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-- Anonymous, July 12, 1999

Answers

One of the prices of success is that Ajax are forever losing their prized assets.This time it appears that Youth Department Director Kees Zwamborn is leaving.Ajax.nl reports that Mr.Zwamborn is leaving to take a similar position at Sunderland. Between England's former U- 21,now head man,Howard Wilkinson and Kees Zwamborn in the fold, Sunderland's youth development will be well served. I didn't see mention of Mr. Zwamborn's successor. P.S. Goooooo Jong Ajax....beat Willem II!

-- Anonymous, December 03, 2002

An excellent win for Ajax A1 at De Toekomst today. PSV A1 was beaten: 4-2. Danny Blind's team played a splendid first half against the Eindhoven side. The score was 3-0 after 45 minutes. Muller van Moppes, Cameron and Esajas were the Amsterdammers who scored the goals. PSV played better in the second half, but never seriously brought Ajax in trouble. Wesley Sneijer scored Ajax' fourth.

After its horrible start in the National A-Youth Eredivisie, Ajax A1 is now 6th, with 20 points out of 12 games. League leaders Vitesse A1 have 31 points out of 13 games. Next week is Vitesse A1 vs Ajx A1 in Arnhem.

For results and standings in the National A-Youth Eredivisie, check page 697 of NOS Teletekst.

-- Anonymous, November 30, 2002

Ajax-1 was not the only Ajax team travelling to Heerenveen this Saturday. Ajax A1 played there as well - and lost: 3-2. SC Heerenveen took a 1-0 lead, Jerold Promes equalized, but the Frisians scored two more in the first half, making for a 3-1 score at half-time. Daniël de Ridder pulled one goal back in the second, but it wasn't enough.

A frustrating defeat for coach Danny Blind. It's strange: with the Valencia game in sight, Ajax-1 played with concentration and determination - and had a remarkably easy night in Heerenveen. Ajax A1's attitude, however, was poor.

Blind: "Really, it only had to do with our attitude. Heerenveen is a rather poor opponent and we really should have won. But at half-time, we were lucky that the score was 'only' 3-1. Looking at our quality, we are way better. We should have won (...) Let this be a good lesson. The guys should have gone for it from the start. I hope they've learned something from this one."

Results and standings in the National A-Youth Eredivisie, as usual, on page 697 of NOS Teletekst.

-- Anonymous, November 24, 2002

One day before the first teams of Ajax and NEC will play each other in the ArenA, Ajax A1 and NEC A1 clashed at De Toekomst in the National A-Youth's Eredivisie. Coach Danny Blind's guys won: 2-1. After having hit the post twice in the first half, NEC A1 took the lead early in the second. However, goals by Gerard Aafjes and Tom de Mol set the record straight. Other results and standings, as usual, on page 697 of NOS Teletekst.

-- Anonymous, November 16, 2002

Only four days after their fine win in rottingdam, at feyenerd A1 (1- 2), Ajax A1 was supposed to play its next game at De Graafschap A1 today. However, the game was cancelled due to the same stormy, rainy weather that turned Roda JC vs Ajax into a battle against the elements. Three more games in the National A-Youth Eredivisie were cancelled.

Nevertheless, the weather doesn't really seem to affect Holland's professional games. All five Eredivisie and two First Division games scheduled are being played at this very moment (p$v - SC Heerenveen is 0-0 at half time!).

-- Anonymous, November 09, 2002

Make that 14 points. I understand that Daniel de Ridder scored twice today in Rottendam to lead Ajax A-1 past F-Word A-1 by the score of 1:2.

-- Anonymous, November 05, 2002

Ajax A1 is on its way back and climbing on the table of the National A-Youth Eredivisie. After last week's sweet victory over Willem II A1, Fortuna Sittard A1 was beaten at De Toekomst today: 4-1.

Goalscorers for Ajax A1 were: Hedwiges Maduro (from a penalty) before half-time. After the break, Thomas Vermaelen and Ryan Babel (2x) lifted the score to 4-0. Fortuna Sittard scored a single goal in the dying seconds of the game.

Ajax A1 now has 11 points out of 8 games and is now 8th out of 14 teams. Next game is on Tuesday night in Rotterdam: away to Feyenoord A1, who are currently 11th with 10 points out of 8 games.

-- Anonymous, November 02, 2002

Ajax A1, coached by Danny Blind and coach assistant Marco van Basten, is recovering from its terrible season's start. The 16/17 year olds grabbed their second victory of the season: 1-4 at the #3 in the National A-Youth Eredvisie, Willem II A1. Ajax A1 is still 13th out of 14 on the table, but has a game in hand. If that game's won, Ajax will jump out of the relegation zone. The other results and the table are on this page of NOS Teletekst.

-- Anonymous, October 27, 2002

After having finally grabbed their first win last week, Ajax A1 booked another disappointing result on Friday night, drawing 1-1 at FC Twente A1. Kind of sad, because (in the words of coach Danny Blind) the guys played a good game. Daniël de Ridder hit the post twice and Ajax created five open scoring chances. They finally opened the scoring in the very last minute of the game (goal by Jerold Promes), but FC Twente equzlized two minutes into stoppage time.

Danny Blind's comment: "History repeats itself. Once again we have lost two points undeservedly. In total, we have already given away eleven points. Sometimes it was the result of poor play, but the guys worked hard today. I can't blame them for anything. For the guys it's really sad that the win slipped out of our fingers."

Ajax A1 is now 13th (last-but-one...) on the table in the National Eredivisie for A Youth. Vitesse, Willem II and SC Heerenveen are numbers 1, 2 and 3. PSV (8 points), Feyenoord (7 points) and Ajax (5 points) are 11th, 12th en 13th. Highly remarkable. The bottom position is for De Graafschap, with three points.

-- Anonymous, October 07, 2002

Ajax A1 finally got off the snide earlier today. Danny Blind's lads won by 3:1 home to U(GH!!)trecht A-1. Doelpuntenmakers for our lads were Benson,who bagged a brace, and De Ridder. Hopefully they A-1 lads will build upon the draw in their last match and this scoreline and play more like the championship side of last season.

