AFC Ajax - De Heerschappij Begint

AJAX TO SIGN RIISE?

Dutch champions Ajax, who are looking for an experienced left back, have apparently made an offer of around £650K to Fulham to sign Norway's John Arne Riise, who is 33 years old. This rumour has come from a source close to manager Frank de Boer, who has said that an offer of £650K has been made to the Cottagers, although whether the offer has been accepted is unknown.

Making a move...? Fulham's John Arne Riise could be moving to Ajax for £ 650K as the Dutch champions search for a left back.

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Riise has played for various different clubs, including Liverpool, Roma and AS Monaco, making just under 500 appearances in his long football career. In the 2012-13 season at Fulham, he made 31 appearances and scored no goals, and at Ajax, he'd be seen as a key player in defense.

In an interview with BBC Sport, a source close to de Boer said "Ajax have made an offer of £650K to Fulham in an attempt to sign left back John Arne Riise, who would be seen as a key player in De Godenzonen's defense. Manager Frank de Boer has already said that he believes his side can be the 'Invincibles' this season, and the signing of an experienced left back would help them do so.

Fulham are yet to respond to the offer, although a few rumours are suggesting that manager Felix Magath will be accepting the offer within the next few hours, seeing Riise as a player who would be better sold now than later at the age of 33. De Boer has said that he doesn't want to make any signings other than Riise if he signs him, but the search for a left back may continue for a while."

Ajax begin their pre-season with games against CFR Cluj, FC Brasov and Jena, while the Eredivisie opens with games NEC, FC Twente and FC Utrecht. Meanwhile, De Godenzonen get the chance to win their first trophy of the season on the 3rd August when they face AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch Super Cup.

Oo, I signed him on my Ajax save before, but didn't play him, and sold him in my second season Hope he is used more for you Nice update

Great update! Nicely presented. Riise would be a pretty good signing!

Josh_MU: Thanks, find out if I got him... soon!
LFC Thanks, if he does join I'll use him as a key player.

AJAX COMPLETE RIISE DEAL

Norwegian left back John Arne Riise has been signed by Dutch Champions Ajax from Premier League side Fulham for a fee of £650K, as confirmed on both De Godenzonen and Fulham's official club websites. The deal had been heavily rumoured and the 33 year old has joined the team today after completing a medical and agreeing a contract keeping him at the club until 2016 on a £26K wage per week.

Moving on again... John Arne Riise signs for Ajax for £650K.

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As previously mentioned, the deal for Riise was confirmed by Ajax, Fulham and the Norway star himself, each of the three taking the time to reveal the transfer. On their official website, the Cottagers said "It is with great sadness that we announce the departure of John Arne Riise to Ajax for £650K, we just felt that the fee offered was too good to turn down at his age of 33 years old, and, despite being in great form for us in recent years, it was better to sell him now and get some valuable money for it instead of releasing him and, quite honestly, letting his career go to waste.

Obviously it's always sad to see a player leave the club, but all sides of the deal are happy with the speed of the signing, and we wish John the best of luck at Ajax and whatever career path he may choose. We will be looking to replace him with a younger player with more potential very soon."

Riise has so far enjoyed his footballing career - starting at Aalesund in 1995, but he didn't make his first football apparance until 1997, where he impressed in the 8 games he played, scoring 1 goal as a left back. In the following season, he scored 4 goals in 17 games, something quite impressive for a defender.

In 1998, he signed for AS Monaco, where he made 7 appearances in his first season and 21 appearances in the next, scoring a total of 1 goal in those two seasons. In his final season with the French side, he made 15 appearances and scored 3 impressive goals, capturing the attention of many clubs.

Then, in 2001, he made the move to English giants Liverpool for £ 3.8M, where he made 38 appearances in his first season, scoring 7 goals, and scored 6 in his second season at the Reds in 37 games. In 2003, he made 28 appearances but scored 0 goals, understandable for a left back, before scoring another 6 in 37 games the following season. In 2005, he was consistent in all 32 games he played, scoring 1 goal, the same record as the following season, but Riise made 33 appearances. In his final season with Liverpool, 2007-2008, he made 29 appearances, scoring no goals for his club.

