Van ‘t Schip more successful at Ajax

Marco van Basten, John van ‘t Schip and Rob Witschge return to Ajax this summer. And although Van Basten was the best of the pack, John van ‘t Schip won most prizes with Ajax and even got the moniker Mr Ajax for a spell.

Schippie was the first to make his debut in Ajax 1. The Canadian born winger was part of Ajax’ youth system when Johan Cruyff returned to Amsterdam in the 80s as a coach. The number 14 saw a lot of wonderful talents blossom (Van Basten, Winter, Kieft, Vanenburg, Rijkaard) but seemed to have the highest hopes for Van ‘t Schip, who earned the nickname Johan - and “Jopie” - because he resembled Cruyff in facial features and in his walk.

“Van ‘t Schip had the same dance-capabilities on the pitch. He was as thin as JC was, and could avoid streaming tackles with elegant jumps as JC could,” remembered former right winger Sjaak Swart. “Marco had a different style, was much taller and reigned in the box. Johnny could command the whole pitch and was sensational as a midfielder.”

JC didn’t want Schip to start on midfield in Ajax 1, though. He felt the fragile player would suffer too much and gave him a position as right winger, just as Dennis Bergkamp would debut on the right wing. “What set John apart was his incredible vision as a youngster and his kicking technique. He had what Beckham has, the ability to sweep the ball in from the sides, even with a defender in front of him. He would just curve the ball around the opponent.” That compared with his speed and technique made Van ‘t Schip the ideal winger, although he himself wasn’t always that happy.

As a winger, Schip would be part of the play too often. His role was to keep the field wide and sometimes 15 minutes would pass without him touching the ball. Schippie would get frustrated and requested to play in midfield. JC refused - as did JC’s successors - simply because there was no one better equipped to play that role on the right.

Physical problems would trouble Schip in his career, in particular a back hernia. He would miss games and had trouble finding his own rhythm. When he was moved to midfield, the - by then - captain of the squad blossomed again, and he would have good - but short - spell as king of the assist and scorer of the most beautiful goals.

When most of his mates left for greener pastures, Schip decided to sign a life-long contract at Ajax. He was happy in Amsterdam and more importantly, his wife had a successful career as a model. After winning the 1992 UEFA cup with Ajax against Torino, the lure of the Mediterranean won. Former semi-finals opponent Genua - who remembered a Schip on fire in those two matches - made him a deal he couldn’t refuse.

He played one season in the Serie A with peaks and troughs, due to - again - physical problems. After that season, John ended his career. Like his best mate Marco van Basten, the mind wanted to play top football, but the body refused.

His international Oranje career wasn’t as impressive. Oranje didn’t have any left wingers at the time and some good right wingers (Ruud Gullit, Gerald Vanenburg, Bud Brocken) so Schip was regularly asked to play the left winger’s role. He wasn’t that bad either, but it definitely wasn’t his best spot. Right before the successful 1988 campaign at the EC, Johnny was the left winger of choice, but after the first defeat against Russia, Michels decided to play 4-4-2. Gullit and Van Basten played the strikers’ roles and would write history. Schip and Bosman were sacrificed and would never be able to make it big in Oranje anymore. At the abysmal 1990 World Cup in Italy, Schip did get to play some games and impressed during the infamous knock out game against Germany (with the Voller - Rijkaard spitting incident). But after that, it was over for Oranje and for John van ‘t Schip.

John van ‘t Schip played the most duels for Ajax of the three new coaches: 346. Van Basten only played 173 games for the Sons of Gods. Bassie did score 153 goals, while Schippie only scored 34 times in all his matches.

Van Basten and Van ‘t Schip won the Eredivisie titles in 1982, 1983 and 1985 with Ajax, won the national titles in 1983, 1986 and 1987 and own the European Cup 2 in 1987. Van ‘t Schip would win another title in 1990 and the UEFA Cup in 1992. He never won the European Cup 1 or the Champiions League.

Witschge only played four seasons for Ajax. The left midfielder left Ajax in 1989 for St Etienne and would later be successful and extremely popular at rivals Feyenoord.

Van Basten, Van ‘t Schip and Witschge at Ajax

Van Basten Van ‘t Schip Witschge
Duels* 173 346 121
Goals* 153 34 19
titles 3 4 x
KNVB-cup 3 3 2
Europa Cup II 1 1 1
UEFA Cup x 1 x

* Het aantal duels en goals is inclusief beker- en Europa Cupwedstrijden