Ten claims to fame: Ajax

The most successful club in the Netherlands made a global impact in the 1970s with Rinus Michels and Johan Cruyff. UEFA.com salutes the masters of 'Total Football' as they prepare for their first European semi-final tie since 1997.

Formed: 1900
Nicknames: Godenzonen (Sons of the Gods)
UEFA club competition honours
• European Cup: 1971, 1972, 1973, 1995
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1987
• UEFA Cup: 1992
• UEFA Super Cup: 1973, 1995

Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)
• League title: 33 (2014)
• Dutch Cup: 18 (2010)

• The club's first incarnation in 1894 was as 'Footh Ball Club Ajax' but this quickly folded. In 1900, a group of local businessmen established a new team named after Greek mythological hero Ajax.

• The now iconic jersey was inaugurated in 1911 following promotion to the Dutch First Division, after Ajax were forced to change kit due to a clash with Sparta Rotterdam.

• Englishmen feature heavily in Ajax's history but one looms largest. Jack Reynolds transformed a club which in its 15-year history had achieved only promotion to the top flight into a Dutch giant during three spells spanning over 30 years. As well as steering the Amsterdammers to their first Dutch Cup (1917) and national championship (1918), the former footballer from Bury is credited with pioneering 'Totaalvoetbal' (Total Football) – the style of play adopted by legendary coach Rinus Michels that would dominate football in the early 1970s. The club honoured Reynolds' legacy twice, naming a stand after him at De Meer Stadion – Ajax's second home for 62 years – before unveiling the Jack Reynolds Lobby (lounge) at the Amsterdam ArenA.

• Renowned tactician Michels made his name in Amsterdam. The former Ajax striker became an even greater club servant as coach in 1965. Raised a few streets away from the old Olympisch Stadion, the architect of 'Total Football' modernised the Godenzonen and secured their first European trophy. He went on to make headlines across the globe as national coach too when his Netherlands side reached the 1974 FIFA World Cup final. Michels later won the 1988 UEFA European Championship with another talented Oranje generation. The annual prize given to the best manager in Dutch football is named in his honour.

• The club created one of the greatest teams of all time. The Ajax outfit that won three successive European Champion Clubs' Cups in 1971, 1972 and 1973 had a spectacular and far-reaching influence on the sport. Michels and his successor Stefán Kovács employed a game-changing philosophy which took the contintent by surprise. The possession-based 4-3-3 formation, heavy pressing, super-versatile side and expertly marshalled offside trap put Ajax on the map. This golden age made household names of club icons Piet Keizer, Sjaak Swart, Wim Suurbier and Ruud Krol.

• Ajax also introduced the world to one of the all-time greats. The late Johan Cruyff, the son of a greengrocer who became one of the outstanding players in soccer history, grew up a few streets away from De Meer Stadion. The three-time European Footballer of the Year inspired his home-town team to three straight European triumphs and a host of domestic titles over two stints before ending his 20-year playing career in 1984. His return as coach in 1985 prompted a reconstruction of Ajax's youth system, paving the way for Louis van Gaal's young charges to rule Europe ten years later. Cruyff also reinstated the principles of 'Total Football' before guiding the likes of Frank Rijkaard, Marco van Basten and Dennis Bergkamp to domestic success and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1987. On Tuesday 25 April 2017, on what would have been his 70th birthday, the club announced that the Amsterdam ArenA would be renamed the Johan Cruyff ArenA next term – a fitting tribute to their favourite son.

• The golden boys of '95 which stunned AC Milan. "Ajax are not just the team of the 1990s, they are approaching football Utopia," said former Real Madrid coach Jorge Valdano after Van Gaal's talented side lifted the UEFA Champions League trophy. Against the odds, a team with an average age of just 23 overcame Fabio Capello's star-studded outfit in Vienna, thanks to 18-year-old substitute Patrick Kluivert's 85th-minute winner. However, they could not repeat the feat a year later, losing 4-2 on penalties to Juventus after a 1-1 draw in Rome.

Justin Kluivert (left) is following after his father©AFP/Getty Images

• The Kluivert family are a lucky charm. Ajax have got to the semi-finals of a UEFA competition on every occasion the squad has included Kluivert Sr or his son Justin (1995, 1996, 1997, 2017).

• Youth development! The club are a breeding ground for talent with the likes of Edgar Davids, Frank and Ronald de Boer and current captain Davy Klaassen products of the renowned academy. Since 1996, local prospects have honed their skills at De Toekomst – the impressive training ground which is at the core of their youth set-up. Remarkably, since 16 September 1981, Ajax have played 1654 successive matches with a home-grown player on the field. This season, 11 academy graduates have figured in Ajax's UEFA Europa League campaign.

• Bob Marley's Three Little Birds has become a terrace anthem. It all started in 2008 during a friendly against Cardiff City when stadium announcer and DJ Ali Yassine, a former guitarist in a reggae band, decided to play as much of the genre as possible. The Amsterdam contingent now proudly belt out the chorus home and away.