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Van der Sar: Ajax will never be able to compete with the top clubs in Europe again
The former Netherlands international thinks that the Amsterdam giants will be hard pressed to challenge the top teams on the continent ever again
Feb 13, 2012 10:08:00 AM
By Stefan Coerts
PROSHOTS
Former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar believes that Ajax will never return to the top of Europe and added that Champions League success is very unlikely for the Amsterdam outfit.
Van der Sar, who wore the Ajax jersey from 1990 until 1999, is of the opinion that the gap with the big teams in Europe has become too big to close in the past few years.
"To be honest, I do not think that Ajax will ever be able to compete with the top clubs in Europe again, regardless of how much I wish that wasn't the case," Van der Sar was quoted as saying by Voetbal International.
"It is more realistic to aim to replicate the performance of the squad from 1992 than that of the 1995 team. Ajax won the Uefa cup in '92 because we were quite fortunate with the draw.
"Ajax might be able to record an incidental success in the Champions League, but I can't see them return to the top permanently."
Ajax last won a major European trophy in 1995 when it beat AC Milan 1-0 in the final of the Champions League.
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Van der Sar, who wore the Ajax jersey from 1990 until 1999, is of the opinion that the gap with the big teams in Europe has become too big to close in the past few years.
"To be honest, I do not think that Ajax will ever be able to compete with the top clubs in Europe again, regardless of how much I wish that wasn't the case," Van der Sar was quoted as saying by Voetbal International.
"It is more realistic to aim to replicate the performance of the squad from 1992 than that of the 1995 team. Ajax won the Uefa cup in '92 because we were quite fortunate with the draw.
"Ajax might be able to record an incidental success in the Champions League, but I can't see them return to the top permanently."
Ajax last won a major European trophy in 1995 when it beat AC Milan 1-0 in the final of the Champions League.
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