AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Ajax Amsterdam made a dazzling run to the Champions League semi- finals last season, knocking out Juventus and Real Madrid along the way, but that did not earn them any extra credits for this year’s competition.
Three months after Tottenham’s dramatic 96th-minute goal crushed the Dutch side's hopes of a first Champions League final in 23 years, Ajax find themselves one goal away from exiting Europe's elite competition before it has properly started.
"We are very ambitious and have to get back into the Champions League," Ajax coach Erik ten Hag said on Tuesday. With half of the 32 Champions League spots reserved for Spanish, English, Italian and German sides, it has become increasingly difficult for clubs from leagues like the Dutch to make their mark in Europe.
The four-times European champions did manage to hold on to the bulk of their players, using an estimated 157 million euros in transfer proceeds to hike up the wages of Dusan Tadic, Hakim Ziyech, Nicolas Tagliafico and goalkeeper Andre Onana and keep them aboard.
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