In 1964, Jaap van Praag became chairman of the Dutch Association football club AFC Ajax, and the club's golden age began.[4] The club had just narrowly escaped relegation the previous season, so Jaap van Praag decided to hire former Ajax attacker Rinus Michels as the new head coach.[5] Together they took the club to new professional heights, with the financial help of Maup Caransa and the Van der Meijden brothers amongst others.[6] The Van der Meijden brothers were known to have collaborated with the Nazis during World War II, and are widely known as the bunkerbouwers (bunker builders). Jaap van Praag was legendary and admitted that he never had a difficulty lying if it was ever in the interest of his club.[7] Famous in this respect is the statement by Johan Cruyff on Jaap van Praag, stating that he was never able to catch him in a truth. Under the guidance of Van Praag, Ajax won the European Cup three times in a row from 1971 to 1973.