Ajax Amsterdam have forged a reputation over the years for being one of the best clubs in the world when it comes to producing homegrown talent. The likes of Johan Cruyff, Dennis Bergkamp and Marco van Basten have graduated from the club's academy and gone on to have incredible careers. And one such side that Ajax fans would be proud of is the title-winning side of the 2003/04 campaign which had a number of future stars in its ranks.
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Ever wondered who was on that squad, and what they’re up to now? Without further ado, here is a quick look at that Ajax side from the 2003/04 season and where they are now.
Bogdan Lobont
The legendary Romanian goalkeeper joined the Dutch side in 2000 and was a regular starter for the club in the Champions League as well as the Eredivisie. Despite his six years at the club, Lobont only managed one trophy, the 2003/04 Eredivisie title.
Lobont is still playing at the age of 39 for AS Roma in Serie A mainly in the role of a reserve goalkeeper. He retired from international in 2013 after making 85 appearances over the course of 15 years. Lobont may not have won much with Ajax, but the fans won't forget him anytime soon.
Maxwell
One of the most successful players in the history of the game, Maxwell first made his appearance on the continent with the Dutch club alongside his long-time friend Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Brazilian has won everything he possibly can in his career, including two Eredivisie titles, a Dutch Cup and Footballer of the Year in Holland in 2004.
He later moved on to Barcelona and then Inter Milan – a spell of six seasons which saw him win three Serie A titles and two La Liga triumphs in addition to winning the Champions League in 2010-11. Now at the age of 35, Maxwell is entering his final year at Paris Saint-Germain. With the French club unlikely to extend his current deal, he is likely to now move to the boardroom of the Ligue 1 giants.
John Heitinga
Coming through the academy at Ajax, Johnny Heitinga was tipped for big things in his career. He spent a total of eight years at the Dutch club, making 154 appearances in the Eredivisie and just fewer than 200 in total.
Heitinga left Ajax in 2008 to join Atletico Madrid for a single season before moving to Everton in the Premier League where he was a key cog in the defence under David Moyes and was voted Everton's Player of the Season for 2011–12 by the club's supporters. After spending five seasons at Goodison Park, he eventually moved to Fulham and then o to Hertha Berlin before ending his career at the age of 32 back at Ajax in 2016.
Julien Escude
The French centre-back only spent three years in Amsterdam, but he will be remembered as part of this Eredivisie winning side. He may not be the most memorable defender, but during the mid-2000’s there was hardly a safer defender than Escude.
The French international left the club in 2006 to join Juande Ramos at Sevilla where he would go on to win multiple UEFA Cups before retiring in Turkey with Besiktas in 2014. At the moment, Escude is occasionally doing punditry across Europe and is enjoying his retirement.
Zdenek Grygera
Grygera joined Ajax in 2003 from Sparta Prague and immediately went into the first team – helping them win the Eredivisie. The Czech full-back joined a solid back line and really made it impenetrable at times – he, however, remained one of the most underrated players in the title-winning side.
After his time at Ajax, Grygera joined Juventus after the Calciopoli scandal in 2007 and stayed with the Italian giants until 2011 when he joined Fulham. He would end his career in West London and has been trying to regain full fitness ever since.
Nigel de Jong
The tough tackling midfielder grew up in the Ajax youth side and managed to reach the first team in 2002, before becoming a key player in the years to come. He developed a reputation as a no-nonsense midfielder and left Amsterdam for the Bundesliga side Hamburg together with another star of the Ajax side as the German side looked to usher in a revolution.
Moving on to Manchester City and AC Milan in the coming years, De Jong looked to wind down his career in America, joining the LA Galaxy in the MLS. The Dutchman didn’t last long on the West Coast, and now plies his trade in Turkey with Galatasaray and still occasionally plays for the Dutch national side.
Rafael Van der Vaart
One of the brightest talents of this Ajax side, Rafael Van der Vaart will be remembered for a career of “what could have been”. Some may say that he didn’t quite fulfil his whole potential, but he still had a great career.
Van der Vaart moved on to Hamburg (two spells), Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur over the next decade. He joined newly promoted Real Betis in 2015 but after enduring a forgettable season in La Liga he moved on to Denmark and is currently with FC Midtjylland. The Dutchman would also go on to make 109 appearances for the Netherlands national team, scoring 25 goals and reaching the FIFA World Cup final in 2010.
Tomas Galasek
One of the more experienced members of the Ajax 2003 squad, Tomas Galasek came in with a lot of know-how in the Eredivisie after making over 100 league appearances with Willem II. Galasek spent six years in Amsterdam, playing 154 games and scoring 24 goals before leaving to join FC Nurnberg in Germany.
After retiring in 2011, Galasek went into coaching and was last seen managing German fourth-tier side SpVgg SV Weiden before leaving the club in 2016.
Wesley Sneijder
Sneijder will go down as one of the best talents Ajax have produced since their glory days in the 1990s, with the attacking midfielder showing early on in his career why he was so coveted across Europe. Making 126 appearances for Ajax from 2002 to 2007, before joining Real Madrid.
However, he had his best years in the Serie A and the Dutchman will be remembered fondly for being the star of Jose Mourinho’s treble-winning Inter Milan side – a year where he was one of the favourites to win the Balon d’Or (but somehow missed out). Since 2013, Sneijder has been in Turkey with Galatasaray with former Ajax teammate Nigel de Jong.
Wesley Sonck
Belgian international Wesley Sonck was a bit of a journeyman prior to his move to Ajax – having played for Molenbeek, Germinal Ekeren, Germinal Beerschot and Genk. Sonck replaced former Tottenham striker Mido at Ajax but didn’t last very long in Holland, joining Borussia Monchengladbach in the winter of 2005 before moving onto Club Brugge, Lierse, Waasland-Beveren and KE Appelterre-Eichem.
Sonck retired in 2014 and has been enjoying his time off after ending his career in his home country and may look to get into coaching or punditry.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Who doesn’t know what Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been doing since leaving Ajax? Ibrahimovic joined Ajax from Malmo FF in 2001 with a huge reputation and quickly started scoring goals on a regular basis. His fantastic record of 35 goals in 74 league games for Ajax attracted interest from a host of European big names. The Swede joined Juventus but left after the Calciopoli scandal saw the Old Lady relegated.
He would then go on to play for Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain.
The all-time top scorer for Sweden is now at Manchester United and has been a key player for the Red Devils this season before a knee injury brought the curtains down. Out of all the players from this Ajax side, it is arguable that Zlatan has had the best career.
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