Ajax coach Frank de Boer agrees contract extension to 2017

Ajax head coach Frank de Boer has agreed to extend his stay until 2017 after leading the club to three league titles in the past three years.

"I see enough challenges here, so this contract is precisely what I wanted,'' the ex-Netherlands captain said.

De Boer, 43, previously excelled as a player for the Amsterdam club.

This year he became the first man to have won three Dutch league titles in a row as a player and then achieve the same feat as head coach.

De Boer - whose previous deal was due to expire next summer - came through the Ajax youth ranks to make more than 400 appearances for the senior side, winning five Eredivisie titles, two domestic cups, one Uefa Cup and one Champions League trophy.

He left in 1999 to join Spanish club Barcelona, where he won one La Liga title.

The 112-times capped Dutch international then saw out his playing career with subsequent spells at Galatasaray, Rangers and in the Middle East prior to his retirement seven years ago.

After assisting Netherlands boss Bert van Marwijk during the 2010 World Cup, where they lost to Spain in the final, and taking charge of Ajax's youth set-up, De Boer succeeded now-Fulham manager Martin Jol as head coach at the Amsterdam Arena in December 2010.

As well as winning the domestic title again this season, his Ajax side finished ahead of then-Premier League champions Manchester City in the group stage of the Champions League.