Rik van den Boog facts for kids

Rik van den Boog (born in Amsterdam, 1 September 1959) is a Dutch manager and former football player. He worked in different companies like Xerox and Vodafone. Later, he became a part-owner of The Entertainment Group (TEG). In November 2008, he became the General Manager of the famous football club AFC Ajax. He stayed in this important role until June 2011.

Early Life and Career

Rik van den Boog loved football from a young age. He joined the AFC Ajax youth academy when he was just 16, playing there from 1975 to 1983. He even played for Ajax's second team. Sadly, a serious ankle injury ended his dream of becoming a professional footballer.

After his football career ended, he studied to become a teacher. He finished his teacher training in 1985. Later, he worked for several big companies. He was at Xerox from 1986 to 1999. Then, he joined Libertel, which later became Vodafone Netherlands. He also worked briefly for Orange Netherlands.

In 2005, Rik van den Boog became a co-owner of a company called The Entertainment Group (TEG). This company was involved in entertainment and sports. Before he could start his job at Ajax, he had to sell his share in the part of TEG that managed football players and coaches. The TEG company later went out of business in 2009.

Leading AFC Ajax

Rik van den Boog became the general manager of AFC Ajax on November 17, 2008. This was a very important job at one of the biggest football clubs in the Netherlands. He took over from an interim director.

In early 2011, he faced some challenges. A famous football legend, Johan Cruijff, led a group that made suggestions for Ajax. Van den Boog decided not to follow all these suggestions. This led to disagreements, and Cruijff openly criticized him.

On April 17, 2011, Rik van den Boog announced that he would leave Ajax. He officially left the club on June 1, 2011. Later, Martin Sturkenboom took over his role temporarily. Eventually, another football legend, Louis van Gaal, became the general manager.

After Ajax

After leaving AFC Ajax, Rik van den Boog continued his career in business. He became the managing director of a company called VanRiet Material Handling Systems. He held this position until 2018.