Phil Neville, the Luigi to brother, Gary’s, Mario, recently stated that a generation of English talent is disappearing down the toilet.
Why? It’s all due to a lack of opportunity.
FA chairman, Greg Dyke, aims to raise the profile of English players in the Premier League. Neville and Dyke both agree that the majority of clubs do not have an actual blueprint for fulfilling the potential of home-grown youngsters.
As Neville, a class of ‘92 graduate, alluded to, simply pumping ridiculous sums of money into academies is pointless unless a manager is prepared to accept a philosophy where young players actually have an opportunity to shine.
Southampton, currently sitting sixth in the English Premier League, have a direct pathway to first-team football. Unlike so many other clubs, the process doesn’t end when a player turns 19. Celebrated for producing immense talents, the Saints’ youth academy has provided us with silky, skilful souls. Matt Le Tissier and Alan Shearer are direct products, with the latter scoring a memorable hat-trick on his home debut, helping the team to a 4–2 victory against Arsenal. Shearer became the youngest player – at 17 years, 240 days – to score a hat-trick in a top division game, breaking a record previously held by the legendary Jimmy Greaves.
Without a doubt, Gareth Bale is the academy’s most discussed graduate, with the attacker going on to become the most expensive player in the world. Following his £7 million move to Spurs in 2007, Bale initially struggled to make an impact, however, as we all know, he went on to become one of the Premier League’s most exciting players.
When discussing the crème de la crème of youth academy football, one club immediately springs to mind. No, not Scunthorpe United, ladies and gentlemen, I’m talking about Ajax. Considering the country has a population of just 16 million people, the academy’s ability to produce top quality for close to 60 years is pretty impressive. Ajax, playing in a league dwarfed by revenue by many of its more prestigious European counterparts, operates one of the most sophisticated ‘conveyor belts’ in world football.
While retro disco ruled the 1970s fashion scene, Ajax dominated the football scene. Boasting talents like Ruud Krol, Piet Keizer and Johan Cryuff, this much adored outfit won three European cups in a row. With the likes of Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard coming through the system, the 1980s proved to be another significant decade for Dutch football. Then, in 1995, under the stewardship of Louis van Gaal, a young Patrick Kluivert came off the bench to secure Ajax’s fourth European Cup. This famous Vienna victory against AC Milan came courtesy of a starting XI containing no fewer than five academy graduates. With Edwin van der Sar in goal, Ronald and Frank de Boer in defence, and Clarence Seedorf and Edgar Davids in midfield, this Ajax team oozed class.
Before being offered a youth contract, Ajax officials invite youngsters to partake in a test stage called the ‘Talentendagen’. Ball control, positioning, technique and intelligence; each area is meticulously evaluated. Thankfully, although many an academy is busy promoting muscular prowess, the Ajax coaches tend to favour technical ability over size and power.
The youth team train in a similar fashion to the first team, so the players who eventually move up the ranks are already familiar with the desired style of play, training and conduct.
In a way every true fan enjoys seeing football played, Ajax officials encourage each player to engage in an attractive, offensive style. Only one formation exists here; 4-3-3, the traditional, Ajax approach.
With roughly 200 youth players at the club at all times, Ajax caters for all age groups, from five- and six-year-old children up to Under 19s and reserve teams. By the age of 16 or 17, if talented enough, a player is all but assured of a first team place, an extreme rarity in today’s modern game. Furthermore, a large percentage of transfer fees received from player sales go back into the youth system, mainly improving facilities and training methods.
Although the Dutch-defining Total Football era of the 1970s is now merely a beautiful, nostalgic dream, club officials have not given up hope of returning to similar heights.
As romantic a notion as this is, Ajax simply cannot compete with the mega-rich Madrids and Manchester Cities of this world. Sadly, especially in the last decade, rather like the aforementioned Southampton, Ajax has become a ‘talent factory’, simply producing young, totally marketable youngsters. Left with no option but to sell stars due to the economic demands of the modern environment, the club has suffered from a plight faced by so many – the globalisation of domestic leagues.
This footballing institution has been producing phenomenal talent for decades. We’re talking about Michael Reiziger, Ruud Gullit, Danny Blind, Marc Overmars, Frank de Boer, Ronald de Boer, Nigel de Jong, Rafael van der Vaart and Thomas Vermaelen, to name just a few. Additionally, Ajax officials have nurtured players in their early careers; Ronald Koeman, the current manager of Southampton, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Jesper Gronkjaar, the ex-Chelsea winger, and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, one of the best finishers now operating in the Bundesliga.
More recently, the likes of Christian Eriksen and Daley Blind, two benefactors of the Ajax way, have arrived in the Premiership and performed admirably. Without this brilliant youth system, undoubtedly, we would never have witnessed some of the greatest players ever to grace a football field, but the return to European dominance for Ajax is not going to happen any time soon.
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