Van Basten steps down as Ajax Amsterdam coach
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Former Netherlands striker Marco Van Basten has resigned as Ajax Amsterdam coach, the Dutch club said in a statement on Wednesday.
"The main reason for Van Basten resigning was he concluded that he didn''t meet his goals and he doesn''t have the feeling he is capable of improving next season," the club said.
Assistant coach John van''t Schip will take over from his former team mate until the end of the season.
The 44-year-old Van Basten, who will hold a news conference at 1500 GMT on Wednesday, joined Ajax in July 2008 after a four-year spell as coach of the Dutch national team.
Despite investing about 35 million euros ($46.60 million) in their squad, Ajax will finish the season third behind champions AZ Alkmaar and Twente Enschede in the Dutch league.
The club also suffered an early exit from the Dutch Cup, while Olympique Marseille beat the four times European Cup winners in the last 16 of the UEFA Cup.
Van Basten''s Netherlands team were eliminated by Portugal in the first knockout round at the 2006 World Cup, while Russia beat them in the quarter-finals of Euro 2008.