-- Anonymous, September 28, 2002

A very bizarre start in the nationwide league for A-youth teams. Danny Blind's A1 team suffered its third defeat in a row this weekend (1-2, at home to AZ A1) and finds itself pointless, at the bottom of the table. The most remarkable thing is that Feyenoord A1 notched only one point from its first three games, and is only one slot higher on the table. Ajax and Feyenoord sharing the bottom places... Weird, weird, weird. For this weekend's results and the table, check this page on NOS Teletekst.

-- Anonymous, September 16, 2002

Bill,

As far as audible team chants are concerned, how about "My Pa"

- or - better yet,

"Deportivo Wanker"...!!!

-- Anonymous, August 29, 2002

I believe the draw for the first round of the Amstel Cup proper is Friday. Ajax.nl has a news item about it .If I understand the gist of the article, the drawing will be Friday evening ,live on SBS6, beginning at 22.50hrs.

-- Anonymous, August 29, 2002

Hope the guy settles in quickly and progresses through the ranks.

However, what I am puzzled about is how on earth you can fit the name of the club, B1913, into any chants or songs. It just doesnot sound right, although the chant of..... There is only one B1913..... must surely be one of the truest statements ever.

-- Anonymous, August 29, 2002

Given the age of the player,I'll insert this post here. It looks like Ajax has possibly signed a young trialist. Footballnl.com are reporting that Ajax have signed 16 year-old Danish left-wing Johan Absalonsen . Salonsen was recently on trial with Ajax. He has also played for Odense(Denmark) side B1913.

-- Anonymous, August 28, 2002

After a 2:2 draw against their first team, it appears Jong Ajax really took out the whoopin' stick against Jong AZ. A posting on AjaxNetwerk.to indicates that the scoreline was 9:0. The match was played at De Toekomst this evening (CET).

-- Anonymous, August 26, 2002

Have to share this photo of several future Ajax stars. I'm the one on the right, in this year's away shirt. And the boy to my right and the boy in front (in last year's away shirt) are... get this... Mark and Ryan De Boer. :-)

http://www.ajax- usa.com/ayso/

-- Anonymous, August 19, 2002

Seems like Ajax A1 is already msking up for its poor performances in Adelaide... They are currently playing a friendly tournament in Eindhoven: PSV's A-youth tournament. The cup at stake is named the Otten Cup.

The group stage ended today. Ajax A1 won its three games in group A, against FC Kaiserslautern (Germany, 1-0), Ferencvaros (Hungary, 4-0) and hosts PSV (2-0). Having won the group, Ajax is now due against the runner-up in group B: Feyenoord A1, in Sunday morning's semi- final. The final takes place in the afternoon of the same day.

-- Anonymous, August 17, 2002

The results of Danny Blind's Ajax A1 team at the Festival Cup tournament in Adelaide, Australia, were very disappointing. Ajax A1 finished bottom in their group by losing all three of their group matches, against an Australian Youth Selection (3-1), Newcastle United (2-0) and Bayern Munich (3-0). Zero points and exit. A historically bad performance by the Ajax youth. Revenge in the league, please.

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2002

Jong Ajax secured a good result in their second Amstel Cup group play match today. Away at Ter Leede, Jong Ajax secured a 0:7 victory. Almost equally as good news was that Johnny Heitinga played 60 minutes today. He also scored a goal and picked up a yellow card.For the record: Jong Ajax lined out as follows: Zwinkels; de Cler( Cruz 73'),de Jong,Heitinga(Valencia 60'), Mofokeng;Kujala(Bechan 78'), Seedorf,Sneijder; Hose,Krohn-Dehli, van der Gun.

Scoring Summary: Sneijder 0-1 9' Heitinga 0-2 19' Sneijder 0-3 28' van der Gun 0-4 33' van der Gun 0-5 38' Krohn-Dehli 0-6 51' Hose` 0-7 78'

The win reportedly puts Jong Ajax in a good position to advance.They have one fixture , I believe against Holandia, left in this first qualifying round.

-- Anonymous, August 14, 2002

Does anybody know whether one can find out something more about the Ajax School on the internet. Thanx

-- Anonymous, August 13, 2002

A good battering for Young Ajax in their first game at the Den Helder Maritime Tournament: NEC (first team, that is) vs Young Ajax 5-1.

Can't find the full line-up, but I do know that Nikos Machlas, Cedric van der Gun and Ferdi Vierklau played for Young Ajax.

Goals by Frank Demouge and (yes, indeed) Youssouf Hersi made it 2-0 to the Nijmegen side. Demouge added a second just before half-time. Nikos Machlas pulled one back for Ajax, before Dennis de Nooijer made it 4-1 and Ferdi Vierklau scored his first goal as an Ajacied, but not for Ajax... 5-1 to the team of coach Johan Neeskens.

That'll teach those kids... ;-)

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2002

Nice little victory for Young Ajax on the 29th: the beat the Nieuw- Vennep amateurs by 0-17. The referee even lost count, filling in a final score of 0-18 on the official match sheet. Whatever.

The scorers: 0-1, 0-2 and 0-3 by Richard Knopper, 0-4 by Pius Ikedia (his last goal in Ajax jersey!), 0-5 and 0-6 by Kiran Bechan. 0-6 was the half-time score.

Scorers in the second half: 0-7 by Wesley Sneijder, 0-8 and 0-9 by Cedric van der Gun, 0-10 by Richard Knopper, 0-11 by Brutil Hosé, 0- 12 by Jussi Kujala, 0-13 by José Valencia, 0-14 and 0-15 by Kiran Bechan, 0-16 and 0-17 by Cedric van der Gun.

The Young Ajax line-up: Zwinkels; Cruz, Vierklau, Mofokeng, De Cler (Valencia); De Jong (Knopper), Knopper (Hosé), Sneijder (Krohn-Deli); Ikedia, Van der Gun, Bechan (Schenelef).

Yes - I know Knoppers name is in the line-up twice (once as a starter and once as a sub). But that's what it says on Ajax.nl anyway. Maybe he was replaced and was brought back on later. It's against the rules, but referees are not the most difficult people in the world in friendly's...

