Marco Van Basten has resigned as coach of Ajax Amsterdam after the club failed to qualify for next season’s European Champions League. Van Basten announced his resignation after a stunning 4-0 loss to Sparta of Rotterdam, a result that knocked Ajax out of European contention.
“How in god’s name is it possible that we cannot defeat Sparta when we have to?” he said after that match. “I had much faith in a good result, but again the team seemed scared. We did not succeed in getting the team ready. That is very annoying and surprising.”
Van Basten’s resignation ends a long link with Ajax. He scored 128 goals as a striker for the club from 1982-1987 before moving to Milan. He coached the Ajax youth squad for two years before becoming the national team coach in 2004. Ajax announced Wednesday that assistant coach John van’t Schip will replace Van Basten until the end of the season.