Ajax, Lyon, Santos, and Schalke in crisis – four huge clubs fighting to avoid relegation
One footballing giant collapsing is enough for any season, but four is something quite extraordinary.
While the top end of football in the Champions League continues to be dominated by new money, teams with enough history to fill any library are heading for a next-level abyss.
In England, even a write-off season for Chelsea saw virtually no threat of relegation despite only one win under Frank Lampard, but across seas the story is very different.
No one is quite safe in the Netherlands, Germany and France, while all the way over in Brazil, something that many thought was impossible is ten games away from happening.
Amsterdam has a reputation as one of the most vibrant cities in the world, but a trip over this year may leave even the most optimistic travellers depressed.
From the highs of a Champions League semi-final in 2019 under Erik ten Hag with one of the most exciting young teams on the planet, it’s all gone downhill since for Ajax since the Dutchman left for Manchester United.
Following his departure, sporting director Marc Overmars left in disgrace, and Edwin van der Sar resigned as CEO for separate reasons.
Overmars’ replacement, former Arsenal man Sven Mislintat, was then sacked over allegations of misappropriating club money.
Now even technical director Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is stepping aside citing burn-out, and it’s easy to see why.
Record Eredivisie winners with 36 titles, Ajax lost out to PSV last season, but that’s nothing compared to this term.
With one win in seven in the league, Ajax are second bottom, losing a six-pointer to lowly Utrecht 4-3 at the weekend, despite going 3-2 up.
It looked like things couldn’t possibly get any worse for the already unpopular head coach Maurice Steijn, and he's been sacked ahead of
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