-- Anonymous, July 31, 2002

Young Ajax has played its first pre-season friendly of their preparation campaign. The game was played at the ArenA training pitch. The opponent was Young Haarlem, the reserves team of Ajax' satellite club. The team of new Young Ajax coach Gerard van der Lem was significantly more determined than Ajax-1 was against Haarlem-1, winning by 7-0.

Remarkably, all Young Ajax goals were former Ajax-1 players and players who dropped out of Ronald Koeman's pre-season Ajax-1 squad. The scorers were: Cedric van der Gun 1-0 (7'), Richard Knopper 2-0 and 3-0 (10' and 31'), Nigel de Jong 4-0 (39'), Cedric van der Gun 5- 0 (42'), Pius Ikedia 6-0 (51') and Nigel de Jong 7-0 (55').

The Young Ajax line-up: Zwinkels; Cruz, De Jong, Vierklau, Valencia; Kujala, Knopper, Sneijder; Ikedia (59. Mofokeng), Van der Gun (59. Hosé), Bechan.

To me, it doesn't make sense to play Vierklau, Knopper, Ikedia and Van der Gun in Young Ajax. They don't want to be there and they only keep youngsters out of the team.

-- Anonymous, July 22, 2002

Menno

Is Cees Keizer any relation to one of the all time Ajax greats ?

-- Anonymous, July 21, 2002

In addition to the previous post: according to Talk Back, a regular on the Ajax Mania discussion forum, acknowledged Ajax youth specialist and the former webmaster of AjaxJeugd.nl, the Ajax squad travelling to Adelaide will include the following players: Jamal Ait- Mama, Ryan Babel, Fred Benson Erchiah, Ymma Boakye, Sergio Cameron. Ferdi Elmas, Etienne Esajas, Cees Keizer, Hedwiges Maduro, Robin Muller van Moppes, Luciano Presierie, Daniël de Ridder, Rachid Tiberkanine, Dwight Tiendalli, Thomas Vermaelen and Kenneth Vermeer.

-- Anonymous, July 21, 2002

From 03 to 11 August, the Ajax A1 youth team will play an international tournament in Adelaide, South-Australia, named The Festival Cup. The tournament includes teams from Juventus, Bayern Munich, Newcastle United, Glasgow Rangers, Ajax, Vasco da Gama, Shandong Luneng Taishan (China) and an Australian U19-team.

For 'Aussie' Ajax fans who want to attend and support Ajax and are looking for info about the location, kick-off times, tickets etcetera, this website will answer most of your questions: The Festival Cup.com.

Ajax is in Group B and will play its first round fixtures against Australia (Sun 04 August, 1:00 PM), Newcastle United (Tue 06 August, 6:00 PM) and Bayern Munich (Thu 08 August, 6:00 PM). All games will be played at Hindmarsch Soccer Stadium, less than 4 kilometres from the Adelaide CBD.

If you live near Adelaide and decide to go, don't forget to post your match reports and experiences right here, in this thread!

-- Anonymous, July 21, 2002

According to a (usuallu reliable and knowledgeable) guy on the Ajax Mania forum, the Young Ajax squad of coach Gerard van der Lem currently consists of the following players:

Robert Zwinkels, Gabriel Mofokeng, Ferdi Vierklau, Nigel de Jong, John Nieuwenburg, José Murillo Valencia, Daniel Cruz, Richard Knopper, Jussi Kujala, Stefano Seedorf, Wesley Sneijder, Jason Culina, Tijjani Babangida, Nando Rafael, Brutil Hosé, Kiran Bechan en Michael Krohn-Dehli.

Of course, this may change. Some of the older guys (Vierklau, Knoppe, Nieuwenburg, Babangida) are obviously for sale. If they go (or will not be used) new names will appear in the team, for sure.

-- Anonymous, July 06, 2002

Anybody know what happened to Sonny Pike? He was an English talent who choose Ajax over other English clubs a couple of years ago.

-- Anonymous, July 05, 2002

Being the reserves champions of The Netherlands, Young Ajax will play in the 'big' Amstel Cup once again. The draw for the first round (a group stage, in which Ajax-1 does not have to play yet) took place today. Young Ajax is in a group with Eredivisie side AZ and amateur teams Hollandia and Ter Leede.

They play their games on:

Thursday 08 August: Young Ajax vs AZ (@ De Toekomst)

Wednesday 14 August: Ter Leede vs Young Ajax

Tuesday 20 August: Young Ajax vs Hollandia (@ De Toekomst)

Advancing to the second round seems possible, against two amateur sides! The full Eredivisie and Amstel Cup schedule for the 2002-2003 season will be presented today by the KNVB... Stay tuned to Ajax USA today, tonight and tomorrow morning...

-- Anonymous, July 05, 2002

Nando Rafael

Does anyone know if Nando is eligible to play for Holland? I know he just got his Angolan passport but he's been in Holland since he was 10 so I'm hoping he can play for the Oranje as he sounds like quite the talent.

-- Anonymous, June 24, 2002

Ajax A1 player Wesley Sneijder has been voted the 'Ajax Youth Player of De Toekomst' during the annual post-season party-evening at the Toekomst bar. The other nominees were Nigel de Jong and Nando Rafaël. At the end of the season, Wesley Sneijder ad already won the award for Best Player in the nation-wide competition for A-youth teams.

The captain of every Ajax youth team was given a special souvenir pennant, to thank the team for its achievements in the past season. This why the annual part-night for youth players is often referred to as the "Night Of The Pennants" or "Pennants Night".

For some players, this night is not such a nice one: the Pennants Night is also used to say goodbye to departing players. Some move on to other clubs; some have to go. Tough and sometimes sad, but they know it's part of the game.

Chairman Michael van Praag praised everyone at De Toekomst for the historically succesful season the Ajax youth has had. Young Ajax, Ajax A1 and Ajax B1 won their nation-wide championships. Ajax C1 won its league as well, but lost the final for the over-all Dutch C-youth championship. Ajax D2 and the youngest Ajacieden, the F-youth, won their championships as well.

Nevertheless, Van Praag underscored in his speech that development is more important at De Toekomst than winning trophies.

-- Anonymous, June 09, 2002

Does anyone out there know of a way to get seen or invited to training with any teams abroad, first, second, or third division? I have extensive experience, and have played with national and mls players and have played professionally, and have been told by many that I should be playing abroad for some great club, but I don't have any contacts nor money for an agent and never know where or how to begin. Thanks.

