Ajax fires coach John Heitinga after 3–0 Champions League loss to Galatasaray
Ajax has dismissed head coach John Heitinga following a 3–0 home defeat to Galatasaray in the UEFA Champions League, leaving the Dutch club bottom of its group with four straight losses.
Assistant coach Fred Grim will take temporary charge while Ajax searches for a new manager, the club said Thursday. “Ajax is looking for a new head coach,” the statement read, confirming Heitinga’s two-year contract, signed in May, has been terminated.
Technical director Alex Kroes called the move “painful but necessary,” citing the team’s poor performances in both Europe and the Dutch league. Kroes, who offered his resignation, said the board asked him to stay on until the end of the season for continuity.
A former Ajax defender and Dutch international, Heitinga took charge in May after coaching within the club’s youth system. His tenure ends amid a dismal run that has seen Ajax lose all four Champions League matches — conceding 14 goals and scoring just one.
Ajax currently sits fourth in the Eredivisie, eight points behind leaders Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven.
