Dick Van Dijk

Before Ajax became a European dynasty, Dick van Dijk gave Michels a proper number 9 with weight, goals and presence. He arrived from Twente after scoring heavily, then adapted to an Ajax side where even the centre forward had to understand movement, pressing and combination play. Strong, direct and dangerous in the air, he was not merely a penalty area statue: he learned to work for the system, connect with Cruyff and occupy defenders so the team’s rotations could breathe. His header in the 1971 European Cup final against Panathinaikos opened Ajax’s first continental triumph, which is not exactly a decorative footnote. Later, as the team evolved, his role became less central, but his contribution to the first great step of the Ajax era remains substantial. A forceful striker, physical, useful and historically more important than his fame allows.