Amsterdam Tournament


The Amsterdam Tournament was a pre-season association football competition, held in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The competition was hosted by Eredivisie club Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena. It was inaugurated in 1975 as the Amsterdam 700 Tournament to celebrate 700 years of history in the city. It was held annually each summer until 1992, when the last edition of the original tournament was played. It returned in 1999 with the backing of the International Event Partnership. Four teams participate in the competition, played in a league format since 1986.
Since its return, the tournament has used an unusual point scoring system. As with most league competitions, three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. An additional point, however, is awarded for each goal scored. The system is designed to reward teams that adopt a more attacking style of play. Each entrant plays two matches, with the winner being the club that finishes at the top of the table. The original competition was held at De Meer, Ajax's home between 1934 and 1996. The Amsterdam Arena, now named the Johan Cruyff Arena, has played host to the event since the return until 2009.
The first winners were Belgian club Molenbeek, who defeated Ajax 5–2 in the final. The hosts are the most successful club in the tournament's history, having lifted the trophy on ten occasions. The club won their first title in 1978 and their most recent success came in 2004. Fellow Dutch side AZ and English club Arsenal are the only other teams to have won the competition more than once. Feyenoord, Ajax's domestic rivals, are among a group of clubs to have won the tournament once, while Belgium has produced the most individual winners, four, one more than England and Netherlands.
AZ and Arsenal are also the most regular guests, having been invited to compete in the tournament on six occasions. As well as being the most successful club, Ajax has finished as runners-up eleven times. Next in the list are two Italian clubs, Internazionale and Roma, who has finished in second place five times between them. Romania is the only national team to have taken part in the tournament. They were invited in 1984 and finished in fourth place as Atlético Mineiro became the first Brazilian club to lift the trophy. In total, teams from 13 countries have participated in the competition. The 2010 edition did not take place due to Ajax's involvement in the qualifying stages of the Champions League.

Table key

EditionYearWinnerRunner-upThirdFourthNotes
11975 Molenbeek Ajax Feyenoord Barcelona
21976 Anderlecht Ajax Borussia M'gladbach Leeds United
31977 AZ Ajax Liverpool Barcelona
41978 Ajax Anderlecht AZ Fluminense
51979 AZ Ajax Arsenal Hamburger SV
61980 Ajax AZ Bayern Munich Nottingham Forest
71981 Ipswich Town Standard Liège Ajax AZ
81982 AZ Ajax 1. FC Köln Tottenham Hotspur
91983 Feyenoord Roma Ajax Manchester United
101984 Atlético Mineiro Ajax Feyenoord Romania
111985 Ajax Atlético Mineiro Athletic Bilbao Verona
121986 Dynamo Kyiv Ajax Manchester United Botafogo
131987 Ajax Torino Dynamo Kiev Porto
141988 Sampdoria Flamengo Ajax Benfica
151989 Mechelen Ajax Sporting CP Dynamo Kyiv
161990 Club Brugge Ajax PSV Mechelen
171991 Ajax PSV Fluminense Sampdoria
181992 Ajax Roma PSV Borussia Dortmund
191999 Lazio Santos Ajax Atlético Madrid
202000 Barcelona Ajax Lazio Arsenal
212001 Ajax Milan Valencia Liverpool
222002 Ajax Barcelona Manchester United Parma
232003 Ajax Internazionale Galatasaray Liverpool
242004 Ajax River Plate Panathinaikos Arsenal
252005 Arsenal Porto Boca Juniors Ajax
262006 Manchester United Internazionale Porto Ajax
272007 Arsenal Atlético Madrid Ajax Lazio
282008 Arsenal Internazionale Sevilla Ajax
292009 Benfica Ajax Sunderland Atlético Madrid

Statistics

TeamWinnerRunner-upThirdFourthTotal
Ajax10115329
AZ31116
Arsenal30126
Barcelona11024
Manchester United10214
Feyenoord10203
Dynamo Kyiv10113
Lazio10113
Anderlecht11002
Atlético Mineiro11002
Sampdoria10012
Mechelen10012
Benfica10012
Molenbeek10001
Ipswich Town10001
Club Brugge10001
Internazionale03003
PSV01203
Porto01113
Atlético Madrid01023
Liverpool00123
Roma02002
Fluminense00112
Standard Liège01001
Torino01001
Flamengo01001
Santos01001
Milan01001
River Plate01001
Borussia M'gladbach00101
Bayern Munich00101
1. FC Köln00101
Athletic Bilbao00101
Sporting CP00101
Valencia00101
Galatasaray00101
Panathinaikos00101
Boca Juniors00101
Sevilla00101
Sunderland00101
Leeds United00011
Hamburger SV00011
Nottingham Forest00011
Tottenham Hotspur00011
Romania00011
Verona00011
Botafogo00011
Borussia Dortmund00011
Parma00011

Specific

General