

Liverpool assistant manager John Heitinga has left the club to become Ajax’s head coach.
The 41-year-old was previously the Dutch club’s interim head coach for the second half of the 2022-23 campaign following the dismissal of Alfred Schreuder and oversaw 14 victories from his 22 matches in charge.
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Heitinga has signed a two-year deal that will see him be in charge of the Eredivisie side until at least the summer of 2027.
Liverpool don’t have a replacement for Heitinga lined up, but the search for a new addition to Slot’s staff is already underway.
Welcome home, John Heitinga! ❌❌❌
— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) May 31, 2025
Upon joining the club, Heitinga said: “I am incredibly excited to start. The last years in England have done me a lot of good. I’ve been able to develop further alongside David Moyes and Arne Slot, while also getting a behind-the-scenes look at two major clubs.
“I’m ready to continue as a head coach and I’m honoured to be given that opportunity at Ajax.”
Heitinga joined Arne Slot’s backroom staff at Anfield last summer after having had a similar role at West Ham United under David Moyes the previous campaign, and helped guide them to the Premier League title.
The former centre-back took charge of Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Newcastle United in February due to Slot and assistant coach Sipke Hulshoff serving suspensions.
Heitinga is replacing Francesco Farioli at the Amsterdam club, who narrowly missed out on this season’s Eredivisie title to PSV Eindhoven.
Ajax collapsed in the run-in, blowing a nine-point lead with six games remaining. Their final-day win over FC Twente was not enough to be crowned Dutch champions for the first time since 2021-22, with Farioli announcing his departure shortly after the season ended.
Heitina made 218 first-team appearances over two spells at Ajax and moved into coaching after retiring in 2016, working as coach of Jong Ajax — their youth side which competes in the second-tier of Dutch football — for 18 months before his first-team interim appointment.
His playing career also included spells at Atletico Madrid, Everton, Fulham and Hertha BSC.
(Maurice Van Steen/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)
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