Ajax closed out 2022 on Saturday 12 November in Emmen. On the artificial turf of the local FC, the last game of this calendar year ended 3-3. It was the Amsterdam teams 43rd match in all competitions. The first game also took place outside Amsterdam, namely in Utrecht.
We go back to Sunday, 16 January 2022. In a currently empty Galgenwaard, Ajax resumes the league on a visit to FC Utrecht. Thanks to two goals from the returning Brian Brobbey and Antony's opening goal, the Ajax players won 0-3. Four days later, Ajax recorded the biggest win of 2022. In the third round of the KNVB Cup, Excelsior Maassluis were beaten 9-0.
27 wins
With 30 games in the Eredivisie, eight in the UEFA Champions League, four in the cup tournament and one for the Johan Cruijff Schaal, Ajax's total number of matches comes to 43. Of those, 27 were won, 10 lost and six ended in a draw. Ajax recorded 22 wins in the Eredivisie, three in the cup tournament and two in the Champions League. The biggest defeat was against Napoli (1-6).
In those 43 games, the Amsterdam team found the net 119 times. These were distributed as follows:
Brian Brobbey crowned himself top scorer of the year 2022. The Ajax player scored 15 goals, staying ahead of fellow striker Sébastien Haller. Until his departure to Borussia Dortmund, the French-Ivorian striker scored 12.
Super strikers
When it comes to home and away goals, both goal scorers also rank high. Of all the games at the Johan Cruijff ArenA, Haller scored 10, followed by Steven Bergwijn with eight and three players with seven: Dusan Tadic, Davy Klaassen and Mohammed Kudus. Outside the ArenA, it was Brobbey who scored the most often: 11 times. Steven Berghuis (seven) and Tadic and Klaassen (four) complete the top three.
The most frequent combination in 2022 was a goal by Brobbey after an assist from Tadic: seven times. Despite Tadic not receiving a single assist from Brobbey the other way round, 'together' they scored the most goals last year.
Another striker from Ajax's squad needed the fewest minutes for a goal. Lorenzo Lucca averaged 42 minutes, he scored two. Like the Italian, Mohamed Daramy also scored twice, averaging 44 minutes. Brobbey, who also boasts a great average needed an average of 97 minutes for his 15 goals. Finally, 18 goals were scored by substitutes, 12 of them in the Eredivisie. This puts Ajax, along with PSV, in first place.
Strong in closing stages
When zooming in on Ajax's favourite part of the match last year, most of the goals fell in the last quarter of an hour.
Forty players wore the shirt for Ajax first team in 2022. Tadic was present on the pitch for the most minutes, at 3595. Jurriën Timber (3407 minutes) and Daley Blind (3216) follow the Ajax captain. Berghuis played the most matches. The attacking midfielder was active in all of Ajax's 2022 games (43 of them). The top five also includes Klaassen (42 games), Tadic (41 games), Timber & Blind (40 games) and Edson Álvarez (39 games).
Fifteen different nationalities were brought onto the pitch over an entire year. In the Eredivisie, that tally stands at 14 for Ajax, putting the Amsterdam team in joint fifth place.
Looking at the difference between Erik ten Hag and Alfred Schreuder, we see that Ten Hag used 30 different players. In contrast, Schreuder called on 24 different players. Fourteen Ajax players saw action under both coaches last year.
Ajax almost every day
Ajax fans could enjoy the Amsterdam team at least once on almost every day of the week this year. Only on Mondays no game was completed. The Ajax players played, in all competitions, most often on Sunday (16 times) and Saturday (13 times). The highest points average per game is on Thursday and Friday. All matches (three) on those days were won.
January and August were the strongest in terms of points average. In those months, Ajax won all their matches. After that, March and April are, on average, the best Ajax months of 2022.
One prize was won this year. On Wednesday 11 May, Ajax crowned themselves national champions, capturing the 36th title in club history. At the Johan Cruijff ArenA, SC Heerenveen were beaten 5-0.
