Dharmabum
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- Aug 16, 2003
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https://www.telegraph.co.uk/footbal...nga-clubs-do-not-think-football-like-ajax-do/
There is a simple answer to the question about why Ajax are so successful in producing their own players. It is not because of their innovative coaching, although that helps, or the wonderful facilities at the Toekomst Academy.
It is, according to John Heitinga, caused by something far more powerful, running through the heart of the club. The simple, pure idea that it is always better for to produce and improve their own players than buy them from outside.
Ajax do not look at youth development as just another department, it is very essence of the club’s identity. Their success in nurturing homegrown players, a tradition stretching back decades, is integral, not just to the business plan – produce, play, sell and repeat – but what the club stands for, what it represents.
Where most clubs think they have a pathway from Academy to first team, Ajax built motorway and are looking to expand. And it is young players from England, fully aware Erik ten Hag’s thrilling side is built around a core of players promoted from their youth teams.
“We absolutely believe in our young players, that is the most important thing,” said Heitinga, the former Everton and Fulham defender who has been Ajax’s Under-19 manager for the last three years.
“We want to give them a chance more than anything. Everything we do is designed to get as many players into the first team as possible. From the age of six or seven, that is what we are trying to work towards.
“We have more players, who came through our Academy, playing in the top five leagues in Europe than any other club. We are very proud of that, because producing our own players, getting them into the first team and, then, if they are good enough, on to one of the top leagues, is at the core of what this club stands for.
“You know people were saying football in Holland was in trouble two years ago, but we [national team] are back and we’ve done it because we are able to produce so many high quality players for a such a small country. Ajax have been a massive part of this generation, with players like Frenkie de Jong and Matt de Ligt, but it is something we have always done.
“It is down to how we teach our children, as well as coach them, but it is also the way we see football, how we feel it should be played.
“Some people say Ajax teams are arrogant, that they think they are better than everyone else. It’s just confidence, it’s how we want them to play. From the moment they get here, at six or seven, we are encouraging them to play on the front foot, to be bold, to express themselves, to take on their man if they are one on one, to use their skill, to be creative, look for a forward pass…
“We also give them a lot of home work, they study a lot, all sorts of things. We don’t want them playing computer games when they get home, we want them thinking about football.”
Heitinga graduated from Toekomst and spent seven seasons in the senior side , before deciding, like so many others, to make a lucrative move abroad.
The 35-year-old believes the Dutch are naturally inclined to travel and the money on offer abroad is far more than they could earn at home, but it is also to do with the way Ajax’s educate their young players.
“We spend a lot of time working on the mindset,” he added. “There are a lot of players with talent, but that is not enough on its own. It is how hard they want to work, how determined they are to get better. Are they prepared to do all the extra work to achieve their goal? Look at De Ligt as an example, everything he’s done since he was a boy has been with the intention of making him the best defender in the world.
“That is why those players who have come through our Academy who are playing in the first team now, are able to take everything in their stride. They are young, De Jong is 21, De Ligt is 19, but they do not feel pressure. They can deal with the big games, they can play against top teams and not lose their focus. That is how they have been brought up.
Many clubs have tried to imitate Ajax’s Academy structure, although none have replicated its success. Not because they have bad coaches or a more limited pool of players to choose from, but because they are unable to think like Ajax do. Some of that is down to money, richer clubs plunder Ajax almost every summer, but also because it takes time and patience to get results with young players and managers are under pressure to win.
“If you are a Premier League team, if there is a problem, they go and buy someone,” added Heitinga. “I trained with lots of good young players at Everton, but these players, there is no trust in them. They go out on loan, then another loan and then, before you know it, you are 21 or 22 and you still aren’t going to get a game.
“Our young players, they would be playing in the first team long before then. That’s the difference. We are able to let them develop in the senior side and they do so quickly because we have been preparing them for that moment since they were tiny. In England, that doesn’t seem to happen.
“I think we would be attractive to a lot of young players outside Holland and there are a few conversations going on with English players, young players who might be able to come here. We’d have no problem doing that, the good thing about this season’s success is, if we are interested in young players, they want to come here because they know they will get a chance.”