-- Anonymous, June 05, 2002

Ajax has reportedly inked striker Nando Rafael to a three year deal; with an option for two more years. After 20 goals in 23 games for Ajax A-1 and two cracking goals v. FC U(GH!!)trecht in the AC halve- final, I think we all felt this signing would happen.I for one am glad it has.

-- Anonymous, June 04, 2002

Yup, all these things are correct. Thanks Benjamin :-)

We will not announce the Van der Lem and Kras news on the homepage, since it's Young Ajax news. Expect a report on Van Damme's contract (with Ajax-1) on the Ajax USA homepage sometime today...

-- Anonymous, May 30, 2002

Ajax.nl is reporting that former youth and assistant coach(to coach van Gaal) Gerard van der Lem will coach Jong Ajax for the 2002- 2003 season. A second news item relating to an Ajax youth player being reported by the official site is that 20 year-old defender Ruud Kras has been loaned to newly-promoted FC Zwolle for the coming season. I don't believe Kras was going to crack the backline of Trabelsi Bergdolmo Chivu en O'Brien this season.Or, the Sub rotation of Heitinga,Yakubu, van Damme either. So, a good move to ensure that the player gains experience.

-- Anonymous, May 29, 2002

While browsing through plantetFootball.com's site I came across an interesting article which stated that Ajax youth Player Nando Rafael had been granted a Dutch passport ! They may of course got this mixed up but if its true then Nando could be yet another young dutch talent ready to emerge from the Ajax academy.

-- Anonymous, May 24, 2002

I just read two interesting News items: 1.) Jan Olde Riekerink leaves as coach of Jong Ajax to become coach at Belgian side AA Gent and 2.) Walker Americo Fronio will spend next season at GBA.I saw the first item on Ajax.nl and the second on Ajaxnetwerk.to . It will be interesting to see if Danny Blind is elevated to coach of Jong Ajax, bringing the likes of Nigel de Jong and Michael Krohn-Delhi with him. I did not see mention of any successor to Mr. Riekerink in the article.

-- Anonymous, May 17, 2002

Newspaper Het Parool reports that Ghanese Young Ajax midfielder Anthony Obodai will play for satellite club Germinal Beerschot Antwerp next season. This paper is usually reliable and their sports writers are close with many Young Ajax guys. I'm sure this is true.

Other Young Ajax lads rumoured to be GBA-bound are Gabriël Mofokeng and Kwame Quansah, as well as (and this is a surprise) coach Jan Olde Riekerink... Note that the Obodai announcement appeared in a reliable newspaper, but that the rest are rumors.

-- Anonymous, May 15, 2002

Well I'm glad Nando's status is clearing up. What I would especially love is if he became eligible to play for the Oranje.

-- Anonymous, May 10, 2002

This is good news (from VI Planet.nl):

"NANDO RAFAËL DOES NOW 'EXIST'"

Young Ajax player Nando Rafaël (18) finally has an official status. After a long debate, the striker has finally been awarded an Angolese passport. "This is wonderful news", said Ajax PR manager, Jacob Bergsma. "Nando does actually exist now. He had no nationality for a long time. This was an awkward situation, especially for himself. Ajax would really like to contract him. We will start talking with him soon."

Head coach Ronald Koeman has already confirmed that he would like to have the 18 year-old forward to join the Ajax-1 selection. Rafaël has made quite an impression in the Ajax youth and in Young Ajax' Amstel Cup campaign. In the semi final against FC Utrecht, he brought Young Ajax back into the game by scoring twice.

In the mean time, the Public Prosecutor in The Netherlands is still investigating Rafaël's status. He escaped from his country, Angola, ten years ago, after the large part of his family (including both of his parents) had died a horrible death in the Angolese civil war. The teenager was not a legal immigrant and, therefore, had no legal status. This could mean that his presence in Amstel Cup games was not legal.

At this point, Ajax does not want to comment on the case, and Rafaël's precise future."

My comment: this guy is an incredible talent. If one Young Ajax player really deserves to be described as 'the next Patrick Kluivert', it would be Nando. The horror this kid has seen as a boy of only eiht years old, is something we really can not imagine. Immigrants are always accepted in Holland if they come from an unsafe situation. Nando Rafaël was an obvious case, and would surely have been granted permission to enter Holland. The only reason why he's been "illegal" up 'til now, was simply that he had no passport. Can you blame an eight year-old who has seen with his own eyes how his parents were murdered for not having a passport? You can blame the Dutch government for letting this kid walk around as an "illegal" immigrant for TEN (10!) years. His illegal status was a formal thing; and I think Ajax is really not to blame for lining up a fluent speaker of Dutch who has been in the Ajax youth for many, many years.

Welcome Nando.

-- Anonymous, May 10, 2002

Here we go: today's Young Ajax line-up...

Stekelenburg (46. Verbist); Tobiasen (60. Sneijder), Kras, Walker, Van Damme; Mofokeng, Obodai (82. De Jong) Seedorf; Quansah, Bechan.

This line-up is from Ajax.nl, but there's only ten names in the starting line-up. I think Jason Culina was forgotten...

Goals: 1-0 Kiran Bechan, 2-0 Kwame Quansah, 3-0 Walker (penalty), 3-1 Hanbi, 4-1 Stefano Seedorf, (half-time), Kiran Bechan 5-1, Walker 6- 1, Kiran Bechan 7-1, Becht 7-2.

Kiran Bechan does not score too often, but if he does it... Three goals. Good stuff!

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2002

One week after having clinched their respective championships, Young Ajax and Ajax A1 have finished the season in style: with two more victories at De Toekomst, this afternoon.

At 13:00, Ajax A1 beat Feyenoord A1, 2-1, after which Young Ajax kicked off at 15:00, beating Young NAC with a spectacular score of 7- 2. I wasn't there, so I don't know anything about line-ups and goalscorers yet. Will post that later.

