John Heitinga returns to Ajax as coach, Marcel Keizer to assist

John Heitinga, currently assistant coach to Arne Slot at Liverpool, is to take over as coach at Ajax following the departure of Francesco Farioli on a two-year contract, Dutch media reported on Friday afternoon.

The 41-year-old was interim coach for the second half of the 2022-23 season following the sacking of Alfred Schreuder, steering the team to a third-place finish in the Eredivisie.

Marcel Keizer, currently without a club, will be Heintinga's assistant. The two previously worked together with the youth team in the 2016/2017 season, although Keizer was then the head coach. Since then he has worked for Al-Jazira, Sporting Portugal and Al Shabab.

Farioli quit after one season after narrowly missing out on the league title but securing Champions League qualification for the first time in three years.

After his spell as interim coach Heitinga joined West Ham United as assistant to David Moyes, before moving to Liverpool when former Feyenoord boss Arne Slot was appointed as head coach a year ago. Slot steered the club to its first English premiership title in five years this season.

Heitinga played 218 matches for Ajax as a central defender between 2001 and 2008 before going on to play for clubs including Atletico Madrid and Everton. He also won 87 international caps for the Netherlands, scoring seven goals.