Youth And Youth Development In Football (1 Viewer)

Ajax turn back the clock
Friday, 21 March 2003
By Adrian Harte

Last May the new order of European football seemed so enshrined that the Observer newspaper ran a feature entitled "Do you remember when [AFC] Ajax could win the European Cup?"

Aigner lament
The development of the UEFA Champions League, the financial dominance of English, Italian and Spanish clubs and especially the Bosman ruling had apparently combined to squeeze out the small clubs from the European top table. Indeed, UEFA Chief Executive Gerhard Aigner lamented in September 2001 that it was no longer possible for clubs like Ajax and RSC Anderlecht to win the European Champion Clubs' Cup.



Coach Ronald Koeman at work


Ajax back
However, a draw in Rome on Wednesday has put Ajax back in the quarter-finals of Europe's premier club competition, halting a period of decline that began after their 1995 Champions League success and more specifically after their 1996 final defeat by Juventus FC, when bigger clubs captured their young talent.

Talent sapped
With Clarence Seedorf having already departed after the win in 1995, Edgar Davids, Finidi George, Nwankwo Kanu and Michael Reiziger left in 1996, with Marc Overmars, Winston Bogarde and Patrick Kluivert following a year later.

The decline
Ajax's response was to replace their departed stars with sub-standard young foreigners. The result was disastrous, with the club slumping as low as sixth in the Eredivisie in 1999. They may have had one of the best stadiums in the world in the Amsterdam ArenA, but there was no team to match it.

Think global
So Ajax went back to basics, to youth development. This time though the net was cast wider with players developed not just at Ajax's legendary De Toekomst academy but across the world. The club invested the proceeds of a successful stock market flotation and they bought or established feeder clubs in South Africa, Ghana and Belgium. Steven Pienaar, the young No10 inevitably dubbed the "new Cruyff", and Abubakari Yakubu are the most obvious fruits of this approach.

Foreign talent
However, Ajax also scouted young talent developed elsewhere, with Cristian Chivu, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Hatem Trabelsi and Jelle van Damme testifying to the success of this policy. Of course, the improvement that quartet have shown since arriving at the club highlights an often overlooked factor in Ajax's renaissance, the influence of coach Ronald Koeman.

Koeman role
The former Ajax and FC Barcelona star played under Johan Cruyff and has worked with Guus Hiddink and Louis van Gaal, the foremost Dutch coaches of the past decade. Schooled in the Ajax way, he has the respect and authority that only playing success can bring.

Now that finances have gone down, we may find we have the best young players a bit longer, and little by little we can build

Ronald Koeman


Players retained
When asked to explain Ajax's revival, Koeman pointed out perhaps the most significant factor. "Now that finances have gone down, we may find we have the best young players a bit longer, and little by little we can build," he said. In a more buoyant financial climate, Ajax would probably have lost Chivu last summer and possibly Ibrahimovic and Rafael van der Vaart as well.

Best team
Koeman has no doubt that he has the best Ajax team since the class of 1995 broke up. With Chivu's class and Trabelsi's pace in defence; Pienaar's poise and Van der Vaart's vision in midfield; and Ibrahimovic's improvisation in attack backed up by the experience of Jari Litmanen in reserve, few would argue.

We will have the young players for longer to build a new team that can maybe win the Champions League in five or six years

Koeman on Ajax's future


Future focus
Koeman has also added steel to the traditional silk but he is not focused merely on immediate success. "We will have the young players for longer to build a new team that can maybe win the Champions League in five or six years," he said. An old name with new blood could yet be threatening football's new order.

WWW.UEFA.COM
http://www.uefa.com/magazine/news/Kind=8/newsId=60336.html
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What do we think??

Lazio looking to youth
25 March 2003
Nadia Carminati

LAZIO have outlined a shift in policy from signing established stars to developing young talent.

The Roman club have massive debts they need to ease, and this has prompted a change in emphasis for Roberto Mancini`s side.

Lazio general director Luca Baraldi is looking to take a leaf out of Ajax`s book and develop an academy.

