Cork sports journalist writers bestselling book telling history of Dutch club Ajax
The Ajax Way by Dylan O'Connell
Cork-based sports journalist Dylan O’Connell has called his debut book ‘The Ajax Way’ a map of European football over the last fifty years and a must-read for fans of the sport.
The publication is the first of its kind, as it is the first book to tell the full history of Ajax and their links to clubs across the continent.
This includes detailed looks at Barcelona, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Liverpool.
O’Connell, who regularly contributes to The Echo, is an experienced European football writer after covering various finals and international qualifiers, says that this is a story that needed to be told.
“Ajax are a fascinating club – and I’m not just talking about the three-in-a row team of the 1970s,” he said.
“Plenty has been written about them, but there’s been no one true history in English.
"I wanted to tell that story, because it is essentially a map of how the game developed over the last 50 years.
“Almost all the European Cup winners of the last 15 have some connection.
"Even in 2006, there was Barcelona with Frank Rijkaard. 2009 saw Pep Guardiola do it with Barcelona, and they did it again in 2011.
"2013 was won by a Bayern team looking to play the Barcelona way, which is the Ajax way. 2014 was Real Madrid, who were coached by Carlos Ancelotti.
"He was coached by Sacchi, and he was influenced by Ajax.
“It goes on – Barcelona in 2015 were playing Johan Cruyff’s brand of football.
"Liverpool in 2019 were coached by Klopp, who was influenced by Sacchi. Last year saw Manchester City win the Champions League.
"They referred to themselves as the continuation of the Ajax way in an interview before the 2021 final, where they lost to Chelsea.
“This needed to be told. Football media is dominated by England.
"If you ask the majority of people in countries like the Republic of Ireland, they say they follow and English team.
"There’s so many stories out there once you turn off Sky Sports and start looking around.”
The book is a hit, it’s already ranked as a best-seller on Amazon and everything is building towards the launch at Waterstones in Cork tonight at 6.30pm and everyone from the Cork sporting world is invited to attend.
The book will be launched by Ruairi O'Hagan from Red FM.
“I’m shocked at the book’s success – and it has only been out a month,” he laughs.
“But that shows the thirst that people have for good European football stories.
"My love for that came from reading, and I used to live for the sports section in Waterstones. That is why I chose to launch the book there."
Dylan O'Connell is a regular reporter for this paper on Cork soccer and GAA. He is thrilled the book is promoted in the Echo.
"I love working for the Echo. That is where I started. The Echo has always been a daily part of our home and to have my book mentioned in the paper is a real thrill for me.
"Hopefully, more people will be aware of the book after reading about it in the paper and hopefully, that will lead to more sales.
"I am very grateful to the Echo and John McHale for giving me work at the start and for continuing to support me as a full time freelance sports journalist."
