I've been an Ajax fan since '91. I always played them in Sensible Soccer on the old Amiga system and fell in love with the history, the style of play and the UEFA championship in '92). Unfortunately, I've only seen them once when they played an exhibition game here in Denmark in connection with the Gronkjaer-trade. Seeing Litmanen short-pass around the penalty box and driving the local defenders crazy was a lifetime highlight. I think that's about it, I'm not a fan of any other soccer team anywhere, never have been, but I am also an avid Chicago Bears fan. Hence the pic.

[SE6Ajacied]

Welcome afckeeper95, Always good to have another country on board Ajax-wise, I don't think we had any Danes before. You've got me very confused though, what does "Tobiasen's Ajax memorabilia: The Bobby Haarms Award (x3)" mean????

[raymon]

I'm not sure, but Bobby Haarms was the one who trained the players who just returned to the training pitch after an injury.

Since dear Tobiassen was made of glass and always injured, he might have spent more time with Bobby than with his girlfriend :sad:

[Kowalczyk]

The Bobby Haarms Award is actually an existing award. At the end of the season Ajax always organize a big party for players, coaches and club people. During that party the trophy for Talent of the Year is presented and about ten years ago they also introduced the Bobby Haarms Award, as a sign of support to the player who struggled with injuries the most. The players vote for it.

This year we have two candidates, I guess (Maxwell and Mitea). And yeah, Ole Tobiasen won it a few times in a row...

K.

[bryan]

Oh yeah...

My name is Bryan, I'm from Cork and am 23, for the next couple of weeks at least. I first moved to Holland in 1986, but then left in 1989 before coming back again in 1995. It's complicated.

Anyway, when my family first came here in 1986, from Brussels (I told you it was complicated), we lived in Diemen, just by where the A10 motorway is. Of course, there was no A10 motorway then, so you could see De Meer stadium just close by. You always knew when ADO, Utrecht, PSV or Feyenoord were in town because the pavement was covered in excrement from the ME horses. I believe my first game was Ajax - Dundalk in 1987 (4-0), but I can't remember for sure if I was there or not. Otherwise, Ajax - De Graafschap (1-0) in 1995 at the Olympisch Stadion (due to frost at De Meer) when Marc Overmars fucked up his knee and Jari Litmanen scored the only goal in the 46th minute when I was in the pisser. There were a couple of seasons around the Morten Olsen era when I went to almost every home game, but I don't go so often anymore due to financial restraints and general laziness.

I'm currently studying for a Master's in climate change. Needless to say, we're all fucked.

[ZoefdeHaas]

I'm currently studying for a Master's in climate change. Needless to say, we're all fucked.

Aren't we already? *Looks at Eredivisie table* :yes:

[afckeeper95]

Welcome afckeeper95, Always good to have another country on board Ajax-wise, I don't think we had any Danes before. You've got me very confused though, what does "Tobiasen's Ajax memorabilia: The Bobby Haarms Award (x3)" mean????

As Kowalczyk has already explained the Bobby Haarms Award is kind of a "cheer up mate" award to the player who has struggled the most with injuries. I had great expectations for Ole when he first came to the club. If I remember right, he even scored in one of his first appearances. The general glassiness of his knees unfortunately meant that the B.A. award was his biggest achievement during his stay with Ajax. Speaking of, Tobiasen is rumored to be moving back to the Eresdivisie (or German 2nd div) after a some years in the Danish league. His game is NOT what it was used to be.

[Cedric]

Maybe it’s time for me to introduce myself too…

So, I’m Cedric, 20 and still student . I’m French and live in Normandie, between Rouen and Caen. I can’t say I’ve been an Ajax fan for a long time…
Indeed, for a long time, I was just an average French football fan, until the World Cup 98. Yes, our national team performed well, but I wasn’t interested in it that much. In fact, I was a lot more impressed by Oranje, especially when I watched Holland – Argentina. I can still remember the goals (Bergkamp !!! :inlove2 ), Ortega knocking van der Sar :redcard: , etc… Unfortunately, they then lost to Brazil, but I wanted to know more about this team and these players with strange names. It turned out that a lot of them were playing or played for Ajax, so I naturally focused my attention on Ajax.
The year after, in 1999, I had the luck to spent a week in Haarlem, I visited the ArenA, bought the Ajax scarf I still bring everywhere I go, and watched my first Ajax game on TV : Feyenoord – Ajax, Johan Cruijjf Schaal, 3-2. Since that, Ajax is definitively my club. And in 2000, I launched my website about Ajax. I think I discovered Ajax USA at that time and now, I’m here…

