In July 2019, AFC Ajax's chief executive officer Edwin van der Sar finalized one of the biggest transfers in soccer-that of Matthijs de Ligt, only 19 years old but already one of the sports world's brightest stars, from AFC Ajax to Italian powerhouse Juventus FC for a 75 million fee. A few months earlier, Ajax had sold another young star, Frenkie de Jong, to Spanish champions FC Barcelona for a record 86 million. Once Europe's most feared team, Ajax had lost its prominence to teams from Europe's bigger leagues since the mid 1990s but gained a stellar reputation as a feeder of young talent to clubs in those leagues. Now, just as Ajax seemingly was making its way back to the highest echelons of European soccer-in the 2018-2019 season, Ajax managed to advance to the semifinal of the Champions League, Europe's most elite club competition-the club would lose two players who played a crucial role in its comeback. Did van der Sar have the right strategy to find long-term success? Could Ajax continue to develop soccer's next superstars-all while challenging Europe's elite clubs?