Former Dutch international John Heitinga has been appointed as the new head coach of Ajax, the club announced on Saturday.
The 41-year-old returns to his boyhood club to replace Francesco Farioli, who resigned last week following Ajax’s dramatic collapse in the Eredivisie title race.
Heitinga has signed a two-year contract and will be joined by assistant Marcel Kaizer, who previously managed Ajax in 2017.
Heitinga spent the last season working with Arne Slot at Liverpool, following an earlier coaching stint alongside David Moyes at West Ham.
“I’m incredibly excited to begin this new chapter,” Heitinga said in a club statement. “My time in England has been invaluable—working with David Moyes and Arne Slot has helped me grow as a coach. Now, I’m ready to lead, and I’m proud to do it at Ajax.”
The Amsterdam club suffered a crushing end to the 2024–25 season, surrendering a nine-point lead in the final five matches to lose the title to PSV Eindhoven.
Farioli, who had lifted Ajax from a disappointing fifth-place finish the previous year, stepped down citing “different visions” with the club’s board.
A former centre-back for Ajax, Atlético Madrid, Everton, and Fulham, Heitinga retired in 2016 after a brief return to Ajax. He earned 87 caps for the Netherlands and was famously sent off in extra time of the 2010 World Cup final, which the Netherlands lost 1–0 to Spain.