This is when he made the move to Italian side Roma, who payed £4M for his services. In his first season, he played 31 games and scored 2 goals, then in 2009, he made 36 appearances, scoring an impressive 5 goals. In his third and final year at Roma, he played 32 times but scored 0 goals for his club.

In 2011, Riise went to his second English club in Premier League side Fulham for a fee of £4M, and impressed all in his first season - playing 36 games and scoring 0 goals but being solid in defense. In the 2012-13 season, he made 31 appearances for his club and went goalless the entire season, but once again was solid at left back.

Speaking of the Norwegian's career, Ajax manager Frank de Boer said "It is fantastic to have a player like John in our team - he has had a brilliant career and a lot of experience in different leagues - he should fit right in with the Ajax squad. To have a player who has been excellent for clubs like Liverpool and Roma is sure to boost the morale of the team and help us in the Champions League and definitely assist us in our bid to become invincible.

I am sure the club will welcome Riise with open arms, and I really hope he can become a solid first team player like he has done for many other clubs. As for other signings, I do not plan to make any others, because we have a fantastic youth system and our squad overall is capable of becoming invincible this season, and if not this season, then definitely next season."

Ajax start their pre-season against CFR Cluj in just 2 days, before taking on clubs like FC Brasov, Jena and Roma, before being given a chance to win their first trophy of the season with a game against AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch Super Cup. They then begin the season with matches against NEC, FC Twente, FC Utrecht and PSV Eindhoven - four games they'll need to do well in to stand a chance of being the invincibles.

awesome signing and will add experience and quality to your side

His experience should, hopefully, add a lot to your squad, especially with all the talented youngsters you have.

^^^ best of luck

jasonvilla4ever: Thanks, you shall soon find out if he is any good for me
TVDLC123: Yeah, that was what I was thinking when I made the deal.
Pauker: Thanks

Good luck mate! Riise is a great signing!

AAN: Thanks mate, glad the Riise signing is popular

AJAX EASE THROUGH PRE SEASON

AJAX 4 - 0 CFR CLUJ
FC BRASOV 1 - 2 AJAX
JENA 0 - 1 AJAX
AJAX CT 2 - 2 AJAX
AJAX 3 - 1 ROMA

With a year full of optimism ahead of them, Ajax were more than ready for the season to start, but first, they had to go through five games of pre-season, before facing their first competitive game of the season against AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch Super Cup, which manager Frank de Boer has apparently been told is "no t important".

There were some tough games for Ajax in the pre-season games, although these were cancelled out by the easier opponents scattered across the month. However, the games that seemed the hardest turned out to be the easiest for De Godenzonen and vice versa - making some fans a bit worried about losing to the easier teams in the league as well as in Europe.

The first match of Ajax's pre-season took place on the Dutch champions' own turf as they faced Romanian giants CFR Cluj in what would be, on paper, a rather difficult match. However, Dutch striker Siem de Jong opened the scoring 16 minutes into the game with an easy goal when goalkeeper Mario Felguerias made an obvious mistake. CFR Cluj midfielder Alexandru Dumitru then embarrassed himself with an own goal to double Ajax's lead before half time.

Entering the second half, Danish wonderkid Viktor Fischer made the score 3-0 exactly 10 minutes after the game restarted, leaving the CFR Cluj fans frustrated with their defense. Midfielder Lasse Schone completed the rout for De Godenzonen in the 88th minute, making the final score 4-0.

Ajax then travelled to Romania to play FC Brasov in one of the easier looking fixtures of their pre-season. While fielding quite a strong team, Ajax seemed to struggle, and went 1-0 down when striker Florin Nicoara put the Romanians 1-0 up. The first half was a disappointment to manager Frank de Boer, who decided to mix things up in the second half.

Lasse Schone, who scored in the first pre-season game, was brought on at half time, as well as left back John Arne Riise to make his debut. Ajax then came back with all guns blazing as soon as the second half began, with Siem de Jong scoring within just a few seconds. De Godenzonen piled the pressure onto FC Brasov, but could only turn the pressure into goals through Lasse Schone, who fired a shot into the back of the net 76 minutes into the game. Ajax continued to pressurise their opponents, but the score remained 2-1.

