 Ajax were knocked out by Juventus in the quarter-finals of the European Cup in 1978 and reached a European Cup semi-final in 1980, losing to eventual winners Nottingham Forest.Disappointing European form between 1980 and 1986 saw the club failing to progress past the second round for six-straight years.Johan Cruyff returned to the club in 1981, with the club producing some talented youngsters in the mid-1980s, such as Wim Kieft, John van 't Schip, Marco van Basten, Gerald Vanenburg, Jesper Olsen and Frank Rijkaard.