Ajax fans see this man as the new technical director, but there is a lot of internal criticism

Now that Alex Kroes has announced his departure, increasing attention at Ajax is focused on Marijn Beuker. The 41-year-old Director of Football is popular with some of the supporters, but after numerous conversations with stakeholders both inside and outside of Ajax, it appears he's less popular in the workplace.

Manager John Heitinga is in the middle of his review of the 2-0 defeat against AZ when he hears a player raise his voice on the other side of the dressing room. "Hey, do you think it's normal to be on your phone while the manager is talking?"

The veteran player in question isn't pointing out a teammate, but the Director of Football's lack of respect. Marijn Beuker has just stepped out of the restroom and is staring at his phone. Several players are wondering what he's doing in the locker room. On the other hand, they're not entirely surprised.

Many colleagues at Ajax have come to know Beuker over the past two years as an executive who prefers to seek out the spotlight rather than avoid it. In July, technical director Alex Kroes teasingly and jokingly gave him a nudge every time they passed a camera lens in Como.

Six months after his appointment, Beuker stood in the press room of the Johan Cruijff Arena. Rarely did an Ajax director meet the manager at a press conference there, chatting with the press. That did happen in April 2024. That's when the bombshell exploded, and Kroes was suspended for alleged insider trading.

Two days later, after the 1-1 draw against Go Ahead Eagles, reporters suddenly saw Beuker standing in the doorway. What was he doing there? Helping the coach with answers? Was he trying to present himself to the press as the new technical director?

Eighteen months later, some Ajax supporters actually consider Beuker the perfect successor to departing TD Kroes. Many Ajax colleagues, however, see no point in that. Why this contrast? Why does he simultaneously garner external praise and internal resistance?

At the behest of Louis van Gaal, advisor to the supervisory board, he joined Ajax at the end of 2023. Six years earlier, Beuker, as Head of Talent Development at AZ, gave the former successful coach a tour of Wijdewormer. Van Gaal was deeply impressed by AZ's academy.

Beuker subsequently sought out Van Gaal more frequently, who, in turn, appreciated the young coach's academic approach. A bond was forged. Van Gaal unsuccessfully recommended Beuker to the KNVB (Royal Dutch Football Association) in 2022. Eighteen months later, Ajax did pick him up from Scottish club Queen's Park FC.

Beuker had been appointed two years earlier at the ancient Scottish club to implement the Dutch school. Before that, he brought current Heerenveen manager Robin Veldman to Hampden Park in 2023. "The club had just re-entered the professional league and wanted to move away from the usual scrimmaging with torn eyebrows. They wanted to see dominant football with young players," said Veldman.

The duo didn't work together for long, however. Beuker had already received an offer from Ajax in the fall, Veldman recalls. "He had already been approached by Louis van Gaal in October. I put him on a plane later."

The Dutch positional play was just starting to take shape when Queen's Park FC wanted to return to the long ball. Has Beuker achieved anything at Queen's in two years? "Absolutely. A style of playing football, training, and scouting. He has a vision for how best to do that, and he clearly laid it out there.

"That's Marijn's strength," Veldman continues. "Because he has expertise in so many areas, he can bring together specialists from different departments and have them work together within the framework of the football style."

Besides structuring the first team, Beuker's data-driven methodology will also provide the renowned but stagnant Ajax academy with a new, modern engine. Veldman: "In developing young players, he believes the workings of the brain are crucial. He knows a lot about that."

A few months before signing with Ajax, Beuker switched to teaching "The Football Trainer." He has devised and developed 350 motor movement patterns. At the renovated training complex with its various surfaces, he aims to develop smarter players with softer feet. Or, as he describes the perfect Ajax player: "technical mastery and exceptional game intelligence."

Training methods will be coordinated from now on. Teams will be slightly smaller to make it easier for young players to handle the challenges. Beuker is also taking a critical look at the coaching duos. "We wanted a combination of a trained coach and someone who knows the ins and outs of being a professional," he said earlier.

The new pairings, as well as the presence of mental health counselors and top-level sports coaches, haven't yet led to any major breakthroughs in the rankings. Beuker, who has been in the team for less than two years, can't be held accountable for that yet. The restructuring must pay off in the long run. "Training is a marathon, not a sprint," he says.

So where does the internal resistance come from? With innovation, there's always the shifting and falling apart of the organization. And that's always accompanied by headwinds, especially at a conservative club like Ajax.

If Beuker, for example, were to reorganise the medical staff and from now on would want to work with a Head of Physiotherapy, the ‘demoted’ club doctor could be angry about that.

Beuker also split up the academy, which had become too large due to, for example, training and the addition of a women's branch, and appointed new coordinators and/or specialists. "That was necessary, and that's understandable, but there are also employees who don't appreciate this," an insider assures.

At last week's General Meeting of Shareholders, Kroes was full of praise for the 29 youth players who had been signed. "And in virtually all departments within the academy, structure has been established based on the same philosophy and methodology," he credited Beuker for bringing clarity.

Innovator Beuker, who organizes and documents meticulously, unfailingly rolls out his vision. However, what most people clearly observe is that it's not universally accepted.

For a didactic head coach like Paul Nuijten, who was appointed by Beuker and – to the satisfaction of the selection – was promoted to the main squad, the content and system are clear and sacred.

The more practical former professional is quicker to mistake Beuker for a theoretician who has never played football at a high level and—so to speak—has never even stepped onto the pitch in a tracksuit. It's a common sentiment at and around the De Toekomst training complex.

Just like with the appointment of a head coach, it turns out that at conservative Ajax, you also need a strong youth team to get everyone on board with a progressive approach. What doesn't help matters is that Beuker seems to want to be seen as important.

And for a segment of the Ajax fan base, he's also important. A young group of supporters sees European football dominated by modern managers and hopes their club will follow suit. The significant revival under pragmatist Francesco Farioli and the subsequent decline under club man John Heitinga has only strengthened that desire.

And Beuker played a significant role in Farioli's arrival. After the suspended Kroes received a tip, the new director traveled to Nice with chief scout Kelvin de Lang and, after hours of conversation, ensured that Ajax subsequently went all-out for the Italian instead of Graham Potter.

While Farioli pulled Ajax out of the doldrums, Beuker made it clear he had already had his sights set on him in Scotland. The Italian left after missing out on the league title, partly because he disagreed with Beuker's perspective on the squad's composition and his intention to play more attacking football and incorporate more youth players.

When his successor, Heitinga, flopped, fans read that Beuker would have preferred to hire Spaniard Iñigo Pérez from Rayo Vallecano. Several people involved admitted they'd never heard that name at the time.

This doesn't stop some of the public from hoping that Beuker, with his analytical and progressive perspective, will have a decisive voice in the appointment of the new coach.