The Amsterdam Tournament () was a pre-season association football competition, held in Amsterdam, Netherlands."Getting there". LG Amsterdam Tournament. Retrieved 11 September 2010. The competition was hosted by Eredivisie club Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena."Homepage". LG Amsterdam Tournament. Retrieved 11 September 2010. It was inaugurated in 1975 as the Amsterdam 700 Tournament to celebrate 700 years of history in the city. It was held annually each summer until 1992, when the last edition of the original tournament was played. It returned in 1999 with the backing of the International Event Partnership (IEP). Four teams participate in the competition, played in a league format since 1986.

Since its return,"Black Cats to compete in Ajax cup" . BBC Sport. 4 June 2009. Retrieved 28 August 2010. the tournament has used an unusual point scoring system. As with most league competitions, three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. An additional point, however, is awarded for each goal scored."Arsenal strike late to sink Ajax" . BBC Sport. 29 July 2005. Retrieved 10 September 2010. The system is designed to reward teams that adopt a more attacking style of play."Sunderland play in Amsterdam tournament" . Sunderland Echo. 4 June 2009. Retrieved 10 September 2010. Each entrant plays two matches, with the winner being the club that finishes at the top of the table."FC Porto 1–2 Arsenal" . BBC Sport. 31 July 2005. Retrieved 10 September 2010. The original competition was held at Amsterdam's Olympic Stadium, where Ajax played its international games until 1996."The club" . Ajax. Retrieved 10 September 2010. The Amsterdam Arena, now named the Johan Cruyff Arena, has played host to the event since the return until 2009.

The first winners were Belgian club Molenbeek, who defeated Ajax 5–2 in the final. The hosts are the most successful club in the tournament's history, having lifted the trophy on ten occasions. The club won their first title in 1978 and their most recent success came in 2004."Arsenal 0–0 Ajax" . BBC Sport. 1 August 2004. Retrieved 28 August 2010. Fellow Dutch side AZ and English club Arsenal are the only other teams to have won the competition more than once."Gunners claim Dutch repeat" . Sky Sports. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 28 August 2010. Feyenoord, Ajax's domestic rivals, are among a group of clubs to have won the tournament once, while Belgium has produced the most individual winners, four, one more than England and Netherlands.

AZ and Arsenal are also the most regular guests, having been invited to compete in the tournament on six occasions. As well as being the most successful club, Ajax has finished as runners-up eleven times. Next in the list are two Italian clubs, Internazionale and Roma, who has finished in second place five times between them. Romania is the only national team to have taken part in the tournament. They were invited in 1984 and finished in fourth place as Atlético Mineiro became the first Brazilian club to lift the trophy. In total, teams from 13 countries have participated in the competition. The 2010 edition did not take place due to Ajax's involvement in the qualifying stages of the Champions League.

Table key

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Tournaments

EditionYearWinnersRunners-upThird placeFourth placeNotes11975 Molenbeek Ajax Feyenoord Barcelona21976 Anderlecht Borussia M'gladbach Leeds United31977 AZ Liverpool Barcelona41978 Ajax Anderlecht AZ Fluminense51979 AZ Ajax Arsenal Hamburger SV61980 Ajax AZ Bayern Munich Nottingham Forest71981 Ipswich Town Standard Liège Ajax AZ81982 AZ Ajax 1. FC Köln Tottenham Hotspur91983 Feyenoord Roma Ajax Manchester United101984 Atlético Mineiro Ajax Feyenoord Romania111985 Ajax Atlético Mineiro Athletic Bilbao Verona121986 Dynamo Kyiv Ajax Manchester United Botafogo131987 Ajax Torino Dynamo Kiev Porto141988 Sampdoria Flamengo Ajax Benfica151989 Mechelen Ajax Sporting CP Dynamo Kyiv161990 Club Brugge PSV Mechelen171991 Ajax PSV Fluminense Sampdoria181992 Roma PSV Borussia Dortmund191999 Lazio Santos Ajax Atlético Madrid202000 Barcelona Ajax Lazio Arsenal212001 Ajax Milan Valencia Liverpool222002 Barcelona Manchester United Parma232003 Internazionale Galatasaray Liverpool242004 River Plate Panathinaikos Arsenal252005 Arsenal Porto Boca Juniors Ajax262006 Manchester United Internazionale Porto272007 Arsenal Atlético Madrid Ajax Lazio282008 Internazionale Sevilla Ajax292009 Benfica Ajax Sunderland Atlético Madrid"Atletico Madrid 0–2 Sunderland" . Sunderland Echo. 27 July 2009. Retrieved 28 August 2010.

Statistics

TeamWinnerRunner-upThirdFourthTotal Ajax10115329 AZ31116 Arsenal30126 Barcelona11024 Manchester United10214 Feyenoord10203 Dynamo Kyiv10113 Lazio10113 Anderlecht11002 Atlético Mineiro11002 Sampdoria10012 Mechelen10012 Benfica10012 Molenbeek10001 Ipswich Town10001 Club Brugge10001 Internazionale03003 PSV01203 Porto01113 Atlético Madrid01023 Liverpool00123 Roma02002 Fluminense00112 Standard Liège01001 Torino01001 Flamengo01001 Santos01001 Milan01001 River Plate01001 Borussia M'gladbach00101 Bayern Munich00101 1. FC Köln00101 Athletic Bilbao00101 Sporting CP00101 Valencia00101 Galatasaray00101 Panathinaikos00101 Boca Juniors00101 Sevilla00101 Sunderland00101 Leeds United00011 Hamburger SV00011 Nottingham Forest00011 Tottenham Hotspur00011 Romania00011 Verona00011 Botafogo00011 Borussia Dortmund00011 Parma00011

See also Copa Amsterdam Future Cup

References

Specific

General

External links