Copa Amsterdam Explained

Copa Amsterdam
Founded:2005
Region:Worldwide
Number Of Teams:8
Current Champions:Ajax (3rd title)
Most Successful Club:Ajax
Cruzeiro (3 titles each)
Broadcasters:Eredivisie Live
Eurosport
Fox Sports
Current:2016 Copa Amsterdam

The Copa Amsterdam (known for sponsorship reasons as the Aegon Copa Amsterdam), formerly known as the Gestion Copa Amsterdam, is an annual youth football tournament, organized and hosted by AFC Ajax for under-19 youth teams which takes place at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam.[1] The tournament has been contested by some of the strongest under-19 teams in football, with FC Barcelona, Chelsea and Cruzeiro amongst the participating clubs.[2] The tournament is named after its main sponsor, the insurance company AEGON and was formerly named after the publishing company Gestion, and is broadcast online in over 59 countries via Eredivisie Live, Eurosport and Fox Sports.[3] [4]

History

Established in 2005 as part of the annual Amsterdam Sport Weekend, a citywide sponsored initiative to promote 'sports and recreation' within the city of Amsterdam, the Copa Amsterdam is an international football youth tournament held in the historic Olympic Stadium since 2010.[5] It was originally held at Sportpark Sloten, home of Blauw-Wit Amsterdam from its inception in 2005 up until 2009. Each summer the city of Amsterdam and AFC Ajax invites U-19 teams from various top clubs from around the World to play in the tournament. Seven teams are invited and participate in the competition every year with the ninth edition of the tournament having occurred in 2013. Over the years, clubs such as Barcelona, Juventus, Olympique de Marseille, Real Madrid have had their senior youth teams participate in the tournament.[6]

While hosts Ajax have won the tournament twice (2007, 2011), Cruzeiro from Brazil have won it the most, holding a total of three titles to their name (2006, 2008, 2012). Other teams who have brought home the cup include Panathinaikos (2005), AZ (2009), Chelsea (2010) and Ajax Cape Town (2013).[7] The prizes and awards were handed out by Johan Cruijff in 2009 and 2011, in 2010 it was done by Daley Blind and by Sjaak Swart two years later. Since the 2011 edition, the tournament has been broadcast live on Eredivisie Live on Dutch national television and over the internet with commentary by Leo Driessen, Mark van Rijswijk and Ron de Rijk.[8] [9]

The tournament is attended by prominent local football legends such as Frits Barend, Johan Cruijff and Danny Blind, and is frequented by many talent scouts. In accordance with the theme of the annual Amsterdam Sport Weekend however, an amateur team is put together consisting of local youth players, which is then coached by former Ajax players such as Ronald de Boer did with Men United in the 9th Edition of the tournament.[10] In order to promote sport and recreation in the community, and to give young players an opportunity to present themselves at a high competitive level, coming from Amsterdam and the Region. Other teams that were assembled include the AT5 United, an all-star team composed of local Amsterdam talent, as well as FC NH (North Holland) which was an assembled selection of youth talent from the Dutch province of North Holland as a whole, and not limited to Amsterdam.[11]

Board of Advisors

The Board of Advisors for the tournament consists of seven members, namely John Jaakke, Theo van Duivenbode, Jaap de Groot, René Zegerius, Oege Boonstra, Ronald de Boer and Maarten Oldenhof.[12]

Tournament results

2005 (1st Edition)

(Source)[13]

width=48% align=left valign=top Final placement
width=5% align=center Nr.width=55% align=center Team
1. Panathinaikos (1st title)
2. Ajax
3. Sparta Prague
4. Barcelona
5. Cruzeiro
6. Rangers
7. Anderlecht
8. AT5 United (Selection of Amsterdam's top amateurs)

2006 (2nd Edition)

(Source)

width=48% align=left valign=top Final placement
width=5% align=center Nr.width=55% align=center Team
1. Cruzeiro (1st title)
2. Sporting CP
3. Ajax
4. Galatasaray
5. AT5 United (Selection of Amsterdam's top amateurs)
6. Espanyol
7. Olympiacos
8. Fenerbahçe

2007 (3rd Edition)

(Source)

width=48% align=left valign=top Final placement
width=5% align=center Nr.width=55% align=center Team
1. Ajax (1st title)
2. Werder Bremen
3. Ajax Cape Town
4. Cruzeiro
5. FC NH (Selection of North Holland's top amateurs)
6. Fenerbahçe
7. Florida Soccer Alliance
8. Rangers

