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De Boer readies himself for the snakepit​

Picture the scene. You are the coach of a youth team when you get a call from the chairman: ''Our manager is gone, the team is a shambles and we have a big game tomorrow in Italy against the leaders of Serie A. Can you come and help us?" And there you are, in your first ever match as a club manager, standing on the touchline, cameras flashing and 50,000 hostile fans abusing you. You can just about hear over the noise as a journalist asks you whether it is such a good idea to keep your top scorer on the bench.

Frank de Boer: Jumped from coach of the U-19s to the top job.​

It sounds like a nightmare, but for someone like Frank de Boer it is all in a day's work. The Saturday before, Ajax escaped with a draw against mid-table NEC Nijmegen, while being outplayed for most of the night on home soil. Seeing no way out of the misery, Martin Jol handed in his resignation on Monday, a day ahead of the flight to Milan for their last Champions League group game. Immediately, as if he was waiting in the wings, De Boer, coach of Ajax's Under-19 team, took over.
De Boer had two days and one training session (on the pitch of the San Siro stadium) to pick up the pieces. Ajax had won only two games out of their last eight, scoring only six goals. De Boer's main change was to leave top-scorer Mounir El Hamdaoui on the bench and play with Luis Suarez and Miralem Sulejmani on the wings in the old-fashioned Ajax-style.
From the kick-off Ajax went forward, pressurised Milan in their own half and managed to frustrate the build-up of the Serie A leaders. It was not Milan's night and Ajax used it to their benefit, as good goals by Demy de Zeeuw and Toby Alderweireld made their entrance to the Europa League in February a certainty. Not bad for a first attempt.
De Boer will now stay in charge until next week's clasico against Feyenoord. After that, the Ajax board has to decide if they would like to make his job permanent or finish the season with a more seasoned coach like Morten Olsen or Frank Rijkaard.
Most fans prefer to continue with De Boer, who knows the club inside out. That, however, is not necessarily the secret *****ccess. In 1998, Jan Wouters succeeded Morten Olsen halfway the season and, in 2005, Danny Blind took over from Ronald Koeman. Both had spent half a lifetime at the club - Wouters was kicked out within twelve months, while Blind, who was believed to have what it takes by some famous collegues, made it at least until the end of the next season. Recently it was Marco van Basten who left as national coach to go to Ajax - again someone with a deep knowledge of the club. But Van Basten chucked it in after ten months and is now a pun*** on Sport 1, a pay-tv network.
Only one man has kept the Ajax job for more than three seasons since Rinus Michels in 1971. Louis van Gaal started in September 1991 and left for Barcelona in 1997, winning three titles, a Dutch cup, the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. Even he almost did not make it to his first Christmas in charge, when a couple of bad results in November fired up the calls for Johan Cruyff to take over. Van Gaal was saved by a decent UEFA Cup run and some strong backing by the board, chaired by Michael van Praag.
Certainly, whoever takes the job faces a big challenge. Ajax have never gone so long without winning the Dutch title while, financially, they need the Champions League *****rvive. Transfers are the second source of income with the homegrown boys as prizewinners. If the youth academy has a barren spell, pressure mounts on the scouting system to bring in top talents from elsewhere, most of them with a large price-tag on their heads. And that is their Achilles heel. Over the last ten years, Ajax have turned into a buying club, which empties their coffers rapidly.
The legendary 'Total Football' was based partly on two wingers on the touchline, the 4-3-3 system. Ajax feel the need to keep this typically Dutch tra***ion alive from the youngest teams to the first squad; as Johan Cruyff puts it: "Our system is unique. Foreign clubs find it difficult to defend as they are not used it."

Miralem Sulejmani has not impressed consistently.​

That is so true but, on the flipside, Ajax forks out huge sums of money to buy foreign talents, only to find out that they are unsure of how to play in the club system. Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic spent more than two years at Ajax before eventually settling, testing the patience of the majority of the club's fans. Niklos Machlas, Albert Luque, Georgi Kinkladze, Dario Cvitanich, Wesley Sonck, Markus Rosenberg, Angelos Charisteas and recently Miralem Sulejmani and Mounir El Hamdaoui, are all multi-million euro transfers who never settled or still struggle to do so.
And, if it is not going well (which, in terms of the Ajax faithful, is not winning each game comfortably performing with breathtaking style), the ruthless fifth column raises its ugly head. There is always the shadow of Johan Cruyff hanging over the club. Sometimes it is the man himself voicing opinions from Barcelona in his weekly column, but there are many groups of ex-players, hangers-on or investors coming out of the woodwork once results go haywire. They often drop their vitriol near a microphone or a notebook of a befriended hack, often starting with 'Johan said.. ' or 'according to Johan.', although the great footballer himself is blissfully unaware.
For a coach, life in and around the Amsterdam ArenA is a snakepit, in which expectations are limitless. On the very first day of his interim appointment De Boer was hailed as the man who would let Ajax play like Barcelona. Just a week before, after Barcelona's beating of Real Madrid, former Feyenoord player and coach Wim van Hanegem wondered on TV why clubs did not all play like the Catalans. Marco van Basten answered from his Ajax experience: "You can train on this one-touch tica-taca play for months with a squad, but when some of them lack the quality, it is useless."

Ajax have to choose between Cruyff and Van Gaal ​

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In the annual elections for the Ajax member's council the eight available seats were all taken by former players. These had answered the call by Johan Cruyff to bring more football in the council. The mandate of this council is only indirect but Cruyff sees it as the soul of Ajax. The media hurried to call the election result a 'Velvet Revolution'.
Meanwhile, the recent changes in the technical staff go the opposite way. The (temporary?) appointment of Frank de Boer suits Johan Cruyff's advice to have a coach with an Ajax-feeling and profound internal knowledge of the club. However, Frank de Boer is influenced by Louis Van Gaal as he spent most of his playing days under the guidance of the current Bayern-coach. A month ago Van Gaal claimed never to return to Ajax, but after De Boer started in the Arena this changed last week to 'unthinkable, but...'. Now the new Ajax-coach said he would very much welcome Louis van Gaal as technical director in Amsterdam. Van Gaal told Bild-Zeitung in Germany today how he would end his career in a few years in München, as a national coach or ... as general manager at Ajax.

