If it were up to Sjaak Swart, Shota Arveladze is one of the candidates to become Ajax's new trainer. The club icon of the Amsterdam team said this on Saturday SBS after the benefit match between the Ajax Legends and the BIF All Stars (4-2) in the Olympic Stadium.

BIF stands for 'Black Impact Foundation'. This is a foundation that is involved in sporting and social projects to encourage inclusivity. The BIF All Stars team consists of football legends of African descent and beyond. On Saturday they included Dida, Clarence Seedorf, Claude Makélélé, Sol Campbell, Roque Júnior and Ahmed Hassan.

The Ajax Legends also included a number of well-known names, such as Frank de Boer, Wesley Sneijder, Jari Litmanen and Arveladze. The latter was appointed on Saturday by analyst Ronald de Boer as an option for the technical staff of the Amsterdam team next season.

After the game, Swart was added SBS I wonder to what extent he agrees with De Boer. “Well, I've said that often enough,” responds the 85-year-old former attacker. “Because he (Arveladze, ed.) He already knows the Ajax game, he has experienced it himself. And a good boy for the group. I also think he is a good trainer. He is certainly a candidate, but we have to wait and see what happens.”

Arveladze, who played for Ajax from 1997 to 2001, has been head coach at Trabzonspor, Kasimpasa, Kayserispor and Hull City in recent years. He left Fatih Karagümrük a month and a half ago, and has been clubless ever since.

Swart also spoke out about the unrest in the Ajax board. When asked whether Alex Kroes, who has been suspended by the Amsterdam club for allegedly buying shares with insider information, should return, he answers: “Yes. I think there is a good chance that will happen, because things like that have to be solved differently. Not immediately with relegation.”

Michael van Praag, chairman of the Supervisory Board of Ajax, should also be given a second chance if Swart has his way. At the beginning of April, it emerged that Van Praag did not register his Ajax shares with the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM), while he should have done so after taking up employment. Swart: “Van Praag made a mistake, that is also possible. So then you have to help each other. Now you have to be smart and also be able to tolerate each other. And then we have to start again.”

Ajax Legends win

The charity match was won 4-2 by the Ajax Legends. Ryan Babel opened the score after half an hour of play, from a cross from Urby Emanuelson. From the edge of the penalty area, Clarence Seedorf scored the equalizer: 1-1.

At the start of the second half the score was 1-2 (own goal by George Boateng) and 1-3 (Kiki Musampa). An own goal by Ricardo van Rhijn (2-3) made things even more exciting, but Siem de Jong ended the charity match a little later: 2-4.

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