- Luke Edwards, amsterdam
There is a simple answer to the question about why Ajax are so successful in producing their own players. It is not because of their innovative coaching, although that helps, or the wonderful facilities at the Toekomst Academy.
It is, according to John Heitinga, caused by something far more powerful, running through the heart of the club. The simple, pure idea that it is always better for to produce and improve their own players than buy them from outside.
Ajax do not look at youth development as just another department, it is very essence of the club’s identity. Their success in nurturing homegrown players, a tradition stretching back decades, is integral, not just to the business plan – produce, play, sell and repeat – but what the club stands for, what it represents.
Where most clubs think they have a pathway from Academy to first team, Ajax built motorway and are looking to expand. And it is young players from England, fully aware Erik ten Hag’s thrilling side is built around a core of players promoted from their youth teams.
“We absolutely believe in our young players, that is the most important thing,” said Heitinga, the former Everton and Fulham defender who has been Ajax’s Under-19 manager for the last three years.
“We want to give them a chance more than anything. Everything we do is designed to get as many players into the first team as possible. From the age of six or seven, that is what we are trying to work towards.
“We have more players, who came through our Academy, playing in the top five leagues in Europe than any other club. We are very proud of that, because producing our own players, getting them into the first team and, then, if they are good enough, on to one of the top leagues, is at the core of what this club stands for.
“You know people were saying football in Holland was in trouble two years ago, but we [national team] are back and we’ve done it because we are able to produce so many high quality players for a such a small country. Ajax have been a massive part of this generation, with players like Frenkie de Jong and Matt de Ligt, but it is something we have always done.
“It is down to how we teach our children, as well as coach them, but it is also the way we see football, how we feel it should be played.
“Some people say Ajax teams are arrogant, that they think they are better than everyone else. It’s just confidence, it’s how we want them to play. From the moment they get here, at six or seven, we are encouraging them to play on the front foot, to be bold, to express themselves, to take on their man if they are one on one, to use their skill, to be creative, look for a forward pass…
“We also give them a lot of home work, they study a lot, all sorts of things. We don’t want them playing computer games when they get home, we want them thinking about football.”
Heitinga graduated from Toekomst and spent seven seasons in the senior side , before deciding, like so many others, to make a lucrative move abroad.
The 35-year-old believes the Dutch are naturally inclined to travel and the money on offer abroad is far more than they could earn at home, but it is also to do with the way Ajax’s educate their young players.
“We spend a lot of time working on the mindset,” he added. “There are a lot of players with talent, but that is not enough on its own. It is how hard they want to work, how determined they are to get better. Are they prepared to do all the extra work to achieve their goal? Look at De Ligt as an example, everything he’s done since he was a boy has been with the intention of making him the best defender in the world.
“That is why those players who have come through our Academy who are playing in the first team now, are able to take everything in their stride. They are young, De Jong is 21, De Ligt is 19, but they do not feel pressure. They can deal with the big games, they can play against top teams and not lose their focus. That is how they have been brought up.
Many clubs have tried to imitate Ajax’s Academy structure, although none have replicated its success. Not because they have bad coaches or a more limited pool of players to choose from, but because they are unable to think like Ajax do. Some of that is down to money, richer clubs plunder Ajax almost every summer, but also because it takes time and patience to get results with young players and managers are under pressure to win.
“If you are a Premier League team, if there is a problem, they go and buy someone,” added Heitinga. “I trained with lots of good young players at Everton, but these players, there is no trust in them. They go out on loan, then another loan and then, before you know it, you are 21 or 22 and you still aren’t going to get a game.
“Our young players, they would be playing in the first team long before then. That’s the difference. We are able to let them develop in the senior side and they do so quickly because we have been preparing them for that moment since they were tiny. In England, that doesn’t seem to happen.
“I think we would be attractive to a lot of young players outside Holland and there are a few conversations going on with English players, young players who might be able to come here. We’d have no problem doing that, the good thing about this season’s success is, if we are interested in young players, they want to come here because they know they will get a chance.”
