A Quote by Marco van Basten
My first dream as a young boy was to be a gymnast and my first memory of football is of watching Ajax win the European Cup in 1971. It was a time when a great philosophy was being developed at Ajax, making rounded players who were there as a complete team rather than as 11 individuals.
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Ajax have a tradition of good football and play 4-3-3, which suits me. They also spend lots of money on youth players with the aim of putting them in the first team.
At Ajax, we have a certain philosophy that is sometimes more important than winning - the development of players.
I just grew up in Ajax with all the players from Ajax. We only had two or three foreigners, so everyone knew each other and knew the system.
When I was young, the best moment came when I was 10 and I got invited to the academy. I remember getting all this Ajax training gear and suddenly I was able to call myself an Ajax player.
Ajax wanted me to be a part of their first team.
I remember my first Champions League final in 1996: Juventus-Ajax. That's the clearest memory from my childhood.
When I was coach at Ajax, in the first half of the season, the players needed time to adapt to me, to know who I am as a person and as a coach.
Ajax has always been about homegrown players developed in a small country.
I would like Ajax to be people's favourite second team. Like in Spain, if you are a Real Madrid fan, then you can't be a Barcelona supporter. It's the same in Italy. But you can be an Ajax fan.
It took me five years to get my first trophy with Ajax but it feels like you have to win a trophy to win more and then they follow. It's just the belief you can win it.
Talking of first times Stephanie, I bet your first time was really memorable for you and the captain ot the football team .. and the basketball team .. and the softball team, the track team, the chess club and the pool boy!
I've always been a big Ajax fan. It is not very strange - my whole family supports Ajax.
Of course that's Ajax development, giving young players a chance.
A system depends on the players you have. I played 4-3-3 with Ajax, 2-3-2-3 with Barcelona and a 4-4-2 with AZ. I'm flexible. The philosophy stays the same though. I don't think that you can adapt it to every possible situation. You need the right mindset, and it depends on how the players see the coach and vice versa. The coach is the focal point of the team but you need to have an open mind, and so do all the players. Everyone needs to work together to achieve a common goal.
I believe in work, in connections between the players, I think what makes football great is that it is a team sport. You can win in different ways, by being more of a team, or by having better individual players. It is the team ethic that interests me, always.
The first time I watched a World Cup game was in 2002. That was the first time Senegal had ever qualified for the World Cup, and it was great moment that I will never forget in my life. I was ten years old at the time, and that experience of watching my country in a World Cup is what inspired me to become a footballer.
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