What I do know, is that Ajax A1 finishes the 'National Eredivisie A' with 60 points out of 26 games, four points ahead of Vitesse A1 (26- 56) and Feyenoord A1 (26-53). Feyenoord's amateur section, SC Feijenoord, finished at the bottom and gets relegated. AZ A1 got promoted earlier on and will play in the National Eredivisie A next year.

Young Ajax is also done after this game and finished the 'Talents Competition' with a score of 51 points out of 22 games. The runner- up, Young Feyenoord, still has to play its last game. They now have 39 points out of 21 games, and will therefore finish at least nine points behind the mighty Young Ajax. Young Vitesse is third (22- 41).

It's remarkable that in the two main national youth leagues in Holland, the same six clubs have finished at positions 1 to 6 (with a few minor differences in order): Ajax, Vitesse, Feyenoord, SC Heerenveen, PSV and Willem II. Ajax has, no exaggeration, ruled youth football in every age category this year. Feyenoord and Vitesse follow, with PSV, SC Heerenveen and Willem II following on a significant distance. PSV is not a top club in youth football.

This indicates what the situation in Holland is like, when it comes to youth development.

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2002

Hey Guys, I know this Website is only for Ajax Suppoters, But a 18 year old unknown American, named David Johnson From Riverside California, Former AGSS Standout Signed a 3 Year contract with Willem II First Team. Just thought you might like to know.

-- Anonymous, April 25, 2002

I was really thrilled to read the news ,on Ajax.nl,that Danny Blind has signed to reamin at Ajax until 2004. Congratulations to Danny for leading Ajax A1 to the crown and on his new contract arrangement. I hope he will stay at Ajax for many years to come.

-- Anonymous, April 23, 2002

Yes Sir, Saturday 20 April was a fantastic day for Ajax, not only because PSV lost two points in Enschede...

At 2:30 PM, Ajax A1 kicked off in Arnhem, against the #2 in the league, Vitesse A1. One point was enough to clinch the league title, and they did it: 0-0. CONGRATULATIONS to Danny Blind and the entire team!

The Ajax A1 champions: Zwinkels; Promes, Hoogervorst, Vermaelen, Spier; De Jong (88. Kujala), De Ridder (70. Ansoe), Sneijder; Rafael, Krohn-Dehli, Esajas.

In the mean time, I was at De Toekomst, watching Young Ajax vs Young PSV (kick-off 3:00 PM). In this game, too, one point was enough for the Ajacieden to grab the title. Early in the game, PSV player Takak was ent off with two rather clumsy yellow cards, but the ten of PSV took a surprising lead (42', goal by Huntelaar). Luckily, Young Ajax equalized three minutes later (45', goal by Kwame Quansah).

It was definitely not Young Ajax' best match ever. They seemed a little nervous and did not create many chances. But they won it after all, as a great cross by Jason Culina was headed home by Richard Knopper: 2-1 (75').

The title was celebrated with fireworks and singing. De Toekomst was packed. What a nice day. CONGRATULATIONS to Jan Olde Riekerink and our heroes of the season, Young Ajax!

The line-up: Stekelenburg; Mofokeng (82. Tobiasen), Kras, Walker, Valencia; Obodai, Knopper, Seedorf; Culina, Quansah, Bechan.

So right now, the four most important Ajax youth teams (Young Ajax, Ajax A1, B1 and C1) have won their respective championships. That doesn't happen too often; it's a beautiful quartet. Ajax rules Dutch youth football in every age category! :-)

-- Anonymous, April 21, 2002

It's still raining CHAMPIONS!!! The possibility of a Championship Saturday in Amsterdam, with both Ajax A1 and Jong Ajax in position to clinch their respective crowns, has come to pass. The Vitesse A1-Ajax A1 finished 0:0; enough to give Danny Blind's side the championship. Jong Ajax v. Jong PSV started 1/2 hour later. It just finished a short time ago ; with Jong Ajax winning by 2:1. No word, from Ajax Netwerk( my source for the results),on who scored as of this post.KAMPIONEN!!!! Hup Ajax HUP.Let the rain continue!

-- Anonymous, April 20, 2002

Final score: 1-1. No goals in the second half.

Which means that Young Ajax has not won the championship yet. One point will do on Saturday, against Young PSV.

Saturday, 20 April will be a very special day for the Ajax youth, as both Young Ajax (at home against Young PSV) and Ajax A1 (away to Vitesse A1) can win their respective championships!

-- Anonymous, April 16, 2002

Cool!

You can check the latest score of Young Excelsior vs Young Ajax REAL- TIME on Ajax Netwerk.to!

Young Excelsior surprisingly took the lead after some 20 minutes. Goal by De Meester. Anthony Obodai equalized in the 33th. 1-1 was the half time score. There's approximately 30 minutes left to play as I post this message.

The Young Ajax line-up: Didulica; Kras, Walker, Mofokeng, De Cler; Yakubu, Knopper, Valencia; Culina, Quansah, Obodai. Ruud Kras was replaced by Ole Tobiasen at half time.

There's a delegation of the Ajax board in Rotterdam, as well as some 150 travelling Ajax fans. Young Ajax needs a win to grab the title today. If they draw, a draw will be enough on Saturday, against Young PSV at De Toekomst. (Which would not be bad, since I'm going to that game).

Anyways - stay tuned to THIS page on Ajax Netwerk for the latest score...

-- Anonymous, April 16, 2002

"It's raining champions!"

There's a fair chance that the five most important Ajax teams will win the championship in their respective leagues this season!

This weekend the Ajax B1 youth (coached by Wim Kwakman) clinched the title in its nation-wide league, by beating (yes sir) Feyenoord B1, 3- 0. On the same day, Ajax C1 (coached by Hennie de Regt) beat FC Omniworld (2-1), which officially brought them the championship.

Guys congratulations. You can check their championship team pictures on Ajax.nl. Young Ajax, Ajax A1 and Ajax-1 are NEXT!!!

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

A quick reminder: this upcoming week can become a very special one, in which the two most important Ajax youth teams (Young Ajax and Ajax A1) can win the championship in their respective nation-wide leagues.

YOUNG AJAX wins the championship if Young Excelsior is beaten in Rotterdam, on Tuesday night, 18:30 CET. If they don't win that one, a win over Young PSV (@ De Toekomst, Saturday 20 April, 14:30 CET) will do.

