During my time in Amsterdam, I visited the Johan Cruijff ArenA, home of Ajax Amsterdam.

The current leaders of the Eredivisie, Ajax are the most successful football club in the Netherlands, with 35 Eredivisie titles and 20 KNVB Cups to their name.

Throughout the years, they have produced many notable talents who began their footballing careers at the club, including Dennis Bergkamp, Edwin van der Sar, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart and last but not least, the legendary Johan Cruijff himself.

Where we went on the tour

The stadium tour took us to many of the key areas of the stadium including the players tunnel, pitch, dugouts, main stand, media mixed zone, press room, and the home and away dressing rooms.

As well, we also get to discover more about past and present Ajax legends at the Ajax gallery of fame.

There are different types of tours – a guided tour with a physical guide and lasting 75 minutes long, a self-guided tour where you discover the Johan Cruijff ArenA at your own pace with an audio guide, and a VIP tour for the hardcore fans of the club.

Soaking up football vibes

I am not an Ajax fan, but I am familiar with football, having followed the sport since the 2002 Fifa World Cup.

With football being massive in the Netherlands, I felt that it was a good idea to do the stadium tour of the country’s most successful club for fun, and soak up a bit of the football vibes there.

It was definitely quite an experience walking through the stadium and catching some of the football mood there.

Moreover, with Ajax playing bitter rivals PSV Eindhoven in the KNVB Cup Final that weekend, the feeling and mood was there. Even though, being a cup final, the Johan Cruijff ArenA would not play host to the match.

Ajax would end up losing the game 2-1 to PSV despite taking the lead. A disappointment for their manager Erik ten Hag, who is bound for Man U. Well… but… I would be a happy football fan in the new season if he takes charge of and leads Man U to defeat after defeat.

Away dressing room

At the away dressing room, I spied Dennis Bergkamp’s Gunners shirt! The Iceman! One of the key players of the legendary Invincibles and a true great of the game. 49, 49 unbeaten….

It was pretty cool of them to hang up the shirts of well-known players who had played at the Johan Cruijff ArenA. 

Other notable stars whose shirts were present, included Sergio Aguero’s Man City shirt, Fernando Torres’ Chelsea shirt and Peda Mijatovic’s Juventus shirt.

I have met Aguero in person before and took a selfie with him when he was on a tour to Singapore some years back!

Home dressing room

The luxuriousness of the away dressing room, however pales in comparison to the home dressing room. For starters, the chairs look so much plusher and nicer in Ajax’s dressing room, and there are also more showers available. So sweaty players won’t really need to queue up for the shower after a match.

Each player in the current first team had his own changing area in the dressing room. Sebastien Haller, Dusan Tadic, Steven Berghuis, Antony, they were all there…

Tunnel and pitch

Walking out from the players tunnel and onto the pitch gave me the chills. There were cheers and chants being played as we walked out, and to think this is only a fraction of what the players would experience as they walk onto the pitch to the adoration of screaming fans.

Being one of those screaming football fans myself, I can imagine just how much more electrifying it would be for the players themselves.

I went completely selfie-crazy at the pitch side and I couldn’t stop taking photos of myself in front of the grassy field and sitting in the dugout pretending to be team manager.

Press room

Having studied media and communications as well as having had the opportunity to be a member of the press at notable sports events such as the Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix and the HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens, the press room was another familiar area that I rather enjoyed seeing in actuality.

When I got there, I immediately plonked myself straight into the chairs at the front of the room, and I could have almost pretended I was a team manager giving a match-winning press conference to a sea full of wide-eyed, incredulous journalists hailing from all over the world.

Allow me to indulge in some daydreams.

“So, manager Pris Chew, can you share your match strategy on how you clawed back from a 2-0 first leg deficit to win 3-2 on aggregate to claim your spot in the Champions League final?”

“Pris, that was a phenomenal match. Three goals in the second half. How did you motivate the players to pull it off? That must have been a massive half time pep talk.”

Ok, yes, I know, I will pinch myself and wake up to reality. I used to play Football Manager on my computer when I was young. But I won the English Premier League, ok?

Gift and merchandise + conclusion 

The stadium tour ended at the gift and merchandise shop, where all those who had taken the stadium tour would be titled to 10% off merchandise.

There, I spotted the upcoming match-day scarf, amongst jerseys, knick-knacks, mugs, stickers, and other small gifts for souvenirs or football fans.

Like me, you don’t need to be an Ajax fan to enjoy the stadium tour.

If you simply are a football fan, or you just want to soak up some of the football vibes in the Netherlands when you are there, I would recommend this stadium tour. Football is their national sport, after all.