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Ajax Amsterdam have dismissed coach John Heitinga following a disappointing start to the season, which included four consecutive heavy defeats in the Champions League. Fred Grim has been appointed as the interim coach, the club announced on Thursday. Assistant coach Marcel Keizer will also leave, and technical director Alex Kroes stated that he would step down before the end of the season if a suitable replacement is found. Ajax have won five of their 11 Eredivisie matches this season and are currently fourth in the table. However, they are at the bottom of their Champions League group, reflecting a chaotic start to the season. “It’s a painful decision,” Kroes told the club’s website. “But looking back at the past few months, it’s clear that things have turned out differently from what we had envisioned. We’ve seen too little progress and have dropped points unnecessarily. We know it can take time for a new coach to work with a squad that has undergone changes. We gave John that time, but we believe it’s best for the club to appoint someone else to lead the team. We hope to present a new head coach as soon as possible.” Heitinga, 41, is a former Ajax player with 218 appearances for the club and previously served as a youth coach. He had a caretaker role in 2023 following the sacking of Alfred Schreuder, before moving to England to be an assistant coach to David Moyes at West Ham United and Arne Slot at Liverpool, helping the latter to the Premier League title last season. He returned to Ajax at the start of this season after the departure of Italian Francesco Farioli. Ajax’s next match is on Sunday when they travel to Utrecht.