AJAX A1 can win the championship by beating Vitesse A1 in Arnhem, on Saturday 20 April.

-- Anonymous, April 14, 2002

Woe... No-one beats Ben Bell...

Indeed: Young Ajax won the away game at Young Vitesse today. Kwame Quansah (20') and Nando Rafaël (80') scored the goals in what was - according to Ajax.nl anyway - the best game of the season for Young Ajax.

Young Ajax can clinch the championship in the Beloftencompetitie ('Talents Competition') on Tuesday, by winning the away game at Young Excelsior, in Rotterdam.

The line-up of Jan Olde Riekerink's team: Stekelenburg; Mofokeng, Kras, Walker, Valencia; Obodai, Seedorf, Culina; Ikedia, Quansah, Bechan (75. Rafaël).

There's one sad aspect to Tuesday's "champions' game": goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg, midfielder Stephano Seedorf and winger Kiran Bechan are selected for Young Oranje's game against Young Italy (in Breda) and will miss the game. Olde Riekerink: "That's such a shame. These guys belong to the team."

However, Olde Riekerink underscores that Young Ajax will definitely not deliberately lose the game, so the title can be secured at De Toekomst. Olde Riekerink: "No. We will give everything to win this game."

It will not be an easy game, though. Young Excelsior is battling against relegation and beat Young Vitesse and Young PSV in their desperate attempts to survive...

(I think I'll go to Rotterdam for the Excelsior game...).

-- Anonymous, April 13, 2002

Ajax netwerk.to , in their youth discussion thread, reports that Jong Ajax won at Jong Vitesse by 0:2. No confirmation of the scorers .This post, and a similar one on Ajaxmania, appear(since the comment is in Dutch) to state that Jong Ajax can win the title Tuesday at Jong Excelsior. Winning a trophy at Rottendam? How good does that sound?

-- Anonymous, April 13, 2002

In reading dutch football.nl, I read an article which indicated that both Pieter Collen, a defender, and Leonardo dos Santos,midfielder, received red cards for Jong F-word. Hopefully, this can help Jong Ajax in some form or fashion. Go Lads!!! The crown is in sight!!!

-- Anonymous, April 09, 2002

In reading dutch football.nl, I read an article which indicated that both Pieter Collen, and defender, and Leonardo dos Santos,midfielder, received red cards for Jong F-word. Hopefully, this can help Jong Ajax in some form or fashion. Go Lads!!! The crown is in sight!!!

-- Anonymous, April 09, 2002

Correction: since it's a direct confrontation with the league's number two, Ajax A1 only needs a draw at Vitesse to win the championship. Game's on Saturday, 20 April!!

-- Anonymous, April 07, 2002

Ajax A1 and coach Danny Blind have come really, really close to grabbing the championship in the 'National Eredivisie A', by beating PSV A1 4-1 at De Toekomst.

Wesley Sneijder put Ajax in the lead after 25 minutes. After the half- time break, Danny Blind's team showed some excellent football. Finnish midfielder Jussi Kujala, central defender Jeffrey Hoogervorst and right winger Daniël de Ridder made it 4-0 to Ajax, before PSV scored a few minutes before time.

The Ajax A1 line-up (I'll add their first names as well, since you're not too familiar with the Ajax A1 line-up yet):

Robert Zwinkels; Ymmah Boayke, Nigel de Jong, Jeffrey Hoogervorst,Thomas Vermaelen; Gary Spier, Jussi Kujala, Etienne Esajas; Daniël de Ridder, Wesley Sneijder, Nando Rafaël.

A very important victory, especially because number two and three in the league both lost two points: Vitesse couldn't do better than a draw (1-1) at Stormvogels Telstar, whereas Feyenoord also lost two points at FC Utrecht (0-0).

The table: 1. Ajax A1: 24 games, 56 points - 2. Vitesse A1: 23-49 - 3. Feyenoord A1: 23-47.

Ajax A1 now needs to three points from the remaining two league games. In other words: they can grab the championship if they win their next game, one game before the end. In their last two league games, Ajax A1 is facing its two direct competitors: Vitesse A1 (away) and Feyenoord A1 (at home). The exact date and time for the Vitesse game have not been announced yet.

-- Anonymous, April 07, 2002

This truly is a bummer...

For the second time in five days' time, Young Ajax lost a semi-final cup game from the penalty spot. This time it was the Amstel Malt Cup. The away game at Young Vitesse (that club again...) ended 1-1. Then, two Vitesse players (Dingsdag and Terpstra) were sent off, but Young Ajax failed to score in extra time, against nine men.

In the penalty shoot-out, Young Ajax' first two attempts were saved, after which Young Vitesse won the series, 4-3. No Amstel Cup final; no Amstel Malt Cup final... Life's a bitch, sometimes.

Well - let's go for the Talents Competition championship then, finishing off a friggin GREAT season with a well-deserved trophy, after all.

-- Anonymous, April 02, 2002

You tend to forget after such a dismal game, but yesterday was a very special day for Stephano Seedorf, a typical product of the Ajax youth, who made his official Ajax-1 debut against Vitesse! He'll turn 20 next month.

Welcome, Stephano.

I've watched more Young Ajax game than ever before this season, and it's a really good thing that two of the best Young Ajax players (Pienaar and Seedorf) have now found their way to the A-squad. This is how it should be at our club.

Next up: Walker, I suppose.

-- Anonymous, April 01, 2002

Result of Young Willem II vs Young Feyenoord (played on Monday): 0-1 (Feyenoord scored in the last minute).

The top of the table in the Talents Competition now looks like this:

1. Young Ajax 18-41

2. Young Feyenoord 18-36

3. Young Willem II 18-33

Which means - if the top teams keep winning - that Young Ajax can win the championship one game before the end of the competition. This is most likely to be a home game (against Young NAC or Young PSV).

Young Ajax is due in two cup games first (at home against FC Utrecht- 1 for the 'big Amstel Cup on Friday, and at Young Vitesse for the Amstel Malt Cup on 02 April). The first league game is away at Young Vitesse, scheduled for 13 April. However, I would not be surprised if the postponed game at Young Excelsior will be re-scheduled to a date between 02 and 13 April.

