Thousands fail to graduate from the Ajax academy

The Ajax academy has for years been hailed the blueprint for elite player production. When every it hits a blip, and everyone thinks it's over they pop out another star name. On the outside, people have a view of a holistic & relaxed environment typical of the Dutch culture. With exclusive access to players, academy and first-team staff, football4football know what it's really like there.

One such player who experienced the demanding selection process, is former Manchester City & AC Milan star, Nigel de Jong. Robust but technically proficient, the midfielder is a success story of how it works at De Toekomst. Having started as a forward, he played on the right before settling in the centre. He was actually capped as a full-back for the Dutch U21s many times too.

Nigel de Jong came from a football family, his dad played for PSV in the 1980s, winning 3 full caps for Holland. That said, there was no pressure from his parents to become a pro; they did insist he did well at school, though.

I never had doubts from then on at 14 or 15 that I wasn’t going to make it.

Ex - Ajax Academy graduate - Nigel de Jong to football4football

The 9-year-old forward was quick and had a good touch created on the streets near his home. There was never a time when he didn't have a ball in his hands, to be at his feet, if you know what we mean?

Having balanced his school work and staying out of trouble on the streets of west Amsterdam, an invite to the famed Ajax academy arrived.

Progress

Every year he remained at 'The Dutch Centre of Excellence' he'd beaten off the competition of thousands of hopefuls. Ajax has a very active recruitment programme. They are the draw. Selection is a badge of honour for a young player.

Insights

Project: Dutch Golden Generation - Mark Wotte

The system develops them as a player, even if it doesn't give a career there. It's a football finishing school. For Nigel de jong, however, he made good progress. Within 6 years of being there, he was around the first team.

This was no surprise for him. Not that he was cocky; he knew what he wanted. He also knew what he needed to do to get it. Being a youth footballer is all about sacrifice. You have to do more training than peers but then not as much of the worldly things that friends of the same age do. The Ajax youth system breeds young players full of confidence and knowledge. Nigel de Jong's group were special. It was a competitive environment, with a focus to get in the first team. Raw teenagers with different skills, backgrounds and attitudes will develop at different rates. To take advantage of the step-up to senior-level requires a strong mentality.

Graduation

Many crumble. In the case of Nigel de Jong, he looked at a young Zlatan Ibrahimovic and seasoned campaigner Aron Winter for reference when Ronald Koeman called him up for the 1st team. They wanted to be the best. Zlatan was on his rise and Winter was a top pro with over 80 caps.

At the end of the education, the players know who are the best.

Ex - Ajax academy director - to football4football

Nigel de Jong went on to play for Ajax over 100 times. He played and scored in the Champions League and helped them win the Eredivisie. In 2005 full confirmation of his graduation was had as he received their player of the year title. This was some achievement in a team that featured Rafael Van der Vaart and Wesley Sneijder.

An academy can win many youth titles. If that doesn't translate into future 1st team players then its counts for little. Ajax produces players for their first team regularly. They also have a knack of selling graduates to the top leagues in the world.

Ajax academy special

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