My vision of Ajax : I’m down to earth… I didn’t know the time where Ajax was great, so I assume it’s easier for me to not be complaining all the time that we are shit, that our board is crap, that Blind is blind… It doesn’t mean that I don’t care, but I can put that into perspective, so I don’t waste my time with that. I hope Ajax will be back on top soon though, but I’ve my doubt. Oh well, we are Ajax and nothing else matters ! :headbang: :cheer:

[DanK]

Oh well, we are Ajax and nothing else matters ! :headbang: :cheer:

Amen to that :xyxthumbs: (oh and of course my wife :D )

[Dubbel]

Born in 1968, I come from Amsterdam Oost originally and later from the Rivierenbuurt. In between I lived in The Hague, when a teenager. I am an Ajacied because the only alternative was Fc Amsterdam, a team that played for a handful of people in the Olympic Stadium.

One of my first football memories is of Johan Cruyff. It was at a family gathering and he had just signed a contract that would bind him for 7 more years to Ajax. Everybody was very happy. Cruyff left a few months later to Fc Barcelona.

Since then Ajax has been more or less a constant dissapointment to me. Most generations lost their best players before they could win big prizes with us. For instance, during my high school days they never made it to a European quarter final.

The only true exceptions from dissapointment were the seasons 94-95 and 95-96. Good seasons were also around 1980 and 1987. The fact that most other clubs in the world suck even worse has soothed most of the pain during the other years. Don't get me wrong, I am proud of Ajax and what it stands for. The only two clubs that I may be willing to consider better then us are Madrid and Juve.

To me, the good things about Ajax are the outfit, the type of players, watching young players mature to big stars, fun in the stands and beating Feijenoord. I like to visit away matches much more then home games because it gives me more of a sense of involvement. Imo the move to the Arena was good financially and it's a beautiful stadium but the football experience was better in the old stadium.

Many of the things I initially loved about Ajax seem to have have evaporated over the years. It somehow doesn't seem to matter much though. And even now that I live many miles away from Amsterdam my love for the club is as strong as ever.

[Julius]

i have already made a kind of introducion in another topic and i thank Asg(smth strange-follows) for showing me this topic in order to make a proper one.

Until 21 July i will be 23 years old . I currently study in Greece (Civil Engineering). As i've already told u, i was born in Albania and my first Total-futboll Holland memories are back in 1990 italian WC. From there and after i have been supporting them with all my heart no matter the results. A few years after that, Ajax concuisted my heart in the same way. I like very much the policy of this club it seems like it's always strugling to be on the top. Very significant with it's name just like the greek hero Ajax was in the past. We have the most talented academy in the whole World with 18 years old players that was the fear of whole Europe . I'm talking about the 94-95 Ch.L. I have read all the posts and i have been "spying" u guys until i decided to be registered in your nice forum.
If is anything u would like to know about me i will be pleased to answer u. :)

p.s sorry if my english is not good enough :D

[SE6Ajacied]

p.s sorry if my english are not good enough :D

Welcome Julius, your English is fine mate, a lot better than my Greek or Albanian which is the only score that I look at :xyxthumbs:

[Venezuelan Ajacied]

i have already made a kind of introducion in another topic and i thank Asg(smth strange-follows) for showing me this topic in order to make a proper one.

Until 21 July i will be 23 years old . I currently sudy in Greece (Civil Engineering). As i've already told u, i was born in Albania and my first Total-futboll Holland memories are back in 1990 italian WC. From there and after i have been supporting them with all my heart no matter the results. A few years after that, Ajax concuisted my heart in the same way. I like very much the policy of this club it seems like it's always strugling to be on the top. Very significant with it's name just like the greek hero Ajax was in the past. We have the most talented academy in the whole World with 18 years old players that was the fear of whole Europe . I'm talking about the 94-95 Ch.L. I have read all the posts and i have been "spying" u guys until i decided to be registered in your nice forum.
If is anything u would like to know about me i will be pleased to answer u. :)

p.s sorry if my english are not good enough :D

Welcome mate, hope you feel at home ;)

[Blind3]

Here goes nothing. I do mean nothing. Blind3 is in reality Benjamin Quintus Bell. Ben for short.