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A return of his archenemy Louis van Gaal is not what Johan Cruyff has in mind for the club. It will therefore be interesting what the directors will decide the coming weeks over the coaching job. Appointing Frank de Boer will induce a return of Louis van Gaal, sooner or later, which will antagonize Johan Cruyff. They have to make a choice for the future and maybe the member council will play a deciding role.

3-4-3, Ajax and Johan Cruijff: the love affair.​

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The transition from a player to a coach is not always easy and can take time, some will make it and some will not, they say a successful player doesn’t always make a great coach, but there is an exception to the rule and a prime example being Johan Cruijff.
Cruijff (also known as Cruyff) couldn’t have had a greater tutor (coach if you will) in Rinus Michels, educated at the Ajax school of hard knocks. He was not only that, he was his mentor, speaking after his death Cruijff said: “Both as a player and as a trainer there is nobody who taught me as much as him. I will miss Rinus Michels. I always greatly admired his leadership.”
From an early age he wasn’t shy to tell his older teammates where to run, stop and pass, this would often lead to unwanted consequences – his natural ability on the pitch made him the perfect student for which Michels could build his total football (Totaalvoetbal) philosophy around.

The Student Becomes The Master

As the years progressed, Cruijff began to shape his own ideas on how the game should be played, owing largely from Michels blueprint – despite this not many saw him making the grade up to being a manager.
Then lo and behold, in 1985, two years after retiring from the game, Cruijff was announced as the new manager of Ajax – with a little help from the KNVB. While he lacked formal qualification (not even proper certifications to coach even a reserve team), this time his outspoken nature served him well.
The Dutch FA (KNVB) fast-tracked whatever was needed and the Ajax board handed the keys over.
The signs were already there, in 1980, he came down from the stands during a Dutch league game and started handing out unsolicited advice to Ajax coach Leo Beenhakker instructing him to bring on Frank Rijkaard. The baffled Beenhakker let Cruyff take over control and Ajax, who were down 3-1 to FC Twente at that moment, ended up winning the game 5-3.
It was with this young Ajax side including his protégé Marco van Basten, Frank Rijkaard, Danny Blind, Jan Wouters etc that Cruijff could implement his favoured formation: 3-4-3.

How Cruijff’s 3-4-3 worked

“The seduction of a 3-4-3 lies in the balance of risks in a symmetrical formation: a thin line of three defenders being the ‘yin’ to an attacking trident’s ‘yang’. Two wing-backs flank a sole centre-back behind whereas up front two wingers are fielded either side of a number 9.
Sandwiched in between the three-man defence and three-man attack we have a rhomboid midfield with two apices. Almost overlapping with the lone pure centre-back, a defensive midfielder is the bottom peak of the midfield diamond.
Up front at the cutting edge of the ‘stone’ is an attacking midfielder, either flank fleshed out with the side edges of the diamond being an inside left and inside right. This is the classic 3-4-3.”
Cruijff played*: three mobile centre halves plus one covering space, almost a holding midfielder rather than sweeper (from Boeve, Blind, Silooy, Spelbos, Rijkaard), two controlling midfielders (from Winter, Wouters, Mühren, Witschge) with responsibilities to feed the attack-minded players and defend, one shadow striker (Bosman, Scholten), two touchline-hugging wingers (from Bergkamp, van’t Schip, De Wit, Dick) and one all-round centre forward (Van Basten).
One unique trait was the role of Menzo, in goal, Cruijff appointed Menzo as first keeper, because he could do what none of the other keepers of Ajax could: Menzo could play excellent football, in accordance with the philosophy of Cruijff. With him the build up could start with peace of heart. Instead of launching the ball out to restart attacks, Menzo would play it out as the team gradually built an attack. He would later play a similar role for Louis van Gaal but in time would be dropped for Edwin van der Sar.
His mentor Michels, called the formation when he took it to Barcelona “spectacular but risky”, but could also apply it to its use at Ajax. Of course this wasn’t necessarily fixed in stone, the players were flexaible as the 1987 Cup Winners’ Cup final starting XI showed:

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So successful was this system that Ajax under Louis van Gaal would win the European Cup (in its Champions League format) in 1995, with new stars: Overmars, Litmanen, Frank and Ronald de Boer, Davids, Kluivert etc – and to this day considered to be the Ajax holy grail, formation wise that is.

Ajax tenureship and departure

Cruijff wasn’t afraid to promote any talented youngsters from the academy, something Ajax have done and continue to do so. A notable example being Dennis Bergkamp, who Cruijff personally selected into his first team plans.
Under the legendary number 14, Ajax would win 3 honours in 3 seasons: the KNVB Cup twice in 1986 and 1987 plus the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1987. He would also guide Ajax to second in the 1985-86 Eredivisie despite having a superior goal difference to the eventual winners PSV Eindhoven under Guus Hiddink. His overall record stands at: 62-7-17.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sVhMGqkT5s&feature=player_embedded

His success would see him leave for FC Barcelona in 1988, Cruijff growing frustrated with the board and anger over the selling of Marco van Basten to AC Milan at the start of the 1987-88 season, he also in that season fell out with Frank Rijkaard, who infamously stormed out of a training session vowing to never play under him again.
At Barcelona he would guide the Catalan giants to their first European Cup in 1992 beating Sampdoria at Wembley and go on to dominate Spanish league football in the early 90s with his “Dream Team” continuing with his 3-4-3, this time with players such as: Josep Guardiola, José Mari Bakero, Txiki Beguiristain, Goikoetxea, Ronald Koeman, Michael Laudrup, Romário and Hristo Stoichkov lifted the club – and system – to the heights of success.