Stay tuned to this thread for details.

-- Anonymous, March 28, 2002

Here's a full round-up about Young Ajax and Ajax A1: the situation in their respective leagues, the games they still have to play, etcetera.

The Talents Competition consists of twelve teams, so it's a 22 game league. With four games to go, Young Ajax is the league leader, with 41 points out of 18 games. Young Feyenoord and Young Willem II share the #2 slot, with 33 points out of 17 games. Those two teams play each other tonight. The loser can forget it. Let's assume the game will have a winner (not a draw). In that case, this would be the table:

1. Young Ajax 18-41 - 2. Young F or W-II 18-36 - 3. Young F or W-II 18-33.

A five point gap, which would mean that Young Ajax can wrap it up one game before the end.

If Young Feyenoord and Young Willem II draw, this would be the table:

1. Young Ajax 18-41 - 2. Young Willem II 18-34 and Young Feyenoord 18- 34.

A seven point gap, which would mean they can claim the title three games before the end. Now, let's take a look at their schedule:

Sat 13 Apr: Young Vitesse vs Young Ajax Sat 20 Apr: Young Ajax vs Young PSV

Sat 27 Apr: Young vs Young NAC

A new date still has to be found for Young Excelsior vs Young Ajax. I hope the KNVB will add that game to the back of the schedule, after 27 April. In that case, Young Ajax will almost certainly win the championship at home, against Young NAC or (even nicer) against Young PSV.

In the mean time, Young Ajax is also running for the Amstel Malt Cup (semi final at Young Vitesse; no new date announced yet) and the 'big' Amstel Cup (semi final at the ArenA against FC Utrecht, this Friday). What a tremendous season these guys are having, and what a pleasure it's been watching them!

- - - -

In the mean time, Danny Blind's Ajax A1 is also at the top of the table, in their National Eredivisie A-Class. This is a 14 team league, so 26 games for each team. Ajax A1 is the current leader: 53 points out of 23 games.

However, it's a tighter affair than Young Ajax' Talents Competition. Vitesse A1 is close: 48 out of 22, so is they win the game they still have in hand, the gap's only two points. Feyenoord A1 is third, with 43 points out of 21 games. Therefore, with two games in hand, they might come as near four points.

The most interesting about it all, is that the league will be decided in a handful of direct battles. The three remaining games of Ajax A1 are against PSV A1 (4th), Vitesse A1 (2nd) and Feyenoord A1 (3rd). For youth teams, the exact dates and kick-off times are usually announced a few weeks before the actual games.

Ajax A1 vs PSV A1 was just announced: Saturday, 06 April at De Toekomst, kick-off 14:30 CET. The confrontation with Vitesse A1 is expected to either make for a "photo-finish" on the last day (if Vitesse wins) or bring Ajax the championship shield directly (if Ajax wins).

Stay tuned to this thread if you're interested... For starters, I'll post the result of Young Willem II vs Young Feyenoord tonight.

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2002

Let me answer Ben's question: yes, Young Ajax vs Young Sparta was played, indeed. It was (another) sad weekend for Sparta. One day before the club's first was crushed by the F-Word in the 'Derby of Rotterdam' (0-5), Young Sparta conceded four Young Ajax goals, scored by Jason Culina (1-0, 30'), Kwame Quansah (2-0 66' and 3-0 82') and Anthony Obodai (4-0 89').

I wasn't there, but according to Aax.nl it was a failry boring game, in which Young Ajax didn't have to play too well to win 4-0.

There was this one great, great thing to celebrate, though. In the 76th minute of the game, the spectators at De Toekomst gave a standing ovation to... Ole Tobiasen, who replaced Gabriël Mofokeng. These were Tobiasen's first 14 minutes of football since November of 1998. He will leave Ajax after this season, but was extremely happy to return to action.

Here's Young Ajax' line-up: Stekelenburg; Mofokeng (76. Tobiasen), Pasanen (76. Kujala), Van Damme, Valencia; Obodai, Walker, Seedorf (83. Sneijder); Culina, Quansah, Bechan.

Young Ajax is safely on its way to the championship in the Beloftencompetitie (= Talents Competition). Check out the league table (on NOS Teletekst) right HERE.

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2002

First, let me echo Menno's sentiments. Heartfelt CONGRATULATIONS to the Ajax D2 youth for their winning of the championship. Let us hope this championship will be the first of many. Second, I was reading (okay..trying to read...some of the Ajax Netwerk.to site) and saw a post saying that a player called Esajas , along with Nigel de Jong,were the goal scorers in todays A1 victory. Also, the post notes that Vitesse A1, trailing Ajax A1 by 5 points, kept the difference at 5 points by beating 3rd place F-word A1 by 2:1. Top three A1 sides are Ajax A1 53, Vitesse A1 48, and F-word A1 43.Thanks for your very timely update Menno!! Also, I see Jong Ajax are listed as playing Jong Sparta today. In the wake of all the scheduling changes,did this match happen?

-- Anonymous, March 23, 2002

Yes! I am happy to extend my congratulations to the first Ajax champions of the season: the D2 youth! Well done, boys. :-)

In the mean time, Danny Blind's Ajax A1 team won the tough away game at FC Twente A1: 0-2. One of the goals was scored by Nigel de Jong, is all I know. Ajax A1 hold on to the number one position in their league!

-- Anonymous, March 23, 2002

Ajax youths might be interested to know that there is an Ajax F.C.Chicago,my U-8 team played them indoors last weekend and we were shredded 7-1.We came in confident because we knew their leading scorer was out.Unfortunately they have a new player,his moves included Cruyffs,garrincha's,zico's etc.His passing was surgical.It was the most impressive display I have ever seen from a U-8 player in my 7 years of coaching.His name is Sean Moran,he's a bit on the small side and wears the number 8.He scored 4 goals and had 3 assists and he played only half the game,if their coach had left him in it could have been embarrassing..I may be crazy but I think i just saw a star player in the making.Hoping someone from the real Ajax picks him up and gets him away from my league :-)

-- Anonymous, March 20, 2002

You can check the results and the table of the top league for A1 youth teams right HERE.

