Ajax vs Celtic, the European head-to-head through the decades | OneFootball

Ajax and Celtic have shared a quietly storied European rivalry for more than five decades, meeting across eras when both chased continental supremacy and later in Champions League and Europa League campaigns.

According to AjaxDaily, their first European Cup tie arrived in 1971. Ajax won the Amsterdam first leg 3-0 through Johan Cruyff, Barry Hulshoff and Piet Keizer, before Celtic’s 1-0 response at Hampden left the Dutch side through 3-1 on aggregate.

The clubs reconvened in the 1982-83 European Cup first round. It finished 2-2 at Celtic Park, with Cruyff and Jesper Olsen on target for Ajax and Charlie Nicholas and Frank McGarvey replying. Celtic then won 2-1 in Amsterdam, Nicholas scoring before George McCluskey’s late decider after Cruyff departed injured, sealing a 4-3 aggregate success.

They met again in 2001 in Champions League qualifying, Celtic winning 3-1 in Amsterdam then losing 1-0 at home, progressing 3-2 overall.

Group-stage meetings followed in 2013-14, Celtic winning 2-1 in Glasgow and Ajax responding 1-0 at the Johan Cruyff ArenA. In 2015-16 in the Europa League groups, it was 2-2 in Amsterdam before Ajax won 2-1 at Celtic Park, with both sides exiting the section.

In total, the clubs have faced each other 10 times competitively across the European Cup, Champions League and Europa League. Their most recent competitive meeting came in 2015, while a pre-season friendly in July 2025 ended in a 5-1 Ajax win.

Source: AjaxDaily