Amsterdam based Andy Barrow know’s his way around some of the most iconic football stadiums in European football.
Unsurprisingly, it was with a complete sense of pride that he paid a recent visit to his local football stadium, The Johan Cruyff ArenA – formerly known as The Amsterdam Arena.
Taking his daughter to pick up some new football boots, Barrow decided to combine the trip with showing her around the home to one of the pioneers of modern football, Ajax.
When football fans talk about how the game is played to today, it can often be traced back to the Dutch philosophy of ‘Total Football’ and the incredible Ajax Academy.
The academy has produced so many top names, but perhaps none more so than the late Johan Cryuff, whose name lends itself to that of the 55000 seater stadium.
Originally from Manchester, and a United fan at heart, Barrow enthuses about his current home, and sees a direct link between its football club, the iconic stadium and the communities that surround it.
“Amsterdam is a cool city, full of cool people and that stretches to its football, its tradition and the stadium itself… there’s a coolness, a chest out yet laid back vibe about this and the people in it.
“You head south-east from the Canals and the cute 17th Century townhouses, away from the hipster cafes and bars to a futuristic maze type architectural beast. Warrens, tunnels, stairs and structures. Like the final scene from Labyrinth with David Bowie walking up and down stairs backwards its confusing but awesome.”
“Some stadiums feel smaller, this one feels big, it feels all of its 55,000 capacity in size.
“The Amsterdam Arena or now known as The Johan Cruyff ArenA, for a modern stadium with retractable roof and space-ship like design feels special as you approach it on the metro, the steel / concrete shapes, structures and pillars trust into the landscape and then you see a huge mural of the late, great Cruyff himself, front and centre. It’s an electric part of the city with residential housing, modern office blocks of Steel and Glass, a school, a highway and an even a sort of outdoor mall.
“As you walk around the stadium you see nods to the past such as a statue of Bobby Haarms & of course a bronze of Johan Cruyff outside the club megastore… it’s a real juxtaposition a mix of new stadium and old tradition, old school principals of hard work and play with style but with that focus on youth.”
“The bit the struck me most was going under a rail track to the club store, you see two concrete pillars, one full of fan stickers and culture all over it almost like graffiti and on the other side one covered in that Ajax Red, with a picture of Cruyff, as the coach adorned welcoming you. These and the doors to the mega store, showing a collage of old images of Amsterdam townhouses, famous Ajax kits, and Patrick Kluivert lifting the Champions League trophy!”
“When you see the all shirts on the wall of the club shop, heroes from the past, from Edwin Van der Sar to Clarence Seedorf or Zlatan Ibrahimović to Hakim Ziyech… you’re immediately reminded that this club has such a rich history!”
“Even the Ajax kits, the 21/22 season 3rd kit Bob Marley special edition, or the Daily Paper and Adidas Original collaborations the club has that sense of style, or sense of cool, just like their original idea of ‘Total Football’ and the inhabitants of this entrepreneurial city.”
Barrow took to photography 15 years ago, initially buying a cheap digital camera to record family life and trips away, before upgrading his equipment. But the interest in all things visual has always been there.
“My kit is my Fuji XT100, which photography experts might say is entry level, but what really makes the difference is the lens, a FUJIFILM XF 35MM F/2.0 R WR. Gives great clarity, real depth & detail.
“Plus, the fact it’s a fixed 35mm really challenged my composition and creative skills. Good camera, great lens.
“I’ve always been fascinated by images, tearing them from magazines and saving them. I love to draw too. Then through my studies (in marketing, fashion & earlier in media/film) that visual element has been there.”
Ajax fans adopted, Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds, as their terrace anthem in 2008, and just as those immortal lyrics go, you get a sense from Barrow’s photographs and comments about the city and people of Amsterdam that every little thing, is gonna be all right.
If you enjoyed that, then make sure you check out Barrow’s pictures of The San Siro, or Tony Davis’ photographs from inside the Ajax Academy.
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