2008 (4th Edition)

(Source)

width=48% align=left valign=top Final placement
width=5% align=center Nr.width=55% align=center Team
1. Cruzeiro (2nd title)
2. Ajax
3. Valencia
4. Atlético Mineiro
5. FC NH (Selection of North Holland's top amateurs)
6. Ajax Cape Town
7. AZ
8. Juventus

2009 (5th Edition)

(Source)

width=48% align=left valign=top Final placement
width=5% align=center Nr.width=55% align=center Team
1. AZ (1st title)
2. Ajax
3. Rosenborg
4. Guadalajara
5. Real Madrid
6. Chelsea
7. Watford
8. FC NH (Selection of North Holland's top amateurs)

2010 (6th Edition)

(Source)

width=48% align=left valign=top Final placement
width=5% align=center Nr.width=55% align=center Team
1. Chelsea (1st title)
2. Sevilla
3. AZ
4. Ajax
5. Fluminense
6. Guadalajara
7. FC NH (Selection of North Holland's top amateurs)
8. Botafogo

2011 (7th Edition)

(Source)

width=48% align=left valign=top Final placement
width=5% align=center Nr.width=55% align=center Team
1. Ajax (2nd title)
2. Botafogo
3. Tottenham Hotspur
4. AS Trenčín
5. Anderlecht
6. Borussia Dortmund
7. Cruzeiro
8. Olympique de Marseille

2012 (8th Edition)

(Source)

width=48% align=left valign=top Final placement
width=5% align=center Nr.width=55% align=center Team
1. Cruzeiro (3rd title)
2. Botafogo
3. Ajax
4. Ajax Cape Town
5. China national under-19 team
6. Beşiktaş JK
7. AZ
8. Panathinaikos

2013 (9th Edition)

(Source)

width=48% align=left valign=top Final placement
width=5% align=center Nr.width=55% align=center Team
1. Ajax Cape Town (1st title)
2. Borussia Mönchengladbach
3. Cruzeiro
4. Fluminense
5. Tottenham Hotspur
6. Ajax
7. Berekum Chelsea
8. Men United (Talent team coached by Ronald de Boer)

2014 (10th Edition)

(Source)

width=48% align=left valign=top Final placement
width=5% align=center Nr.width=55% align=center Team
1. Fluminense (1st title)
2. Cruzeiro
3. Dalian Aerbin
4. Ajax Cape Town
5. Men United (Talent team coached by Ronald de Boer)
6. Ajax
7. Panathinaikos
8. Hamburger SV

2015 (11th Edition)

(Source)

width=48% align=left valign=top Final placement
width=5% align=center Nr.width=55% align=center Team
1. Anderlecht (1st title)
2. Ajax
3. Vitesse
4. Club Guaraní
5. Beşiktaş JK
6. Arsenal
7. AS Trenčín
8. Rosenborg

2016 (12th Edition)

(Source)

width=48% align=left valign=top Final placement
width=5% align=center Nr.width=55% align=center Team
1. Ajax Cape Town (2nd title)
2. Tottenham Hotspur
3. Ajax
4. ASA United FC (Talent team coached by Piet de Visser)
5. Barcelona
6. Right to Dream
7. PSV
8. Galatasaray

2017–2018

For the first time in 12 years the tournament was not held in 2017 due to scheduling issues, with the organizational body making an official statement, that the tournament would presume the following year.[14]

2019 (13th Edition)

The following year the tournament was withheld once more. On April 25, 2019, Ajax announced that the tournament would finally presume, and will be held on the 29th and 30th of June at the Olympic Stadium. The invited teams include Ajax Cape Town, Sagan Tosu and Sparta Rotterdam.[15]

(Source)

width=48% align=left valign=top Final placement
width=5% align=center Nr.width=55% align=center Team
1. Ajax (3rd title)
2. Sparta Rotterdam
3. Sagan Tosu
4.