He said: "At first we will have to make investment in young players, making ourselves like Ajax.

"Then, we need to reorganise for the medium and long-term.

"For all this to happen we have to define a plan for shareholders.

"Anyway, the right thing to do is to cut costs because it is possible to be competitive and win things without spending much. From this point of view, Roberto Mancini is an important part of our plan."

WWW.PLANETFOOTBALL.COM
http://www.planetfootball.com/article.asp?id=138819&cpid=21&title=Lazio+looking+to+youth
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I love Ajax , they are a real classy team...

Its hard to not love Ajax, there's something very special and unique about that team, and the style of football they play is superb.

ajax are the Total football home land.....they do have that different class and aoura when they play


Like juve, but juves is an aoura that they WILL and ARE be/being successful

In every league in the world, i support one team.

but in Holland, i've always liked PSV and hated Feyenoord. though i could never hate PSV's other Rivals: Ajax!!!

like Tom said: "it's hard to not love Ajax!!"

They play good football and i have a lot of respect for them because of all the talent they provide for the football world.

so in Holland, It's Ajax and PSV!

the more talent the make, they more we can steal away...so thats why i love AJAX!

Guys the point of this thread is to start a discussion on the pros and cons of youth, young players and development in a club, its impact on the club and the game, and how it affects various spheres of the game....

so can we be a little On-topic??

imo lots of clubs are turning to youth now which is the sensible thing to do with the current financial crisis.even the very successful ones(eg.real,manyoo and juve) are planning for the future.of course the usual clubs(ajax and river) continue to bring in young raw diamonds...the future will prove to be an exciting one.

true.

The difference between Ajax and River, however is that Ajax's Academy is highly structured and controlled- and everything is rather deliberate.

Generally in South America though they dont try to control and focus on specific details so much, or so it seems.

They are a lot more free- and their players just have some kind of innate talent in them that shines through.

i agree.in south america you can see children playing football in the streets with a rolled up ball of scksit's heartwarming really...

lots of countries have children who played in the streets with rolled up socks and all that...(including mine)

i dont see any stars comming from these countries!

it must be in the Argentinian Genes!! (spelling)

Possibly. But Majed, the middle-eastern countries dont have big role-models, like Japan has Nakata.

I think if a private party starts a youth academy with all the money they have they could rival systems in Europe and South America. Soccer is certainly VERY popular over there- I know that first hand

But we need someone who is willing to invest in an academy there- especially if it was a club itself.

A good club profile is sure to attract scouts, who in turn will see talent(when people actually take steps to develop) and in turn will send Al-Abdullahs and Mohammed's and Azizi's to clubs in Germany and England and Italy, paving the way for others to join....

No big Role-models!!!
Of course there are, sorry, but Nakata isn't the best player in Asia. Nawaf Al-Temyat is a better and more complete player than Nakata. The middle east has produced great talets over the years. The best stricker in Asian History is "Majed Abdullah."
[I'll talk about Saudi Arabia specifically].
These players never had a chance because of one huge reason: Playing professionaly abroad was banned and only just a couple of years ago became allowed though still with MANY restrictions
there are so many young talents who have HUGE ppotential, but in a couple of years, they stay in the stupid domestic league and they dont get better.
The other problem is like you said, clubs should be owned as a business. Over here, princes are the presidents and sadly, they dont help the team grow as they control the coaches deseicions. They also prevent high profile players from even leaving the country. Nawaf Al-Temyat was extremely close to signing with Roda FC, but the deal fell through because a board memeber doubled his price tag at the last moment.

There are investments. Al-Shabab and Al-Ahli clubs produces great young talents from their youth clubs, but big clubs like Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad buy these players and they never have a chance to grow.

Saudi football is deseriorating. Look at how we performed in USA94 :extatic: then France 98 :down: then J/K2002

then it's probably in their mindsets....they pr0obably think it's impossible to secure a successful career in their repective countries when it comes to football,that's the sad part:down:

what do u suggest then?