Ajax Amsterdam have appointed John van’t Schip as interim head coach, a week after they parted ways with Maurice Steijn, the Eredivisie club announced on Monday.
Steijn’s time at the club came to an end after a run of four league defeats left Ajax second from bottom. On Sunday they dropped to the bottom spot after a 5-2 defeat by league leaders PSV Eindhoven.
“Ajax appoints John van’t Schip as interim head coach. The former Ajax player signs a contract with the club running from 30 October 2023 until 30 June 2025,” the club said.
“Van’t Schip and Ajax have agreed to him stepping into a function in technical management from 1 July 2024.”
The 59-year-old began his playing career at Ajax and spent 11 years at the club, later returning as assistant manager to Marco Van Basten and was interim manager in 2009.
“John is a real Ajax man, who has a lot of national and international experience, on the field and next to it. To us he is the right person to give a positive turn to our performances,” Ajax CEO John van Halst said.
“First as head coach of the first team, for the long term we see a different technical role for him.”
His last managerial position saw him coach the Greece national side for over two years until 2021, and his assistant trainer in that role, Michael Valkanis, will now join him as his assistant at Ajax.