I was a child goalkeeping tragedy. A willingness to dive at the feet of opponents coupled with hands soft as concrete blocks didn't make for an illustrious footballing career. While living out my tragedy of errors at a sports camp, my parents knew how to get rid of me in the summer, I witnessed the 1974 WC halve-finals and the final on closed-circuit television.It was the first date in a relationship of more than 30 years.

Hearing announcers talk about the Ajax connection(Cruijff,Neeskens,Haan,Keizer,Krol, Rep,etc.) which were so much a part of a team which was poetry in motion made me curious.It set me to looking for any source of Ajax info, pre- THE NET, I could find. Thank heavens for British football magazines. I think they were the only souvenirs I bought on yearly family holidays to Bermuda and a school trip to Italy and England between 1974 and 1979.

So started a love affair with Ajax . Buy the ticket, take the ride. High highs and occasional moments of agony. And you know what,I wouldn't change anything.Well, except Mike "Fuckin" Obiku's goal in the 94-95 Dutch Cup 1/8 Finals :pukey: which was the only loss in ,I believe, 47 games that year.

First ESPN, then the net, and now a decent wage which supports pilgrimages to Amsterdam to see Ajax and renew friendships and acquaintances.It doesn't get any better than that. I'm addicted. Happily so.

[aveslacker]

Kalos Orizate Julius. Do you study at the Polytexneio?

[ajaxperu]

My name is Juan Aurelio, I'm 20 years old and I live in Lima, Perú. I lived many years in the Dominican Republic when I was a little kid and over there all I saw was baseball but when I came back to my country I started watching an unusual sport for me at the time...football. I soon became interested and I started to see games from a team with a red and white uniform and a ABN AMRO sign that had a name that instantly called my attention, AJAX. Then I moved to Morocco and I thought I was never going to see Ajax again. When my stuff got there the first thing I did was plug in my TV and it never worked, so I convinced my parents to travel to Spain to buy a new TV so I could see football again. I came back, pluged my TV and I started seeing Ajax games again! And what a fantastic season it was, the 94-95 one. I remember I cried tears of joy when Ajax won the Champions League and my parents never understood why I liked this team so much. And the year after I felt the worse feeling in my life when we lost against Juventus. I came back to my country and my father, my grandfather and many people in my family died but watching Ajax gave me hope, happiness and it made me feel alive in really hard times. Ajax is a special team for many reasons, we have attractive offensive football, a great history and some of the world's best players ever but there's something else we just can't explain in words. My friends here think I'm crazy because I follow Ajax so much and they tell me that Ajax will never be as good as it was. Well crazy people see things other's can't and I see a team that continuosly gives wonderful players, a team that has never lost its identity and a team that will come back to the first places in Europe.

I hope one day I can visit the Arena and see Ajax play. But if that day never comes I'll always be here supporting Ajax in good times and in bad times :xyxthumbs:

[Julius]

Kalos Orizate Julius. Do you study at the Polytexneio?

lol Kalos sas vrika :). kolopolitexneio may i say. They r having apergies all the time and i missed my exam seson. Glad to know that someone speaks greek in here. I live in Xanthi currently studing at DUTH university. U?

[aveslacker]

Kalos Orizate Julius. Do you study at the Polytexneio?

lol Kalos sas vrika :). kolopolitexneio may i say. They r having apergies all the time and i missed my exam seson. Glad to know that someone speaks greek in here. I live in Xanthi currently studing at DUTH university. U?

I used to live in Athens. I really enjoyed it. Unfortunately I don't live there anymore. I never made it to Xanthi. Is it nice? Do you ever go to Skoda Xanthi matches?

[Julius]

Kalos Orizate Julius. Do you study at the Polytexneio?

lol Kalos sas vrika :). kolopolitexneio may i say. They r having apergies all the time and i missed my exam seson. Glad to know that someone speaks greek in here. I live in Xanthi currently studing at DUTH university. U?

I used to live in Athens. I really enjoyed it. Unfortunately I don't live there anymore. I never made it to Xanthi. Is it nice? Do you ever go to Skoda Xanthi matches?

well its a small town Xanthi u know, im happy here although. Sometimes i go to see their matches. Skoda is like Ajax, they have the most famous youth academy in Greece. This year they finished fourth.Maybe some Ajax scouts can come over here :D i would suggest their right full back. Fast, young and very good at set pieces.

