ROTTERDAM (Reuters) – Coach Frank de Boer hailed Ajax Amsterdam’s second successive Dutch title as the beter of the two under him after his side clinched their 31st championship with a 2-0 win over VVV Venlo on Wednesday.


Siem de Jong netted a rebound after eight minutes to put De Boer’s team ahead and the striker added a second 13 minutes into the second half to start the celebrations.


“For the fans, last season was special because they waited so long for the third star on the shirt,” De Boer, 
who took over from Martin Jol in December 2010, told reporters.


“But for me and my staff this one feels more beautiful seeing what happened this season.


“All the injuries we had and then the turbulence through all the problems in our board, but we stayed loyal to our vision,” added the coach who also won five titles with Ajax as a player.


 


Having been sixth in the league trailing PSV Eindhoven by eight points after 20 games, Ajax put together a run of 13 straight wins and lifted the championship with a match to spare. They have 73 points, six more than arch-rivals Feyenoord.


Feyenoord coach Ronald Koeman praised De Boer for his craftsmanship.


“I know Frank well, and he did a great job and won a deserved title,” he said.


“Nobody gave a dime for the chances of Ajax when we beat them at the end of January, but Frank stayed calm despite all the board turbulences.”


“He never used it as an excuse and kept everything far away from his players and that deserves a big compliment,” added Koeman.

 

Feyenoord remain second, in a Champions League qualification place, following a 4-1 win over Heracles Almelo, one ahead of PSV Eindhoven, who were 5-0 winners over ADO Den Haag. Otman Bakkal scored from a rebound after a Ruben Schaken effort which hit the post and three goals within 11 minutes from Jerson Cabral, Sekou Cisse and Schaken sealed Feyenoord’s win. 


Jeremain Lens opened the scoring for PSV midway through the first half, while Toivonen added two against Den Haag who had Kevin Visser sent off in the final minute. Heerenveen climbed to fourth with 64 points as they fought back from 2-0 down to beat Twente Enschede 4-3. Twente, who won the Dutch title in 2010, are sixth with 60 points and condemned to join the play off for a Europa League berth.


    


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