It was busy in Gorinchem last week, very busy, in fact. That's because Frenkie de Jong opened his own Johan Cruyff Court there, after being named Talent of the Year in 2019 as an Ajax player. "It's a special moment for me and I've been looking forward to it for a long time."
The home match on Saturday, November 22, against Excelsior, will be dedicated to the Abdelhak Nouri Foundation. In the lead-up to and during the game, special attention will be given to the Foundation's social mission: creating more heart-safe environments throughout the Netherlands.
The Ajax players trained on Thursday afternoon at the de Toekomst sports complex. The international break has come to an end, and the VriendenLoterij Eredivisie is already coming back into view. On Saturday, the league match against Excelsior awaits. In the build-up to the encounter in the Johan Cruijff ArenA, we put together a compilation of the training session.
Smiling faces were all around as Sjaak Swart opened his Cruyff Court in Amsterdam. Before he did that, we took a tour through Betondorp, the neighbourhood where Swart grew up. We also spoke to him about how he stays fit, his youth, his friendship with Johan Cruijff, and growing up with him. "When he was nine, I would watch him play football on Saturdays. You could already see how good he was."