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Legacy

He is still to this day FC Barcelona’s most successful and longest serving manager and their brand of football which we marvel over today is largely down to him, Guardiola, his captain, and now coach of Barcelona said this after the humbling 5-0 win over Real Madrid: “This is a result of the last 15-20 years. We’re trying to take care of the legacy of Cruijff and others.”
Frank de Boer, unlike Guardiola never had the opportunity to play under Cruijff, but did under Louis van Gaal – so knows the system that Cruijff loves so dear, he spoke of being a disciple of the philosophy and would shape his managerial stint at Ajax, he put it: if the players needed to fit the system are not there, then you find them. Exciting times ahead indeed.
* In brackets the players who played the role

Ajax appoints sounding boards
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10 February 2011​

Following the board meeting which took place on Monday, February 7, and a constructive discussion the following day between general manager Rik van den Boog, Ajax’s Board of Directors, and Johan Cruijff, three sounding board groups have been assigned to give advice to Ajax’s club leadership.
The existing financial commission from the Board will become the sounding board for financial issues. The group now consists of Hein Blocks, Roger van Boxtel, Kees Timmerman and Leo van Wijk. Jeroen Slop and Joop Krant will chair this board on behalf of Ajax’s management and Board of Directors.

The two new advice bodies will focus on association issues and the technical area. The sounding board for association issues will consist of Mark Geestman, Ruud Haarms, Hennie Henrichs, Keje Molenaar and Cees van Oevelen. On behalf of the Board of Directors, Uri Coronel and Cor van Eijden are represented in this platform. The sounding board for technical issues will consist of Peter Boeve, Johan Cruijff, Piet Keizer and Dick Schoenaker. On behalf of Ajax’s management, Rik van den Boog will chair this group.

Discussions will take place in the next few weeks to determine how involved Johan Cruijff will be in terms of any future role with Ajax.

The life and times of Leo Beenhakker​

At a press conference in Stuttgart, where Feyenoord had just crushed VfB with a convincing 3-1 win in the first round of the 1998 UEFA Cup, a local reporter asked coach Leo Beenhakker what he thought of the sorry state of German football. "Haben sie eine Stunde Zeit?" (Do you have an hour to spare) was Don Leo's triumphant answer. Hilarious. A fortnight later Stuttgart left De Kuip with a 3-0 win and a ticket to the second round. Their coach Winnie Schafer only needed to repeat the quote a couple of times to his squad. To be fair, at the end of the season Beenhakker proceeded to bring Feyenoord their only title in the last 18 years.

Leo Beenhakker is a figure who greatly polarises opinion in the Netherlands
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Beenhakker was never a professional player, but became the youngest coach (26) in the Netherlands when he started at second division club Veendam in 1968. His first job in the Eredivisie at Go Ahead Eagles was cut short when he was dismissed after eight months. Four years later, while working as a youth trainer at Ajax, he was suddenly propelled to take charge of the first team when coach Cor Brom had to leave in August 1979.
A year later, Beenhakker was called to the boardroom by chairman Ton Harmsen a year later with Ajax in mid-table position. "Leo, we have contracted Wim Jansen, back from the States. And for technical advice, you can call on Johan Cruyff."

The advice came sooner than Beenhakker expected. In the next home game, FC Twente surprised Ajax by taking a 3-1 lead. With half an hour remaining and the visitors still a goal up, Cruyff came walking through the tunnel with his hands in his pockets. A startled Beenhakker later said he should have kicked Cruyff in the backside and sent him back to where he came from. But there was hardly time for the coach to react as his new advisor immediately started directing. Wildly gesticulating, he put several players in different positions and Ajax won 5-3. Four months later. Beenhakker decided to quit.

After three seasons at Real Zaragoza, Beenhakker returned to unfancied Volendam to sensationally lead them up to third place in the table within four months. Suddenly, Leo was the cream of the crop and he led a coaches' revolt to replace national team boss Kees Rijvers with Rinus Michels for the 1986 World Cup qualifying campaign, as mentioned in my piece on June 1. When Michels was hospitalised with heart problems, Beenhakker was on hand to take the Dutch team part-time and reach a World Cup play-off.
Meanwhile, at Volendam the team tail-spinned from top to bottom and were relegated, with Leo leaving the club to take the Dutch team to Mexico for the World Cup. That also failed horribly but the Dutch FA still offered him a new contract, though Beenhakker chose to take the reins at Real Madrid, who were desperate to win the European Cup again.

In his three years in the Bernabeu, Beenhakker's team - including Hugo Sanchez, Emilio Butragueno, Michel, Gordillo and Sanchis, dominated the Primera Division, while he was the only coach to lead Real into a European Champions Cup semi-final between their finals of 1981 and 1998. Three of them, in fact, though the final dramatically eluded him on each occasion. The 1987-88 season was especially galling. Drawn against Maradona's FC Napoli and both 1987 finalists FC Porto and Bayern Munich, Real may have had the strongest opposition ever in the run-in to a semi-final. Next were PSV, who seemed laughable opponents in comparison. However, Real could get beyond two draws and Guus Hiddink's team went on to win the cup.

The next year, Don Leo seemed on his way to the promised land after a 2-0 home win over AC Milan in the semis, but a Van Basten-Gullit-induced tornado led to a historic 5-0 defeat in the San Siro. Within a week, Don Leo signed for Ajax ("It feels like coming home', he said, although he was born in Rotterdam) and they won their first title in five years in 1990.
At that time, his friend Rinus Michels was, as a Dutch FA board member, responsible for finding a new Netherlands coach to replace Thijs Libregts, fired only a month before the World Cup 1990. The players themselves voted for Johan Cruyff, a decision that was immediately leaked to the press, but Michels went for second-choice Don Leo, backed by a few Ajax players. Why Michels took that decision, we will never know as he took the secret into his grave. Perhaps it was a question of pride.

Arguably, Netherlands had the best players at the tournament, but the team disintegrated quickly from the moment they met. Beenhakker was caught in the middle of all kinds of conflicting players, staff and media, and he was the coach no one really wanted. His charm worked against him as the squad needed someone who could bang some heads together. Legendary is the press conference in which Don Leo came out with a Chinatown-esque plastered nose. Netherlands left Italia '90 out of the back door, covered in shame. Afterwards, Beenhakker draped himself in self-comiseration, claiming that that "less than 10 % of what happened came out".