[Kowalczyk]

Re-posting...

Just thought I would introduce myself.

My name's Mark, 21 from Coventry, UK. I have a season ticket in the Holte End at Villa Park, but I also follow Glasgow Rangers and Ajax. Rangers because I have family in Scotland who support them, so I go there about 3 or 4 times a season. And Ajax, I've always liked them ever since I was a little kid. Remembering some of the great players over the years, and it was the first non-british kit I ever had. But I have really started to watch them regularly since they played at Villa Park in this years UEFA Cup.
The fans were great, and on the night Ajax played some decent football.
Through a friend, I went to my 4th game at the ArenA on Sunday against AZ, taking up a place in VAK424. That place is crazy but I love it! Im hoping to now make a few trips each season.

Who on here is from the UK?

All the best.

To which SPL replied...

welcome I am steve and I live in Worthing in Sussex. Pleased to see another english person on this site . Feel free to make your comments etc. At least you support an english team that actually has englishmen in the team.

Welcome to Ajax Talk, Mr. Holte!

K.

[Ajax Rules]

Well, alright then...

My real name is Menno Pot, I am 30 years old, I live in Amsterdam and work as a music journalist and writer.

My family (my dad, especially) was not about sports at all, but more about sixties music, Amnesty International, Greenpeace and left wing politics. We never watched football when I was young. I got into football thanks to Martin, my cousin, who always watched football. I was a few years younger, thought it was cool and watched it with him.

Strange thing is: he was a PSV supporter, so for some reason I 'copied' the habit of watching football from him, but I picked my own club when I was six or seven years old. I remember adoring the jersey and, most importantly, players of PSV and Feyenoord all had moustaches and weird hair. They seemed old. Like uncles. The Ajax players were younger and cooler in my experience (Johnny van 't Schip was one of my first 'heroes'). They were like older brothers, boys next door. There was something irresistible about them that I instantly felt.

My first game in De Meer was a game against Go Ahead Eagles in early 1984 (3-1). I went to a few games a year at first (mostly with my uncle; never with my dad). By the time I was fifteen I spent my money on two things: records and tickets for Ajax games. In the 1991-1992 season I went on my first 'European' trips: two 'home' games in Düsseldorf (Ajax played there as a punishment for the 'bar incident' of 1989) and the away game at AA Ghent (0-0). I also saw all of the UEFA Cup home games that season.

The season thereafter (1992-1993) I received my 'Public Transit Year Subscription', which was free for students at the time. It made it a lot cheaper for me to go and see Ajax and I bought my first season ticket. Also, I went to almost every away game that season (which was easier at the time than it is now: hardly any combis).

I went to almost every domestic Ajax game (home and away) from 1992 to 1997. From 1997 to 1999 I saw the home fixtures only, because I was in the last years of my study and could hardly pay my rent, let alone tickets to Ajax away games... I started doing away games again in 1999-2000 and hardly missed one since. Since 2000 the number of European trips is on the increase also: I think I've seen 60% of all European Ajax away games since 2000 (including five Champions League away games in 2002-2003).

Ajax is not the most important thing in my life: my girlfriend's far more important and so are my close friends and family. As a general thing 'work' is also more important to me than Ajax (in a general sense, like having a job, and making sure it's something that I love). However, one specific job as such is definitely not more important to me than Ajax. I was fired twice so far because I went on a European Ajax trip and took a few days off without my boss' permission (I asked for it, he turned the request down; I went anyway). If Ajax play a European final or something and I know that I will be fired if I go to the game, I wouldn't need a split second to make up my mind: Ajax. Fuck that job. I'll find something else to do. I work for myself anyway; absolutely never for a boss or a company.

I always say that Ajax is the most important detail in my life. Along with music. If I couldn't listen to music anymore and couldn't go to gigs or Ajax games, I would want to die - and I'm afraid I seriously mean that.

K.

You would want to die without Ajax and music, but your girlfriend is much more important to you???

[Kowalczyk]

That's more than four years old - and it feels like it's twenty years old.

Things have changed. I have changed. Ajax has changed (and has become uch less important to me, for that matter).

Anyway - fuck it.

K.