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CLUB LOVE OF BV NEDERLAND: DUNCAN STUTTERHEIM
Duncan Stutterheim, lifelong Ajax supporter, is co-owner of A'DAM Toren and Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam, among other ventures.
Duncan Stutterheim, lifelong Ajax supporter, is currently co-owner of, among others, the A'DAM Tower and seventeen buildings of the Westergasfabriek media and catering complex in Amsterdam. He is an entrepreneur who belongs to the outside category and who is intensely involved in his core business every day, often with a reach far beyond the national borders. In this special report, BV Nederland shows another love: their football club.
Text: Jaap de Groot
Image: Lin Woldendorp
What does the Ajax shirt mean to you?
Duncan Stutterheim: “It's a really nice shirt. So beautiful. I've been thinking that since the 1970s, when it was still without logos and advertising. It is a shirt to be proud of. It's only different when I put it on. Then I become a warrior and an indefinable feeling about my corpse arises.
I also buy the away shirt every year and now have a nice collection. Those shirts are a memory lane for me, like that first one with TDK on it. When I travel, I always buy a few shirts. Fun for children or for the people I visit. Everyone thinks it's a great gift. Recently with a friend in Australia. Two years after I gave him the shirt, I looked him up and he had put it back on. That has something of a preacher who preaches the faith. Instead of the Bible you give someone's shirt Ajax.
I wore it once. In a match that is. On behalf of Ajax at De Toekomst. That still gives me chills. Sjaak Swart had put together a team of celebrities and I was also asked for that. I was there in the full uniform, in a real match and on the Ajax field. Not normal. So I didn't exchange that shirt.”
When did you become involved with Ajax?
“That was on August 5, 1977. I was six years old and my father treated Ajax – Liverpool during the Amsterdam 702 tournament. We brought our own drinks and sat on wooden stands. Ajax won 2-1 and I was immediately sold.
So I made the decision at an early age, because I also had a thing for AZ. I come from Landsmeer, which is very Amsterdam-oriented, but is also close to the Zaan region. Although I still feel sympathy for AZ, Ajax has remained my club. From the age of 14 I always went to De Meer and between the ages of 16 and 21 I was on the F-Side and later Vak M. After moving to the ArenA in 1996 I had my first business seat and when I started organizing Sensation there was a skybox arrived. By the way, I canceled that this year and I now have three business seats again.”
What feels like the most precious moment?
Duncan Stutterheim: “Real Madrid away, that 1-4. The match that it was clear we would lose. The fact that this did not happen and what did happen then is still very deep. Even deeper than winning the Champions League in 1995.
The same happened with the championship match against FC Twente on May 15, 2011. That unprecedented tension before the match and how nervous everyone was. Then it happened and Ajax finally got that third star. The discharge was incredibly beautiful explosive; I can't remember ever having so much fun in the skybox.
On the other hand, the 2-3 against Spurs was the ultimate rubbish moment. Missing the final in the last second and after such a series. I was completely devastated. Not just that evening, also for a long time afterwards. After my brother's death, nothing has affected me as much anymore, which shows what football does to you.
Football is a man's moment in which you can completely drown. They don't understand this at home. I have three daughters and a wife who didn't even watch the 2010 World Cup final. I now pin my hopes on my youngest daughter, six years old. I try to teach them a little love for football and of course Ajax. I hope it works."
Do you still have a goal on the horizon with Ajax?
“We smelled the international top in 2019 and are still not far away. I currently agree with the vision and transfer policy. The difference can be bridged, moreover, a golden light is emerging again and there is money. Once that dot was very far away, now it has become closer and almost tangible. Hahaha, we are even in better financial shape than FC Barcelona! I therefore hope that we will soon return to the situation of 2019. That Ajax is spoken of with awe all over the world and that you are very proud of your club.”
