Snap shot: Ajax's 1995 Champions League winners

Ajax's progress to the UEFA Champions League semi-finals has brought back memories of the team that went all the way under Louis van Gaal in 1995.

In the decider in Vienna, an 18-year-old Patrick Kluivert came off the bench to snatch the 84th-minute winner against an AC Milan side that included huge talents like Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi, Marcel Desailly and Zvonimir Boban. However, those giant-killers went on to become big names in the game, as UEFA.com discovers.

1. Clarence Seedorf

The midfielder left Ajax in summer 1995, and after a season at Sampdoria joined Real Madrid, where he tasted UEFA Champions League glory for a second time in 1998. After a spell at Internazionale, he crossed to AC Milan and in 2003 became the first player to win Europe's biggest club prize with three different clubs. Further glory came when the Rossoneri saw off Liverpool in the 2007 final – seven years before Seedorf moved into management. He now coaches Cameroon.

2. Frank Rijkaard

The defensive midfielder ended a glittering career on a high in Vienna, having previously lifted the trophy twice with Milan. Rijkaard turned to coaching, steering the Netherlands to the UEFA EURO 2000 semi-finals, and between 2003 and 2008 claimed back-to-back Liga crowns as well as the 2006 UEFA Champions League as Barcelona boss. He later took charge of Galatasaray and Saudi Arabia but announced in 2016 that he had quit coaching.

3. Frank de Boer

An Ajax player for 11 years, the defender renowned for his technical proficiency joined Barcelona with twin brother Ronald in January 1999. After one championship in five years at the Camp Nou he turned out for Galatasaray, Rangers – alongside Ronald again – and Qatari outfits al-Rayyan and al-Shamal. An Oranje centurion with 112 caps, Frank coached Ajax to four successive championships between 2011 and 2014 – a Dutch record. He is now in charge of Atlanta United.

4. Patrick Kluivert

Match-winner Kluivert with the trophy©Getty Images

The 18-year-old match-winner in Vienna struggled to make an impression at Milan after signing in 1997 but recaptured his form at Barcelona following a 1998 move, going on to hit 90 goals in 181 games. When he retired in 2008, he had scored 40 times in 79 Oranje matches – a record that stood until Robin van Persie broke it in 2013. His son Justin is now a Roma player, while Patrick works as assistant to Seedorf at Cameroon.

5. Michael Reiziger

The homegrown full-back swapped Ajax for Milan after defeat by Juventus in the 1996 UEFA Champions League final, then departed for Barça in 1997, where he won a UEFA Super Cup, two Ligas and the Copa del Rey in a seven-season stint. Later at Middlesbrough and PSV Eindhoven, he moved into coaching with Sparta Rotterdam and has been giving Ajax's reserve team the benefit of his experiences since 2017.

6. Danny Blind

The father of current Ajax player Daley Blind, centre-back Danny joined the club in 1986 from Sparta Rotterdam, and stayed until 1999, winning five league titles and four Dutch Cups as well as the UEFA Champions League. Capped 42 times, Blind was appointed national-team assistant coach in 2012 after honing his technical talents at Ajax in 2005/06. However, his spell in sole command from 2015 to 2017 was an unhappy one, the Netherlands missing out on UEFA EURO 2016.

7. Finidi George

Nwankwo Kanu and Finidi George with the trophy©Getty Images

The Nigeria winger picked up three league titles and UEFA Champions League in three prolific years at Ajax. Made Real Betis his home in 1996, registering 38 times in 130 Liga appearances before heading to Mallorca. The wide man played Premier League football for Ipswich Town from 2001 to 2003 but returned to Mallorca to hang up his boots in 2004. Returned to the Netherlands in 2013 for a time to earn his coaching badges, but has yet to move into management.

8. Jari Litmanen

Regarded as Finland's greatest player, he achieved hero status in Amsterdam during seven years with the club which included a goal in the 1996 final against Juventus. Litmanen moved to Barcelona in 1999, and then lifted the UEFA Cup with Liverpool in 2001. He played on in Finland, signing off, aged 40, with his first Finnish championship, at HJK Helsinki in 2011. Punditry aside, he has kept away from football since.

9. Marc Overmars

Bought from Willem II, the lightning-fast winger's five years with Ajax ended when Arsenal secured his services in 1997. He helped the Gunners to a league and cup double 12 months later, and became the most expensive Dutch player ever when he joined Barcelona for around €25m in 2000. However, injury hampered his four years at the Camp Nou. Returned after four years out for a year with his first club, Go Ahead Eagles, later becoming the club's technical manager. He has been Ajax's director of football since 2012.

10. Edgar Davids

Famed for his glasses, the tough-tackling midfielder departed for AC Milan in 1996 only to link up with Juventus the following campaign. During seven years in Turin, Davids amassed three Serie A crowns and lost two UEFA Champions League finals, before signing a six-month loan deal with Rijkaard's Barcelona in 2004. Went on to represent Inter and Tottenham before a two-year return to Ajax. Ended his career in the English lower leagues as player-manager of Barnet from 2012 to 2014.

11. Edwin van der Sar

Just 24 at the time of Ajax's triumph, Van der Sar would become Dutch football's most celebrated custodian, earning a record 130 caps over 13 years. Stays at Juventus and Fulham followed before the goalkeeper joined Manchester United in 2005, landing another UEFA Champions League title with the Red Devils three years later. Van der Sar hung up his gloves after the 2011 UEFA Champions League final defeat by Barcelona – his third loss in the showpiece. Hired as Ajax's marketing director in 2013, he now holds the role of general director.

12. Nwankwo Kanu

Spent three years in Amsterdam, sealing a transfer to Inter shortly after winning the UEFA Champions League – but his three-year Italian sojourn was hampered by a heart problem. Arsenal gave him a second chance in 1999 and were rewarded as the rangy attacker starred in two Premier League and two FA Cup triumphs. Spent two years with West Brom after leaving Arsène Wenger's side in 2004 before switching to Portsmouth, where he scored the winner in their 2008 FA Cup success. Now runs his own TV station in Nigeria.

13. Ronald de Boer

The De Boer brothers©Getty Images

Ronald swapped Amsterdam for Barcelona after five Dutch titles in 1999, adding the Spanish title to his list of honours during his debut campaign. He acquired further silverware at Rangers, where Frank joined him for half a season, and later followed his sibling to Qatar until retirement in 2008, having earning 67 caps for the Oranje, scoring 13 goals. A youth coach at Ajax, he also works as a pundit on television.

Not pictured: Louis van Gaal

After glory in 1995 he led Ajax to a second UEFA Champions League final in 1996 before winning two Spanish championships with Barcelona, another Dutch title – to add to the three won with Ajax – with AZ Alkmaar and one with Bayern München, with whom he lost the 2010 UEFA Champions League final. Failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup as Netherlands coach but took them to semi-finals of the 2014 edition, then took charge of Manchester United between 2014 and 2016. Confirmed his retirement from football in March 2019.