Daley Blind Returns to Ajax: A New Era Begins

Daley Blind has walked back into a very different Ajax – and he likes what he sees.

The 36-year-old defender, back in Amsterdam and already a steadying presence, spoke with the calm assurance of someone who has seen the club at its best and its worst. After the 1-4 win over FK Vojvodina in the Conference League qualifying round, he made one thing clear: the mood has changed, and a lot of that, in his eyes, starts with coach Míchel.

“Yes, it was different from how I had left it. That’s true,” Blind told Ziggo Sport when asked what he found on his return. Ajax have been through turbulent seasons, on and off the pitch, and he didn’t pretend otherwise. The club he rejoined is not the same machine he once left behind.

But the tone in his voice shifted when he spoke about walking through the door again.

“From the moment I walked in, the tone had already been set by the coach,” he said. A simple line, but a telling one. Blind talked about “a new wind blowing” and “a lot of positivity in the group,” a clear nod to the impact of the Spanish coach on a squad that had lost its way. The praise was deliberate, not casual. “And of course that still has to grow as well,” he added, aware that two good games do not erase two difficult years.

What stands out is how often he returned to the human side of it. This wasn’t just about tactics or systems.

“You hear that from the lads as well,” Blind continued. “They have also been difficult years. For the fans. But also for the players themselves.” That line hits at the core of Ajax’s recent decline: a club used to swagger has been carrying weight instead. The sense of identity, of being Ajax, had frayed.

Now, Blind sees that being rebuilt. He spoke of “that feeling of being a team, of unity, of confidence. Of positivity that goes hand in hand with victories.” Those are intangibles, but every successful Ajax side has lived off them. He pointed to the last two matches as early evidence that something is taking shape again. Two games, two steps. Small, but important.

The performance in Serbia helped. A 1-4 away win in Europe, regardless of the level of opponent, brings back a familiar rhythm: dominance, goals, control. It also turns next week’s return leg against Vojvodina into what looks like a formality, a rare luxury for a club that has spent too long firefighting.

Behind that, Blind’s words carry a clear message: the dressing room is starting to believe again.

New season, new tone

The timing matters. The VriendenLoterij Eredivisie season is about to start, and Ajax cannot afford another year of drift. Blind sounded anything but cautious when he looked ahead.

“That has to keep growing and really come alive again,” he said of the renewed spirit within the squad. “I think that is moving in the right direction.” Confidence, not arrogance. A veteran who has seen title races, European runs and crises is now betting on an upward curve.

For Ajax, the immediate European path seems straightforward. With the tie against Vojvodina all but decided after the first leg, attention is already tilting toward the likely opponents in the third qualifying round. Irish side Shelbourne FC, who beat Nomme Kalju of Estonia 5-2, are on course to be next.

On paper, Ajax will expect to handle that assignment. But the real story sits behind the results. A new coach, a new atmosphere, an old leader returning to find a club trying to rediscover itself.

If Daley Blind is right, Ajax are finally moving in the right direction again. The coming weeks will show just how fast they can walk – and whether this “new wind” can blow them back to where they believe they belong.