Leo Beenhakker guided unfancied Trinidad and Tobago to the 2006 World Cup finals
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He returned to Ajax, but was lured back to Madrid the next season for an ill-fated second spell at the Bernabeu. It was the start of an epic football journey with jobs all over the world from Central America to Saudi Arabia and Turkey. In between, he took Feyenoord to their last title in 1998, before again moving to Ajax as a technical director where, to his cre***, he was one of the few who had faith in Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Later he stunned the football world by taking Trinidad & Tobago to the World Cup in 2006, but he failed to do so with Poland, who he coached in conjunction with a position as advisor at Feyenoord.

Disgruntled Polish FA chairman Grzegorz Lato took the opportunity to fire him as soon as was viable, which happened to come after a crushing 3-0 defeat against Slovenia. Lato, unable to wait, told the press first and Beenhakker was embarrassingly infomed by a TV reporter during his live post-game analysis of the game on the pitch.
Back at Feyenoord as technical director, Beenhakker excelled as the vexed, troubled football legend, who had seen it all. He started by telling the fans he would bring them back to the Coolsingel (a famous street in Rotterdam) to celebrate a title, despite knowing that the club was spiralling towards an almost inevitable breakdown.

Due to financial restrictions by the Dutch FA, Feyenoord hardly spent any money and when Beenhakker did choose to invest the last millions left in the war-chest, it was on Sekou Cisse of Roda JC - a misfiring, oft- injured forward. Of his loanees and free transfers, none have made the line-up on a permanent basis. Few were surprised when news that his expiring contract would not extended emerged, but Don Leo made such a song-and-dance about the way he was informed, that the board has no option than to kick him out immediately, with the decision revealed on Monday.
Leo Beenhakker has found himself a sort of niche position. He has no network of former team-mates to rely on, but in the meantime is also not restricted by that fact. Like a cuckoo he jumps from nest to nest, mostly leaving in acrimonious style, before sweet-talking himself into other jobs and charming his way into returning to old positions.

Beenhakker enjoys a good relationship with the press as he always gives them the idea that he has let them into a secret. Expect him to find a new job soon enough, though - knowing him - he may have one already.

Tactical preview of Ajax – Spartak Moscow ​

Ajax’ season so far
Since the appointment of Frank de Boer as manager of Ajax on December 6, 2010, things have definitely changed at the Amsterdam ArenA. His predecessor Martin Jol often had Ajax playing in a pragmatic 4-2-3-1 formation, relying on two holding midfielders to cover for the wing-backs, who bombed forward to provide width to the narrow inside wingers formation. Ajax relied heavily on the creative input of Luis Suarez and often sat back, rather than playing the characteristic high pressing game.

Frank de Boer​

De Boer’s arrival coincided with the departure of Luis Suarez, as the club could make an great deal, at least business-wise, by selling him to Liverpool for 26.5 million euro. And from a tactical perspective, things changed quite a bit too. De Boer, a home grown Ajax man, started with what is generally considered to be ‘the Ajax style’. Typical characteristics are the consequent 4-3-3 formation, wide wingers and a high pressing game.
With these principles, results immediately picked up for De Boer. After a 9-5-3 (win-draw-lose) first half of the Eredivisie season under Jol, Ajax continued to a 6-2-1 streak under De Boer, only drawing the difficult away games at Roda and PSV and losing in an odd off-day at Utrecht. On top of that, Ajax’ morale was strengthened by an unexpected 2-0 away victory against AC Milan in the final Champions League group stage match and the double victory over Anderlecht in the first Europa League knock-out round. Meanwhile, Ajax reached the Dutch Cup final, where they will play Twente.

Spartak’s season so far
As the Russian football season has only just begun, Spartak played only three matches so far, two Europa League matches, with unbelievable comebacks, against Basel and one in the Russian Cup against Sibir, a team well-known after their sensational 1-0 win on PSV. Only in the latest match against Sibir, Spartak had no problems in defense. This line is definitely the wekaest line in their team.
Without serious transfers during the winter, manager Valery Karpin still doesn’t have enough high-class players in defense. The recent arrival of centre-back Marcos Rojo, who recently made his debut in the Argentine national team, is a good ad***ion, but he will still have problems adapting to the squad.
In the match against Sibir the one and only hope for good defense was to pair two defensive midfielders, a move that in fact turned out quite well as they succeeded in winning every ball after long Sibir’ passes to their lone striker.
An important player for Spartak will be the Brazilian striker Welliton, who can be expected to return to the team just in time for the match, after coming back from injury. His presence is of prima importance for Spartak’s offensive approach.

Ajax’ formation​

The expected starting line-ups. Note the mirror images that Ajax' 4-3-3 and Spartak's 4-2-3-1 produce.​

Expect Ajax to line up in their characteristic 4-3-3 formation and expect them, particularly at home, to play a possession-dominant high pressing game. The choice of the starting eleven has been quite consistent throughout De Boer’s matches so far, but recently the holding midfielder role has been given to Vurnon Anita over Cameroon international Eyong Enoh. While Enoh offered huge commitment in the tackling department, Anita offers a superior passing game.
Up front, Mounir El Hamdaoui has fallen out of favor big time, after a half-time clash with De Boer during Ajax semi-final Cup win over second tier RKC. The Moroccan striker, Ajax’ biggest acquisition at the beginning of the season, ended up being substituted and was relegated to the youth squad until further notice. His place in the lone striker role will be filled in by Siem de Jong, who offers an important back-to-goal presence in the lone striker role and his excellent team work skills will help him bring others into play. Look out for the well-timed runs from deep from both Christian Eriksen and Demi de Zeeuw from the central midfield positions.

