Jesaia Swart (born 3 July 1938), commonly known as Sjaak Swart, is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a winger for Ajax. During his career at Ajax, he amassed a total of almost 600 matches, a record for the club.
Biography
Swart is Jewish[1][2] and was born in Muiderberg, a fishing village about 20 kilometers east of Amsterdam.[3][4] His Jewish fisherman father sold herring at the market.[4][2] As a child, he and his father concealed themselves as non-Jews during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands from 1940 to 1945, hiding from Germans and Dutch colluders, who rounded up any Jews; nearly 75 per cent of the Dutch Jewish population was killed in those years.[4]
Nicknamed Mr. Ajax, he played for Ajax a total of almost 600 matches, a record for the club, starting in 1956.[2][3][5] He was part of their European Cup victories in 1971, 1972, 1973.[4]
For the Netherlands national team, Swart earned 31 caps, scoring ten goals.[6]
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Ajax | 1956–57 | Eredivisie | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 1957–58 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 3 | ||
| 1958–59 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 7 | ||
| 1959–60 | 34 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 18 | ||
| 1960–61 | 33 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 42 | 11 | ||
| 1961–62 | 33 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 45 | 10 | ||
| 1962–63 | 28 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 33 | 6 | ||
| 1963–64 | 30 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 12 | ||
| 1964–65 | 29 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 11 | ||
| 1965–66 | 30 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 13 | ||
| 1966–67 | 34 | 23 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 45 | 29 | ||
| 1967–68 | 32 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 45 | 14 | ||
| 1968–69 | 32 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 45 | 18 | ||
| 1969–70 | 31 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 6 | 47 | 20 | ||
| 1970–71 | 31 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 45 | 18 | ||
| 1971–72 | 33 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 47 | 17 | ||
| 1972–73 | 25 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 29 | 10 | ||
| Career total | 461 | 170 | 65 | 22 | 70 | 25 | 596 | 217 | ||
Honours
Ajax
- Eredivisie (8): 1956–57, 1959–60, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1972–73
- KNVB Cup: 1960–61, 1966–67, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72
- European Cup: 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73
- Intertoto Cup: 1962
- European Supercup: 1972, 1973
- Intercontinental Cup: 1972
See also
References
- ^ Buchheister, Hendrik (4 October 2013). "Football: Why Tottenham and Ajax Fans Have a Jewish Identity". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
- ^ a b c Ajax, the Dutch, the War: The Strange Tale of Soccer During Europe's Darkest ... - Simon Kuper
- ^ a b Quixano, Jordi (2 November 2014). "Escribimos parte de la historia del fútbol" [We wrote part of the history of football]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 January 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Sjaak Swart: the forgotten genius of an Ajax legend"
- ^ Mister Ajax: de eeuwige jeugd van Sjaak Swart - Raymond Bouwman
- ^ Stokkermans, Karel (5 February 2010). "Sjaak Swart – International Appearances". RSSSF.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