Participation

By country

Rankwidth=150CountryBerthsTeams
1 Netherlands28Ajax (13), AZ (4), FC NH (4), AT5 United (2), Men United (2), PSV (1), Sparta Rotterdam (1), Vitesse (1)
2 Brazil14Cruzeiro (7), Botafogo (3), Fluminense (3), Atlético Mineiro (1)
37Tottenham Hotspur (3), Chelsea (2), Watford (1), Arsenal (1)
South Africa7Ajax Cape Town (7)
4 Spain6Barcelona (2), Espanyol (1), Real Madrid (1), Sevilla (1), Valencia (1)
Turkey6Beşiktaş JK (2), Fenerbahçe (2), Galatasaray (2)
5 Germany4Borussia Dortmund (1), Borussia Mönchengladbach (1), Hamburger SV (1), Werder Bremen (1)
Greece4Panathinaikos (3), Olympiacos (1)
6 Belgium3Anderlecht (3)
7 China2China U-19 (1), Dalian Aerbin (1)
Ghana2Berekum Chelsea (1), Right to Dream (1)
Mexico2Guadalajara (2)
Norway2Rosenborg (2)
2Rangers (2)
Slovakia2AS Trenčín (2)
8
Czech Republic1Sparta Prague (1)
Ecuador1ASA United (1)
France1Olympique de Marseille (1)
Italy1Juventus (1)
Japan1Sagan Tosu (1)
Paraguay1Club Guaraní (1)
Portugal1Sporting CP (1)
United States1Florida Soccer Alliance (1)

Titles and awards

Number of titles

(Source)

Nr.ClubTitlesWinning Years
1 Ajax32007, 2011, 2019
Cruzeiro32006, 2008, 2012
3 Ajax Cape Town22013, 2016
4 Panathinaikos12005
AZ12009
Chelsea12010
Fluminense12014
Anderlecht12015

Official Hall of Fame

(Source)The players below are part of the Copa Amsterdam Hall of Fame.[16] 2005

2006

2007

2007 (continued)

2008

2009

2011

2011 (continued)

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: New Copa Stars shine in Amsterdam . Foetbal247 . 2013-11-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131203020909/http://foetbal247.com/2013/05/23/new-copa-stars-shine-in-amsterdam/ . 3 December 2013 . dead .
  2. Web site: AEGON Cope Amsterdam Informatie . copa-amsterdam.nl . 2013-11-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131203032001/http://www.copa-amsterdam.nl/informatie/ . 3 December 2013 . dead .
  3. Web site: Uitzending 28 May 2011 . RTVNH.nl. 2013-11-23.
  4. Web site: Van Hanegem: "Uit spelen tegen FOX-tv" . 12 August 2013 . Ajax1.nl. 2013-11-23.
  5. Web site: Amsterdam Sport Weekend . I Amsterdam . 2013-11-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131202231932/http://www.iamsterdam.com/en-GB/Ndtrc/Amsterdamse%20Sportweekend . 2 December 2013 . dead .
  6. Web site: Copa Amsterdam . I Amsterdam . 2013-11-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131202224253/http://www.iamsterdam.com/en-GB/Ndtrc/Copa%20Amsterdam . 2 December 2013 . dead .
  7. Web site: Ajax clinch Aegon Copa title . SuperSport. 2013-11-23.
  8. Web site: Aegon Copa Amsterdam . SportsGen . 2013-11-23 . https://archive.today/20131124022127/http://www.sportsgen.eu/projects/aegon-copa-amsterdam.aspx . 24 November 2013 . dead .
  9. Web site: Young Academy perform well at Copa Amsterdam . Tottenham Hotspur. 2013-11-23.
  10. Web site: Men United: Ronald de Boer vraagt jou . Olde Veste . 2013-11-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131203044535/http://oldeveste.com/2013/03/man-united-ronald-de-boer-vraagt-jou/ . 3 December 2013 . dead .
  11. Web site: Ajax wint Copa, FC NH wordt vijfde . RTV NH. 2013-11-23.
  12. Web site: Copa Amsterdam - Advisory Board . Copa-amsterdam.nl . 5 August 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131202233759/http://www.copa-amsterdam.nl/advisory-board/ . 2 December 2013 . dead .
  13. Web site: Helden en Winnaars . Copa-amsterdam.nl . 2013-11-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131203050626/http://www.copa-amsterdam.nl/helden-en-winnaars/ . 3 December 2013 . dead .
  14. https://nextgen.amsterdam/geen-nextgen-series-amsterdam-2017-games-talks-groter-dan-ooit/ NextGen Series keert terug in 2018
  15. https://nextgen.amsterdam/nextgen-series-terug-in-het-olympisch-stadion/ NextGen Series terug in het Olympisch Stadion
  16. Web site: Hall of Fame . 29 August 2013 . 2013 . Copa Amsterdam . nl . https://web.archive.org/web/20131203050626/http://www.copa-amsterdam.nl/helden-en-winnaars/ . 3 December 2013 . dead .