Spartak’s formation

Spartak’s formation is usually described as 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-1-1.
In the centre of midfield feature either two defensive midfielders (Sheshukov and Ibson or Carioca) with attacking-minded Alex completing the midfield three, or Sheshukov can play as single defensive midfielder with Alex and Jano (or Ari, the former AZ player) as two more offensive central midfielders, like Spartak played in the home match against Basel. Spartak’s wingers deserve a mention too. Aiden McGeady, the best Spartak player so far, has excellent dribbling skills and a good vision of the game. McGeady often tends to drift inside during Spartak’s attacks, supporting the striker. Dmitry Kombarov, is a less versatile player, who often plays as a classic winger in 4-4-2.
Artem Dzyuba has featured as the lonely striker in all matches so far, and he has performed well. He often drops deeper, and plays a false nine role, creating free space to be exploited by his team mates, like for example Ari in the recent Cup match against Sibir. But Welliton’s return means that Dzyuba will be dropped to the bench, and Spartak’s approach in attack will be more straightforward, using Welliton’s pace and Alex’ passing ability. If Ajax should succeed to mark Alex and Welliton well, it will be hard games for Spartak.
As said, Spartak has most problems in their defensive line, and particularly with the full-backs. Makeev is a young and inexperienced player, and both full-backs had a lot of problems against Sibir and may be expected to have more problems with Ajax’ wingers.


Ajax players to look out for


Jan Vertonghen
The strong Belgian centre-back, a product of Ajax’ excellent youth academy, is an essential element in Ajax’ firm home defense. Since the appointment of De Boer as Ajax manager, the Vertonghen-led defense has kept a clean sheet in an impressive 10 out of 13 games.
Christian Eriksen
The young Dane is without a doubt the brightest talent in this young Ajax squad. Already having played 11 matches for the Danish national team and still just 19 years old, his star definitely started shining under De Boer’s management. While under Jol he was often used in a substitute role, playing from the left wing, for Frank de Boer Eriksen is a key players in his starting eleven. He is Ajax’ central midfield playmaker, and one to keep an interest in for the coming years.

Rising star Christian Eriksen​

Miralem Sulejmani
‘The most expensive player in Dutch football history’. That tag proved almost fatal *****lejmani’s game at Ajax. Purchased for no less than 16 million euro from Heerenveen in 2008, the Serbian wing player had a tough time finding his feet in the ArenA. But over the past months, his pace definitely picked up and he is in excellent form going into the Spartak game. His lightning pace and clinical finish are his biggest weapons.


Spartak players to look out for

Aiden McGeady
Irish international McGeady, who made the brave decision to join Spartak from Celtic in the summer of 2010, is full of determination to prove his name in European games. And what better stage for him to perform that in the Europa League with Spartak? He rejected Aston Villa offer, and choose Russia – and Red-White fans love him for that from the first day. He is not the archetypical British winger, but rather enjoys every moment with the ball and doesn’t prefer the cross. When he’s in possession, and his team mates know by now, he will do something special.

Welliton and McGeady​

Welliton
Last season’s top scorer in the Russian competition is ready to return to action, you be he’s motivated to show himself to the world, as are Alex and McGeady. With his pace, he is a dangerous player, and on top of that his technique and finishing are great. He has been voted the best player of Spartak in 2010 by the fans and there are many rumors at the moment that Russia might adopt him to play for the national squad.
Andrey Dikan
He is the best goalkeeper Spartak has had in the last five years. Calm and solid, he will instill confidence in his inexperienced defenders. He is already 34 years old, but still is one of the most underrated players in Russia, and it is in matches like these that he can show that he is a really good goalkeeper.

Spartak Moscow – Ajax 3 – 0: A broken formation ​

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Ajax went into this game, knowing that they needed to turn up the efficiency after their profligacy of the first leg, leading to a 0-1 loss with a goal scoring chances ratio of 17 to 3. But at the half hour mark they saw themselves two goals down and the game was virtually over. Spartak’s initial pressing dislodged Ajax formation and the home team took excellent advantage.

The line-ups​

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The starting line-ups


As indicated in the preview to this game, Ajax played their familiar 4-3-3 line-up with just one change compared to the first leg. High-flying goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg fractured his thumb in training, has been operated this week and might not make it back into Ajax’ first team before the end of the season. And with a presumed transfer this summer, he might just have played his last match for the club. On other news, striker Mounir El Hamdaoui still isn’t part of Ajax’ first team squad, after falling out big time with manager de Boer on disciplinary issues.
Spartak started the first leg without pace striker Welliton, Russia’s top scorer of the past season, but he has returned from full fitness and featured in the starting eleven for this game. This means that Artem Dzjuba started from the bench. Another first team regular that returned to the starting eleven was defender Aleksandr Sheshukov, who filled in for Marek Suchy, as the young Czech was suspended after his yellow card in Amsterdam.

Opening phase pressing
In the opening fifteen minutes Spartak pressed heavily and this seemed to take Ajax by surprise. Almost being pressed over their own back line, Ajax’ ball retention was awful and Spartak completely dominated the game. A tell tale of Spartak’s heavy pressing was the frequent involvement of both full-backs during this phase of the game. As if to illustrate this, it was left-back Makeev who was presented with the best early goal scoring opportunity during this phase, but his shot was well blocked by third choice goalkeeper Jeroen Verhoeven.
As is generally the case, this intense level of pressing started to fade around the ten to fifteen minute mark. But this time Spartak did not just fade away in terms of pressing, they seemed to deliberately switch off the pressing and trade it for a deeper stance. The huge contrast between the first and second fifteen minutes and the sudden transition in pressure around the fifteen minute mark could be indicators of a deliberate choice to stop pressing at this intense level. And should this have been a deliberate move by Karpin, it was a game-winning one.

Ajax’ broken formation

In a sense, Ajax never recovered from this early Spartak pressing episode. Their defensive line was pressed to a deep stance early on, but never recovered when the face of the game changed. When Spartak took a more patient approach, Ajax naturally started dominating possession for a while. During this second fifteen minutes of the game Spartak absorbed and neutralized Ajax’ game perfectly, playing a well organized and compact zonal unit, consisting of the back four and the two holding midfielders, Ibson and Carioca. This ensured that in this vital area of the pitch they were always sure to outnumber Ajax’ attackers.
And the key problem for Ajax in this phase was that their defensive line did not adjust accordingly. They maintained a relatively deep position, perhaps in the wake of Welliton’s pace on the counter attack, allowing Spartak way too much space in front of Ajax’ own defense. Vurnon Anita had his hands full man-marking Alex, and any drifting by the Spartak playmaker opened up acres of space for any midfielder to run into.

