Marciano Vink has revealed a more than thirty-year-old letter from Ajax via Twitter, stating that he was fined by the club in the past for failing to perform in a match of the Dutch Juniors. The former professional football player received the letter in the name of then technical director Leo Beenhakker, who was also unhappy about the performance of Frank de Boer, Ronald de Boer, Dennis Bergkamp, Richard Witschge and Bryan Roy.
The letter was sent as a result of the European Championship qualifying match between the Dutch Juniors and Young Iceland on October 10, 1989. The Dutch reserves team came back twice from a backlog, including a goal by Ronald de Boer from a penalty kick, but had to eventually with 2-3 bow to the Scandinavians. A painful defeat that had a sour aftertaste for some players. The then technical director Beenhakker was so disappointed in the performance of his players that he decided to fine them all, according to the letter made public by Vink.
“Gentlemen,” Beenhakker begins his letter. “Following the team meeting on Saturday 14 October last, in which I already informed you of my opinion regarding your performance in the run-up to and during the above-mentioned match, I inform you that I will impose a fine of one thousand guilders on you. because of a breach of performance as an Ajax player in a representative KNVB team. Given that Frank de Boer only acted as a substitute, his fine will be reduced to five hundred guilders. “
Both Vink and Bergkamp were taken to the side early in the game. Frank de Boer started as a substitute and stayed on the bench for the entire match. It is not known whether the players broke the rules prior to the game. The letter is made up of original stationery from the Amsterdam club, with on the left in a box all the prizes won so far, the logo and the founding date. In addition to Beenhakker, the written piece was also signed by then technical director Thijs Libregts of the KNVB and Jan Rab, who was the national coach at the time.
The Ajax team from the 1988/89 season.
It Algemeen Dagblad reported at the time about the disappointing qualifying match of Rab’s team. “Jong Oranje disappointed the mostly youthful supporters of Harga”, can be read in the newspaper clipping, which is also more than thirty years old. “The formation of Jan Rab played incoherently against the strongly grouped acting Iceland. In particular four Ajax players were mainly looking for personal success. Only the fifth Amsterdammer, Marciano Vink, was not selfish and therefore also involved his other teammates in the build-up.”