'CHASING THE SOCCER DREAM'
As I board a plane from LA to DC I’m reminded of the many flights to and fro I’ve made chasing the soccer dream. If I’m wearing head to toe Nike, I’m headed to a U.S. National Team game. If it is Adidas, then Ajax is going somewhere. Long hair, jeans, and a t-shirt means I am a journalist, I guess. Along with each clothing style comes a mindset. A brand if you will. Nike/National Team soccer is belief, freedom, and an unrestrained will as underdog trying to conquer the rest. Adidas/Ajax is practice, functionality, and the craft with roots in the Old World, soccer performed to a T. The world of soccer has changed since I left the US to join Ajax in Holland 17 years ago. Most notably, American soccer and its academies have developed. Now we also have abilities to develop players competitive at the professional levels. However, in the player development field, Ajax is still top dog.
I know for certain I would not have been the player I became without Ajax. Clubs and coaches around the world emulate Ajax’s system. Similar practices, methods and external structures will work to help player development. To add to the external structures here are some personal internal experiences in the youth system, which undoubtedly also help describe the path.
THE AJAX DIFFERENCE
The first time I noticed the difference Ajax-specific training made was in my first reunion with my American constituents at the U.S. Youth National Team level only six months in. At a training camp in Florida I noticed I could control the ball while being tightly marked. I was able to use my body to hold off a defender while moving the ball and surveying the field for opportunity. Fast-forward a year to a U-18 National Team camp. Josh Wolff and Ben Olsen were the in-form players of that team. We had an opportunity to compare ourselves with a professional European side. I say "compare" deliberately because in every American players' mind is the desire to measure one’s self against the best - and those, we were told, play elsewhere. During the game, I felt I was from elsewhere. As an Ajacied (Ajax player) I was no longer an outsider to world soccer. I did not need to rate myself against a standard held on another continent. The standard itself had become internalized. I knew what made a good player and where players fell by the wayside. How I could perform the craft would decide if I ended up on a second division squad in Belgium or as a soccer star in a metropolitan Italian city. As with most goals along a spectrum, we usually end up somewhere in between.
AJAX SCOUTING REPORT
Ajax taught me the basics of what it means to be a professional player; the responsibilities, how to deal with pressure and adversity, and most importantly how to literally play the game. So here are a couple Ajax specific elements to look out for this Sunday. First, unless D.C. United has morphed into Spain, the Dutch side is not going to sit back on their haunches. They usually play a man-on-man marking style, except for holding one player next to, or in front of, the opposing team’s center forward. Offensively, you can expect the classic 4-3-3 with the primary intention to get behind the defense on the flanks. This is done either by well-timed deep runs or by isolating the technical winger one-on-one with heaps of space to exploit. When Ajax’s defenders have the ball and are being pressed they look to play it to the feet or chest of the center forward while the midfielders all re-position themselves to be an outlet. Rafael van der Vaart, the former Ajax star, has earned his bread and butter at Tottenham this season positioning himself well for knock downs from the 6’7” Peter Crouch. The second defender plays the long ball and a midfielder is off and running to a new position for the knock down. A midfielder facing the goal and receiving the ball at his feet means danger for the opposing side. Lets hope D.C. United brings its offensive style to the game and we can all witness a great friendly between the classic U.S and Dutch teams.
John O'Brien is currently pursuing a degree in psychology at Antioch University.
Min of Meer (More or Less)
A poem about Ajax’s former stadium De Meer, by John O'Brien
Damp earth rises from the ground palpable with presence.
A tram bell, a whistle, the thud of ball to foot and foot to ball.
I carry my oversized red gear bag to the small changing locker.
There is a system to all this movement.
Unrelenting noises and bodies coerce things to the goal.
Hup, hup, snel, snel, schiet!
Men watch, grunt and grumble.
The goal is a refined point; the point is well defined
What are we doing today? Ajax
How do we do it? Ajax
Who are we? Ajax
Echoes in the empty hallways underneath the spectator’s feet.