A matter of time
With Ajax’ formation laid out in broken fashion, it was only a matter of time before they would start conceding. And in quick succession they did. Around the half hour mark Ajax had conceded two goals and, miracles beside, the game was over. The remaining part of the first half consisted of Spartak sitting comfortably on their lead and the young Ajax team dazing to the half time whistle.

Second half changes
Ajax started the second half with two substitutions. Enoh and Özbiliz replaced Blind and Sulejmani, moving Anita to the left-back position. But these individual changes could never cure the bigger problem of the broken formation that lead to the 2-0 half time score line.
In ad***ion to the two substitutions, Blind also moved both central midfielders, Eriksen and De Zeeuw, into a more advanced position, effectively changing the 4-3-3 to an offensive 4-1-4-1 variant. And this immediately brought more balance to the game, although the fact that Spartak took their foot off the gas given their comfortable lead, must be taken into account in no small part too.
The support lent by De Zeeuw to Eriksen in the offensive midfield role allowed Ajax more passing options amid the compact block formed by Spartak’s defensive unit: the back-line and the two holding midfielders. Furthermore, by creating what was in effect a line of four right behind striker De Jong, the 4-1-4-1 formation reduced the changes of Spartak playing around Ajax’ high pressing midfielders, a situation that led to a lot of problems in the first half. On top of these changes, Ajax played a higher line, partly forced by the fact that they had to score no less than three goals in order to advance.
Despite the more balanced game, Spartak finished the game off at the hour mark with a nice long range direct free kick. Playmaker Alex curled the ball into the far post, beyond the reaching arms of Verhoeven.

In the end
While the first leg loss may be interpreted as an unlikely outcome of a match that Ajax dominated, this second leg affair was a very different story. Spartak’s early intense pressing seemed to catch Ajax by surprise, and particularly the sudden switch to a more patient game led to a broken Ajax formation. The acres of space conceded in front of the defensive line were far too much for single holding midfielder Anita to cover by himself, as he also had a strict man-marking job on playmaker Alex to do.
By the time De Boer had come to address these issues, Ajax were already a decisive two goals down and in the end the 3-0 score line reflected the fact that Spartak outwitted and outplayed Ajax today.

Ajax's adolescents master men of Milan
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On Tuesday night, two of Europe's most historic clubs met in the Champions League as Ajax drew 1-1 with AC Milan. The two sides also met in the final in 1995 as a gloriously talented crop of Amsterdammers defeated a collection of Rossoneri superstars. This is a story of a triumph of youth over experience, and the rise to prominence of global stars such as Patrick Kluivert, Edgar Davids and Clarence Seedorf.

The Ajax vintage of 1995 would enjoy great success away from Amsterdam


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A retrospective look at the roll call of players involved at the Ernst Happel Stadion on May 24, 1995, reads like a veritable Who's Who of European football in the 1990s. For Ajax: Van der Sar, Blind, Rijkaard, both De Boers, Seedorf, Davids, Litmanen, Overmars, Kanu and Kluivert. For AC Milan: Panucci, Maldini, Costacurta, Baresi, Albertini, Desailly, Donadoni, Boban, Lentini and Simone. The two managers - Louis van Gaal for Ajax and Fabio Capello for Milan - are also ranked amongst the modern greats.
But the two squads were born of opposing philosophies. While Milan did boast academy products such as the great Franco Baresi, his successor as Rossoneri icon Paolo Maldini, defensive stalwart Alessandro Costacurta and accomplished midfielder Demetrio Albertini, theirs was a team bloated by the extensive investment of president Silvio Berlusconi. Prime amongst their stellar recruits was the world's most expensive player - the £13 million-priced Gianluigi Lentini - and foreign stars such as French powerhouse Marcel Desailly, Croatian midfielder Zvonimir Boban and Yugoslavia international Dejan Savicevic, who missed the final due to injury.
Milan had become the dominant force in European football. Fabio Capello's side were reigning champions following a 4-0 destruction of Johan Cruyff's brilliant Barcelona team the previous year and the 1995 final was their fifth appearance in the showpiece event in seven years. A red-and-black hegemony had been established, bankrolled by Milan's ambitious president Berlusconi, who in 1994 had seen his football success translate into the political sphere when he was elected Prime Minister of Italy. Truly this was an aristocratic AC Milan regime.


Ajax were built on more egalitarian grounds. Rather than recruiting the biggest and the best, they instead sought to focus on a youth scheme that was the envy of clubs around Europe. Such was the admiration for the work of the Dutch side, Football Association technical director Don Howe even circulated a memo to English managers recommending that they follow the model established in the Dutch capital - a model that was informed by the great success of Total Football in the early 1970s as another talented clutch of local players, led by the incomparable Cruyff, enjoyed European Cup success in 1971, 1972 and 1973.
The Total Football team, constructed by Rinus Michels, drew on a pool of talent that included six players born within a few miles of club headquarters. Indeed, Cruyff's own mother worked as a cleaner at the club, such was his umbilical link with Ajax. It was this local focus that the Ajax vintage of 1995 sought to emulate. As president Michael van Praag explained: "Our objective is a senior team, 70% of which is made up of home-bred players."
Of the team that started the 1995 final, only Nigerian winger Finidi George, Finnish forward Jari Litmanen and the Dutch pair of Danny Blind and Marc Overmars were not Ajax born and bred. Kluivert, the teenager who would decide the outcome of the final after appearing as a substitute, was also an Amsterdam native.


The man tasked with extracting optimum effort and application from this talented collective was Van Gaal - a coach who demanded perfection and drilled into his side a tactical and technical appreciation that saw them become one of the most fluid and feared teams in Europe. There were echoes of that Total Football side - Van Gaal's assistant Gerard van der Lem revealed as much when outlining Ajax's approach in David Winner's 'Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football'. "We talked always about speed of ball, space and time," said Van der Lem. "Where is the most space? Where is the player who has the most time? That is where we have to play the ball. Every player had to understand the whole geometry of the whole pitch and the system as a whole."

