The Amsterdammers were in transition ahead of the 1975/1976 season. From the Golden Ajax of 1973, following the departures of Arie Haan, Johnny Rep and Horst Blankenburg, only Krol, Barry Hulshoff, Wim Suurbier, Gerrie Mühren and Heinz Stuy remained. Before the season had even begun, coach Hans Kraay was dismissed. He was succeeded by interim coach Rinus Michels, the architect of the Golden Ajax.
Ajax started the league campaign with three wins from four matches, but lost in their first real test. PSV proved too strong on 20 September 1975, winning 6–2, and two weeks later Ajax were held by AZ '67: 1–1. It typified the inconsistent season Michels’ men endured. Ajax topped the table at the winter break but eventually finished third for the second year running. Yet the highlight of that season took place at the Olympic Stadium.
'The Klassieker, always the most beautiful matches'
Klassieker number 82, on Saturday 1 November 1975 – brought forward by a day due to Ajax’s European commitments – was one for the history books. Both Ajax and Feyenoord had fourteen points from nine matches at that moment. Ajax would move up to seventeen, thanks to a sublime performance from Geels.
One of the key pillars of that Ajax side was 26-year-old Krol, now living in Spain. We called him. "It's raining here at the moment, but that’s fine. Good for nature too, otherwise it gets far too dry here. So today’s a nice day to stay in, a perfect time to look back on that legendary 6–0. The Klassieker – always the most beautiful matches," he begins.
The man with the golden hair
"That 6–0 against Feyenoord was a special match," Krol says calmly. "De Meer was too small, so we played at the Olympic Stadium. Fifty-five thousand people in the stands and an incredible atmosphere. That made those matches even more special. The Klassieker in the Olympic Stadium, under the lights – it doesn’t get any better than that."
"Ruud was untouchable. Everything he did came off," says Krol. "We didn't call him 'the man with the golden hair' for nothing. That blond hair, his leap, his sense of timing – he was a complete striker. His hanging header was unbelievable, it looked as if he stayed in the air," he says, referring to the beautiful 3-0 goal scored by the Ajax forward. "He scored with his left, his right and his head. A complete striker. He really should have had six, but his sixth was wrongly ruled out for offside near the end."
In his mind, Krol still replays the goal and recounts it. "I played the ball to Hulshoff, Barry to René Notten, Notten to Mühren – who was in top form – and then came that floating header. They tried to kick Ruud, but he just soared over everyone. The keeper didn't stand a chance."
Thanks to the North Holland Archives, we received some wonderful photos.
Krol had a quick chat before the match with Willem van Hanegem, Feyenoord's star man at the time. "We had a good relationship, also from the national team. But once the match started, we weren't friends anymore. Before kick-off I said hello, after that it was over. No more talking – only talking through the tackles. I was the libero, my regular position, and I came up against Van Hanegem quite often. Neither of us held back. After the match it was fine again. Willem and I shook hands, with respect. Enemies on the pitch, friends off it."
"I was, of course, one of the last of the Mohicans from the great Ajax, so I had to do a lot of coaching and talking on the pitch. 'Pietje', 'Sjakie', 'Johan', they were all gone. But we still had enough quality with Mühren, Hulshoff and Suurbier. I got along very well with Wim (Suurbier)," Krol continues.
"Amsterdam humour, that's what it was. Sometimes harsh, sometimes sharp, but always funny. In the dressing room it was mostly Amsterdam humour: loud laughter, jokes, never complaining. For players who weren’t from the city, that wasn’t always easy to understand. We only needed one look to know what the other meant," says Krol about Suurbier, who played his 500th match for Ajax during Ajax - Feyenoord.
Mentor Michels
When Michels took over from Kraay, Krol was reunited with his mentor. "Michels had laid the foundations, and I always got on well with him. He was strict, sometimes very tough, but always fair. He could say something that made you want to sink through the floor, but afterwards you realised it was exactly what you needed to become better. When I was seventeen or eighteen, he was already my coach, so we understood each other perfectly. He was the architect of the great Ajax and meant so much for the careers of the players who were part of that team. It was special that Michels returned that season."
Finally, Krol’s thoughts drift back once more to fifty years ago. "When I think back to that day, to that 6-0, all those wonderful memories come flooding back. The Klassieker, 55,000 people, a packed Olympic Stadium. Those are the kind of matches you never forget."
'A unique match'
Another starting player from that day was Van Dord, who was 22 at the time. "What do I still remember from that match?" Van Dord says as the conversation begins. "It was an evening game, and the atmosphere was always good at night. And yes, with that 6–0 we really turned the Olympic Stadium upside down. Those are the kinds of unique matches you only play once in a while."
"Everything went our way that evening," Van Dord continues calmly. "After the 2-0, they started giving away more space, and defensively we hardly gave anything away. Then it all went quickly. I think if we'd played another ten minutes, the score might have been even higher," he laughs.
Afterwards, the Ajax players sat in the dressing room full of satisfaction. "There was huge euphoria among us after the match. We went into it wanting to win, of course, but a 6-0 victory over Feyenoord wasn’t something we expected. We just looked at each other and thought: well, that was a lovely evening."
Van Dord still vividly remembers the five goals from super striker Geels. "A player scoring five goals in a top match, that's special and unique.” The Ajax man remains full of praise for his former teammate. "I can still picture that fantastic header of his. He was great in the air, could jump high, and had excellent timing. And Van Hanegem's legendary words still make me smile: 'I thought Ruud had fallen out of the floodlight mast.' That’s how high he jumped."
"He scored everywhere, no matter where he played," says Van Dord. "His shot was clean, and every effort was on target. And heading, Ruud could actually direct a ball with his forehead. Hanging in the air, heading against the grain, he had that skill. And maybe most importantly: he always had that urge to score, even a fourth or fifth against Feyenoord. But I can also remember matches we won where he didn't score. Then he wasn't happy, because scoring was pure joy for him. Well, scoring certainly worked out for him on 1 November," Van Dord laughs. "He was a fantastic striker."
Alongside Geels, Van Dord was part of a team with excellent players. Van Dord played left-back and formed the defence with Suurbier, Johnny Dusbaba and Krol. "Mühren played in front of me, and Hulshoff was also in midfield at the time. I know Barry struggled a lot with his knee back then. Later it turned out he had torn his anterior cruciate ligament. But unfortunately, there aren’t many from that team left that I can speak to about the match."
"It was fantastic to play for Ajax in that era. Not everyone had that opportunity. For me, having played in the Ajax youth teams from a very young age, it was really special," Van Dord concludes.
The Amsterdammers eventually finished the season in third place, three and two points behind PSV and Feyenoord respectively. In the KNVB Cup quarter-finals, PEC Zwolle proved too strong with a 3-0 win, and in the third round of the UEFA Cup, Levski Spartak (now Levski Sofia) eliminated Ajax after a penalty shoot-out.
Geels scored a lot, an incredible amount, finishing that season with 46 goals in 45 matches across all competitions. Together with Krol (43 matches) and Van Dord (42 matches), he was a mainstay in the Ajax line-up that season.
