AMSTERDAM • There are few clubs with a history to match that of Ajax, and they are aiming to add a new chapter with their first treble since the days of Johan Cruyff.
The first leg, the Dutch Cup, was secured with a 4-0 Sunday stroll over Willem II.
Then there will be a battle for the Dutch league title that resumes this weekend. They are deadlocked with PSV Eindhoven on 80 points with two games left.
Before that, Ajax could be through to their first Champions League final since 1996.
They take a 1-0 lead into today's semi-final second leg against Tottenham, with young stars like Matthijs de Ligt, Frenkie de Jong and Donny van de Beek mesmerising Europe having defeated Real Madrid and Juventus.
Those players have dominated the headlines, but the work done by coach Erik ten Hag, 49, has been remarkable.
His career as a player was unremarkable by comparison, with the 2001 Dutch Cup the only major trophy he won on the field.
"He loved the game and he loved talking about the game," Scott Booth, who played in that Twente side, said of his captain.
Ten Hag the midfielder was close to Fred Rutten, his coach at Twente and, after ending his playing career at the age of 32, later became Rutten's assistant at PSV.
Before that, he had a spell as an assistant to Steve McClaren at Twente, helping the Englishman to win a first Dutch title in 2010.
These days, ten Hag's playing style draws comparisons to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.
"When we lose the ball, we must win it back immediately," goalkeeper Andre Onana said.
"He is focused on that, he is always telling us that if we have control of the ball, we have the ability to push back any opponent."
In his first season as a coach in his own right, ten Hag won promotion with Go Ahead Eagles in 2013, but he left them for a job with Bayern Munich's reserve side.
His time in Bavaria coincided with Guardiola's first two years as Bayern coach.
"I still remember very well that when I quit the Eredivisie to go and coach in the German Regionalliga (fourth tier), lots of people in the Netherlands were sceptical," ten Hag told German daily Bild.
"I never regretted that decision. To work at a club as big as Bayern was like winning the lottery."
He lapped up the opportunity to watch Guardiola's training sessions up close before returning to the Eredivisie with Utrecht in 2015.
After two top-five finishes and a Dutch Cup final appearance, Ajax saw ten Hag as the ideal man to take over midway last season.
Ajax, the Europa League runners-up in 2017, were knocked out of both European competitions in the preliminary rounds last term, but ten Hag steered them to a second-place finish in the league.
The foundations were laid for this season's run.
"What he is managing to do with such young players is remarkable," former striker Pierre van Hooijdonk told TV station NOS.
"The likes of de Ligt, de Jong and van de Beek have only just come out of the academy and are already playing like veterans. Ten Hag deserves huge credit."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Manchester United announced on Friday that midfielder Marouane Fellaini has left the club to join China's Shandong Luneng on a permanent transfer. The Belgium international, 31, arrived at Old Trafford from Everton in August 2013 and went on to make 177 appearances throughout five-and-a-half seasons at United, scoring 22 goals.
Marouane Fellaini: Manchester United midfielder joins
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Chelsea collapsed to a 4-0 thrashing at Bournemouth as the Premier League's supposed lesser lights continued to cause mischief at the top end of the table. Liverpool, seeking a first title since 1990, have still increased the gap over City from four points to five but it was night of jitters at a freezing Anfield.
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Arsenal's Ramsey to signs €6.5m-per-year deal with Juventus. that a five-year-contract worth €6.5m-per-year with bonuses has been agreed and the possibility of Ramsey moving to Turin
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LIVERPOOL (AFP) - Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists the Premier League title race is something to get excited about rather than stressed about despite seeing his side overhauled by Manchester
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VALENCIENNES, France (REUTERS, THE GUARDIAN) - Barbara Bonansea scored twice to give Italy a surprise, last-gasp 2-1 victory against Australia in their opening Group C game at the women's football
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Manchester City were shocked 3-2 by Crystal Palace at home on Saturday, suffering their second defeat in three Premier League matches to lose ground on Liverpool in the title race.
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Gini Wijnaldum has revealed what Liverpool have learned from their defeat at Manchester City earlier this month. The Reds were beaten 2-1 at the Etihad on January 3 in a dramatic encounter between
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Pep Guardiola is confident his achievements at Manchester City will not be tarnished by UEFA's investigation into alleged Financial Fair Play (FFP) breaches and trusted the club to resolve the
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Gotze, though, feels there are other ways to measure Dortmund's success under new coach Favre, who took charge after leaving Nice. "I think two things are important. Not only the result at the end of the season and if you make it in the Champions League or not, but also the way you achieve your goals is important as well," Gotze added.
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Man City title hopes hit by shock defeat at Newcastle. 4 Min Read. Soccer Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Manchester City - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - January 29, 2019
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