Louis van Gaal implemented a clearly-defined strategy that was echoed at all levels of the club.


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For midfielder Seedorf, who would go on to become the first man to win the trophy with three different teams, "The focal point of training sessions is the ball itself. Only those who show perfect control of the ball in every situation are selected." Meanwhile, the commanding Rijkaard, playing his last professional game in the 1995 final, felt technical perfection had to be matched by a steely determination. "If you play for Ajax, you are hard-working or else you wouldn't have survived all the selections year in, year out," he said. "In time those who make the grade develop self-confidence and the feeling of belonging to one of the best."
This very clear and focused philosophy, demanding positional discipline, intelligence and speed of thought and foot, served Ajax very well. They went the entire Eredivisie season unbeaten in 1994-95 - scoring over 100 goals in the process - and enjoyed success in Europe too. AC Milan were beaten twice in the Champions League group stages - 2-0 at home thanks to goals from Ronald de Boer and Litmanen, and 2-0 in Trieste through Litmanen and an own goal from Baresi - before Hadjuk Split and then Giovanni Trapattoni's Bayern Munich were defeated en route to the final.
In contrast, Milan were struggling to replicate their dominant form of recent years. Under Capello, the club had famously been unbeaten in 58 Serie A games between May 1991 and March 1993 - thanks in no small part to the Dutch trio of Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit and Rijkaard - but in the 1994-95 season Juventus ended a run of three straight scudetto wins for the Rossoneri. The group stage of the Champions League also proved to be far from straightforward - a two-point deduction imposed when a bottle was thrown at Casino Salzburg goalkeeper Otto Konrad seeing Milan just sneak in ahead of the Austrian side, and well off the pace set by Ajax.
When the two teams reconvened in the final in May, it was inevitable that the tie would be depicted as a game of youth versus experience - not surprisingly when only one Milan player - Albertini - was under 26 and just two Ajax players - Rijkaard and Blind - were over.
Despite Ajax's formidable record that season, Van Gaal believed Milan were favourites. On the eve of the game, the Dutchman said: "Milan's annual turnover is three times ours. Just like all of my players, I have this ambition inside - to prove the impossible can be done in football." Jari Litmanen saw the contest in similar terms: "If we win in Vienna," he said, "it will be a major recognition of the Ajax youth system."
Deprived of striker Savicevic due to a thigh strain, Milan were lacking a clinical edge and in the first half Marco Simone saw his volley turned round the post by a diving Van der Sar. Frank de Boer also headed over the bar as pragmatism prevailed for both sides, but that would change in the second half when Van Gaal, once again, placed his faith decisively in youth.
With Overmars and George imperious on the wings, pressing Milan full-backs Maldini and Panucci, the Dutchman felt the need for more firepower up front and Seedorf and Litmanen were replaced by Kanu and Kluivert - both of whom were just 18 years of age. Very rarely has the destiny of a team in a European Cup final hinged on such an inexperienced and precocious strike force, but it was a gamble that worked.
With just five minutes remaining, Kluivert used his strength to retain possession in midfield and slipped a pass wide to George, who sprayed a hopeful cross-field ball in the direction of Overmars. The little winger chased to recover the ball and Ajax worked it to Rijkaard, who spotted Kluivert in the box. The striker timed his run to perfection, holding off the great Baresi to stab the ball home. The image of the teenager outmuscling his 35-year-old opponent was a lasting one. Ajax were European champions.

Patrick Kluivert burned bright at Ajax and although his career was dogged by controversy, he also enjoyed success at Barcelona.


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Van Gaal and his side were feted after their victory, but the most glowing tribute to one of the most romantic sides of modern times came from Real Madrid coach Jorge Valdano after his team were humbled at the Bernabeu the following season. "Ajax are not just the team of the 90s," Valdano said, "they are approaching football utopia. Their concept of the game is exquisite yet they have a physical superiority as well. They are Beauty and the Beast."
But the Ajax fairytale was already over. A squad that looked capable of dominating European football had already reached the pinnacle of their achievements. Van Gaal joined Barcelona in 1997 and his team was dismembered by the Bosman ruling as bigger, predatory clubs took their pick. Though Ajax would not scale the same heights again, their triumph left a mark on the competition and European football as a whole. Many of those young Ajax players became greats of the game, others faded away, but all can boast membership of a very special team that captured the imagination so vividly 15 years ago.

What happened next? Ajax returned to the final the following year but were beaten on penalties by Juventus. In the following years, Van Gaal's golden team began to be torn from his fingers. Reiziger, Bogarde, Davids and Kluivert would all depart under the Bosman ruling, while Ajax were also stripped of their other leading players such as Overmars, Van der Sar and the De Boer brothers. Kluivert joined Milan in 1997 and after one unconvincing season was reunited with Van Gaal in Barcelona. Van Gaal could not replicate the success enjoyed by Cruyff in Catalunya, but impressed at AZ Alkmaar and last year led Bayern Munich to the Champions League final, where they were defeated by Inter Milan.

The making of Maarten​

It was 16.31 CET on July 2, Brazil were 1-0 up and Netherlands thought that their 2010 World Cup campaign was over. Moments before kick-off in the quarter-final, Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk was forced to replace one of their most dependable central defenders, Joris Mathijsen, with a 37-year-old, clubless journeyman in Andre Ooijer and, less than 11 minutes into the game, the seemingly invincible five-time winners from South America strolled into the lead; a hapless back-four seemed on a hiding to nothing.

