The Dutch football club "Ajax Amsterdam" has reached an agreement with "Sparta Rotterdam" to sign their Dutch coach Maurice Steijn for three years, as announced by Ajax on their official website on Wednesday. The director of football for the Dutch capital team, Sven Mislintat, stated: "Maurice brings with him 20 years of experience in professional coaching, including 10 years as a head coach, with results exceeding expectations at all the clubs he has worked with."
Steijn (49 years old) began his coaching career with "ADO Den Haag" between 2011 and 2014, then moved to "Venlo" until 2019. He left the country in 2019 to coach "Al Wahda" in the United Arab Emirates, but his tenure was short-lived as he was unexpectedly dismissed after two losses in his first three matches. He then took charge of his former team "Breda" until 2021 before leading "Sparta Rotterdam" last season to a surprising sixth place in the Dutch football league and reaching the playoff for European competition.
Ajax, the 36-time Dutch champion (a record), finished in a disappointing third place last season, 13 points behind champions "Feyenoord Rotterdam" and six points behind runners-up "PSV Eindhoven", with Alfred Schreuder being dismissed in January and then John Heitinga, who did not extend his contract.