The next game for Ajax was a trip to Germany to play low league side Jena, another on-paper easy game. However, in the first half, both sides cancelled each other out. They both had their fair share of chances, but neither side could convert chances into goals. Some could say that the goalkeepers were the players of the first halves, with Jasper Cillessen and Lucas Ehlert having fantastic games, but the midfielders of both sides created some great chances.

In the second half, it was down to the strikers to get their acts together and start finishing. But were the strikers the difference? Siem de Jong came off for Ajax around the hour mark, and Bojan came on to replace him. However, Bojan couldn't convert any chances given to him into that crucial goal. Instead, defensive midfielder Daley Blind was the man to score the winning goal for Ajax, making the score 1-0 in the final 10 minutes of the game.

After a few disappointing victories for De Godenzonen, it was time to show their worth against affiliates Ajax CT in South Africa. Shockingly for Ajax, Koen van de Laak opened the scoring for Ajax CT just a few minutes into the match. Half an hour later, Ajax responded with an impressive goal from defender Niklas Moisander, but Ajax CT weren't going to give up easily as the first half ended.

The second half began and Ajax soon took the lead through loan striker Bojan in the 58th minute. However, unfortunately for De Godenzonen, a mistake from Christian Poulsen gave away a penalty and, when van de Laak took the shot, it sailed into the back of the net, making the final score 2-2.

The final game of Ajax's pre-season was at the Amsterdam ArenA where De Godenzonen hosted Italian side AS Roma, and new signing John Arne Riise would face one of his former clubs. The scoring was opened quickly by the Italians through Miralem Pjanic, but Ajax soon responded through striker Siem de Jong.

In the second half, Ajax put pressure on Roma, before getting a goal from Danish veteran Christian Poulsen on the 55 minute mark. Roma seemed to give up when that goal was scored, and the lead was doubled by wonderkid Viktor Fischer in the 69th minute, sealing the win with a 3-1 scoreline.

Ajax's season starts with a Dutch Super Cup match on the 27th July against AZ Alkmaar, while the Eredivisie begins with a match against NEC on the 3rd August.

Been a background follower so far - but this is really good. Shall be following through to the death m'friend

fmhunter: Thank you! Hopefully the death won't be for a while

DE BOER: "YOUTH WILL MAKE THE DIFFERENCE"

Ajax manager Frank de Boer has told ESPN that he believes youth will make the difference this season in both Dutch football and European football. De Godenzonen have a lot of talent under the age of 23 - including wingers Viktor Fischer and Lucas Andersen, as well as defender Stefano Denswil. Ajax are also apparently looking into signing 16 year old Abdelhak Nouri to a contract, keeping the striker at the club to avoid hijacks from clubs like Manchester United and Real Madrid.

Ahead of Ajax's Dutch Super Cup match against AZ Alkmaar, which takes place this Saturday, de Boer said "While this competition is not seen as important to our season, there is no reason why we cannot try to get a positive result and win our first trophy of the season. We have a fantastic, young squad, and I believe youth will make the difference between a victory and a defeat.

Our squad has players such as Viktor [Fischer], Stefano [Denswil], Bojan, Thulani [Serero] and Ricardo [van Rhijn], as well as many, many other young prospects. AZ will be tough opponents, and I won't put too much pressure on them to win, but I don't know of a reason why we can't come back with a trophy in our hands. We've enjoyed a fantastic pre-season.

As I have said before, my main priority this season is winning the Eredivisie with ease, because if we do, the team will know they're capable of going far in the Champions League, because not all teams in the Eredivisie are easy by any stretch of the imagination. If we even challenge to do well in the Champions League, I will be happy for this year. The Champions League can come later - our team has a lot of time."

Competition for the Eredivisie title is scarce, with Ajax being the favourites to top the league, but competition appearing from PSV Eindhoven, AZ Alkmaar, FC Twente and SC Heerenveen. De Godenzonen have strengthened their talented squad with experienced left back John Arne Riise, but several other title contenders have strengthened their teams with players such as Milano Koenders, Khalid Tadmine and Selman Sevinc.

After the Dutch Super Cup, Ajax's season starts with a game at home against NEC, before travelling to FC Twente, then playing host again to FC Utrecht. Finishing off the month of August, De Godenzonen travel to PSV, followed by Vitesse. If de Boer's side are to have a solid season in the Eredivisie, they will need to drop very few points in these opening games.