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GettyImagesMaarten Stekelenburg's superb display against Brazil helped inspire a World Cup quarter-final comeback​

The sound of clocks chiming for half-past four still echoed around Dutch living rooms, when Brazil's most technical and creative midfielder Kaka delicately hit the ball from the edge of the area, his curling effort destined for the top corner. With a 2-0 score, there would have been no way back against the formidable Selecao.
While most Dutch fans contemplated the inevitability of a quarter-final exit - as they had been since the draw the previous December - and wondered how foolish they had been in believing this team were capable of beating the nation that had ended their World Cup dream in two previous finals, a body suddenly came flying into view. It was that of goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg: There to answer the SOS.
The participation of the 6' 5'', long-time understudy to Edwin van der Sar had been in question before the tournament, thanks to another late clamour to convince Manchester United's No. 1 to return to the national team. Stekelenburg had two years earlier spent some agonising months on the Ajax bench after coach Marco van Basten dropped him in favour of Kenneth Vermeer and only an injury to Vermeer had put him back in the Ajax goal at the start of the 2009-10 season.
Just one man had kept confidence in the giant keeper during the dark end to his 2008-09 campaign. Despite playing only once for his club in the final ten games, Stekelenburg kept his place in the Dutch national team. Van Marwijk never flinched, not even during a crucial international week against Scotland and Macedonia. Stekelenburg remained his No. 1 and repaid his coach's faith with two clean sheets in the spring of 2009.
Fifteen months later he produced another, more notable performance. On an amazing afternoon in Port Elizabeth, he managed to turn Kaka's curling shot past the post and, in doing so, transformed the morale of the Dutch team. Van Marwijk's side suddenly recognised that the game was not over and the rest, thanks to a Wesley Sneijder brace, is history.
That memorable save, coupled with a generally superb World Cup in South Africa, has seen the Haarlem-born stopper win over the doubters and become the undisputed Dutch No. 1. Stekelenburg even managed to raise his game further this season, showing some remarkable style in the Champions League, especially against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. Los Blancos may have run uninhibited through the weak Ajax defence, but time and again their attacks ended with one of Stekelenburg's body parts diverting the ball to safety. As if he was not busy enough in the game, Stekelenburg also was also ranked second in his team's passing statistics and the Ajax keeper probably felt right there that his future in club football would lie elsewhere.
Until this season, rumours about him succeeding Van der Sar at Manchester United seemed to be based on his comparable height and club history, as if Sir Alex Ferguson were looking for Edwin's younger brother. Today, though, Stekelenburg has established a reputation as one of the best goalkeepers in Europe and a move to the Premier League appears to have more veracity. The 28-year-old is prepared to leave Holland for England and Ajax know that they have to cash in now as his contract is up at the end of next season.
However, Stekelenburg's stock will remain static for the next two months after he broke his thumb in training last week. The impact on Ajax was immediate; with Kenneth Vermeer out injured again, Frank de Boer had to turn to Jeroen Verhoeven, who was signed after a good Eredivisie season with Volendam in 2009. While he is a solid goalkeeper, Verhoeven has the somewhat rotund physique of the legendary Piet Schrijvers, weighing close to 100kg, and is regularly ridiculed for it from the stands.
Put simply, he cannot compare to Stekelenburg, which means that defensive errors will be less frequently repaired with a spectacular save. This notion of the need to step up a gear has not yet sunk in, in the minds of the Ajax outfield players. Willem II were not strong enough to benefit last week, but Spartak Moscow and ADO Den Haag duly did. These two defeats dealt a premature blow to Ajax's chances of silverware and maybe even Champions League qualification for the ambitious club from Amsterdam.

PA PhotosEdwin van der Sar's rather large gloves have been ably filled by Maarten Stekelenburg​

Van Marwijk will hope that the backline in the Dutch team won't make the same mistake. The coach has a decent back-up in Michel Vorm of FC Utrecht, who impressed when keeping a clean sheet against Scotland in September 2009 and has picked up some valuable experience in the Europa League this season. He'll be keeping goal in the upcoming double header with Hungary next weekend but, while his inclusion gave Van Marwijk no sleepless nights, the choice for the reserves was a real brain twister.

Piet Velthuizen used to be third in line, but his move from Vitesse to Hercules Alicante at the start of the season has turned pear-shaped with him mainly stuck on the bench there. Sander Boschker went along to the World Cup, but has now been surpassed by Nikolay Mihaylov at FC Twente and, at 40 years old, is not a long-term solution. Most Eredivisie clubs have foreigners in between the sticks, so Van Marwijk has resorted to Jelle ten Rouwelaar of NAC Breda, who has been known to collapse under pressure and whose form ranges between the sublime and the ridiculous. The only other prospects, Vitesse's Elroy Room and NEC's highly talented Jesper Cillesen, have yet to finish their first regular season in the league and have no international experience.
But at least Dutch football has produced another world-class goalkeeper, in Stekelenburg, to follow in the footsteps of Jan van Beveren and Edwin van der Sar. He could certainly be a mainstay in the Netherlands team for the next decade and a transfer to the Premier League could be the definitive next step in his progression - whether that is at Manchester United or another side should be made clear in the summer.

Next clash between Cruyff and Ajax​

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A month ago Johan Cruyff returned at Ajax as head of an advisory technical platform. The first meeting between platform and board, yesterday about the future of the youth academy, could also have been the last. The board did agree with the idea behind the platform's plans, but not with the included shuffle of personal. The role of current assistent-coach Danny Blind should be minimized, while Jan Olde Riekerink, head of the Youth Academy, has to go. For them, the platform propelled their own members Wim Jonk and Dennis Bergkamp into the club to take charge of the football department in complete autonomy. In short, the platform decides, while the directors keep responsibility.


Not very anxious to become the head puppets of Johan Cruyff, the directors, backed by the board of commissioners, declined. Talking to the media, Cruyff went on a crash course, stating that the attitude of the Ajax-board was 'unbelievable, unacceptable and unimaginable' to him. If they don't agree, he might go for a full scale revolution. A call of at least ten clubmembers is necessary to announce a meeting of an Ajax member's assembly in which the top echelon can be voted off.

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Just as at Barcelona, where Cruyff supported the Blue Elephant uprising, his Ajax-supporters have launched a red equivalent, already in use as an avatar on several Twitter accounts. Others may feel a bit queasy by the thought of a takeover. Since the Blue Elephant won at Nou Camp and Joan Laporta became president, their football has indeed improved to become the best in the world. Meanwhile his regime plunged the club into a debt of about half a billion. Barcelona are big enough *****rvive, but Ajax cannot take such risks. Leaving a couple of inexperienced former players in charge might just be a step too far.