By the way: today's Young Ajax' home game against Young NAC was postponed (don't know why). Maybe it's got to do with the fact that Young Ajax is due in Arnhem on Tuesday night, for the semi final of the Amstel Malt Cup (Amstel Cup for reserves teams), against Young Vitesse. Yessir: Young Ajax, still going for two cups and the championship. Way to go! :-)

-- Anonymous, March 16, 2002

A great performance by Danny Blind's Ajax A1 team this afternoon at De Toekomst. Fortuna Sittard was beaten... 8-0! In the mean time, Feyenoord A1 and PSV A1 shared the points, 1-1, which means that Ajax A1 is now the true league leader (they already were, but Feyenoord had a few games in hand to join Ajax at #1; now, they can no longer do that).

Four games to go for Ajax A1, including home games against Feyenoord A1 and PSV A1.

-- Anonymous, March 16, 2002

Belgium's national TV, BRT, reports that Anderlecht Brussels is about to contract two Ajax youngsters: Serginho Greene (now loaned out to Haarlem) and Sergio Hellings (currently a member of the Young Ajax selection).

I'm not sure whether this is true, but I don't think it would be such a bad idea. You can't keep all your youngsters, after all. Steven Pienaar has already joined Ajax-1. For the next season, Walker and Stefano Seedorf are expected to join him. A few Young Ajacieden and Haarlem loanees will have to go - no matter what.

If Anderlecht is willing to pay good money for them, I'd say this is negotiable.

-- Anonymous, March 12, 2002

A splendid weekend for Ajax!

The three most important teams of the club won their games in convincing style, thereby staying at the top of their respective leagues. The first team beat De Graafschap 4-0, as you know. Match report will appear on the homepage once Jim is back home in California. He is now in the air, somwhere near the American east coast...

We move on to Young Ajax. Jan Olde Riekerink's team was due at De Toekomst, against the number two in the Talents Competition: Young Willem II. Our Ajax USA group was there, and saw Young Ajax play an excellent first half, in stormy circumstances. Kwame Quansah (excellent header from a Richard Knopper cross, 10th minute) and Stefano Seedorf (perfect low shot, after a smart Kiran Bechan thru- pass, 22nd minute) gave Young Ajax a comfortable lead. Early in the second half, Ruud Kras was sent off after receiving his second yellow card. Young Willem II, however, was powerless upfront. The second half was boring and dull. Final result: 2-0.

The Young Ajax line-up, for your information: Stekelenburg; Mofokeng, Kras, Walker, Valencia; Obodai, Knopper, Seedorf (Foday Abbas Sillah); Bechan, Quansah (Hellings), Culina.

I have no idea who Foday Abbas Sillah is, by the way. He was a Ruud Gullit look-alike. Someone told me he's from the A2 team. It was his Young Ajax debut.

After the game, on our way to Strandvliet subway station, I bumped into Danny Blind, who just returned from Nijmegen, where Ajax A1 had played NEC A1 that same afternoon. Blind told me personally that his team won, 0-2. And he was not kidding ;-) Wesley Sneijder scored one of the A1 team's goals. That's all I know.

This is the situation in the Talents Competition:

1. Young Ajax 17 played - 38 points; 2. Young Feyenoord 17-33; 3. Young Willem II 17-33; 4. Young Vitesse 15-26.

The table of the Shell Youth Competition (for A1 teams) on KNVB.nl was not updated yet when I checked it last, but I do know that the number two in the league (Vitesse A1) lost two points this weekend. Therefore: good business for Ajax A1!

-- Anonymous, March 11, 2002

Menno Am I reading the Ajax.nl website correctly in that there is a game at De Toekomst on Sunday starting at 11:30 between Ajax B1 and FC Volendam B1. Also could you please explain the different categories ie A to ..... Thanks

-- Anonymous, March 06, 2002

The Young Ajax goal was not scored by Kwame Quansah, but by Wesley Sneijder. Ajax.nl corrected this in their match report.

-- Anonymous, March 05, 2002

Young Ajax won its away game at Young FC Twente yesterday evening: 0- 1. Kwame Quansah scored the only goal of the game as late as in the 82nd minute, from a Jason Culina free kick rebouncing from the cross- bar.

An interesting note for F. Otsen and Hosam, who are discussing Mido's whereabouts in the 'Ajax USA in Amsterdam, March 2002' thread: Mido is not in Ghent or Caïro. He played with Young Ajax in Enschede yesterday night for 70 minutes.

A nice detail: this game marked the debut of Belgian defender Jelle Van Damme, on a try-out at Ajax since last week. A not so nice detail: he got two yellow cards and was sent off.

Another not so nice detail: Petri Pasanen, who just recovered from a serious injury, had to be replaced by Wesley Sneijder after 15 minutes, after sustaining another injury. Pasanen will be taken to the hospital this morning, to check how serious his new injury is.

Here's Young Ajax' line-up: Stekelenburg; Mofokeng, Pasanen (15. Sneijder), Kras, Van Damme; Walker, Culina, Obodai; Quansah,Mido (70. De Jong), Bechan.

Young Ajax still had this game in hand and, by winning it, leapfrogged Young Willem II to go top. A very interesting starting point indeed for Saturday's top clash at De Toekomst: Young Ajax vs Young Willem, to be attended by our group of Ajax USA travellers!!

-- Anonymous, March 05, 2002

Sorry for posting this in the wrong message board.Am i drunk or something?Damn..

-- Anonymous, March 04, 2002

There's no team in the world that turns every chance into goals.And many times,the ball just doesn't want to get into the nets.We must not judge the team from this game only.Because we all know that in the previous games we scored many goals,and in some games,the attackers turned every chance into goal.Even HALF a chance i must say.I watched the game.It was not 100% a matter of no skill from the team.The ball is a whore,as we all know.And many times,she doesn't want to satisfy you.Anyway,the good thing is that EVERY player had a good game(almost everyone).So we can hope for better days to come! PS:Nice dive Nikos!Mister DICK must be feeling very stupid now!And i love it!!!(xcept if he did it on purpose,because he didn't give the real penalty some minutes ago...)

-- Anonymous, March 04, 2002

Saw highlights of the Ajax A1 game on TV at the airport whilst waiting for the flight home and they seemed to have the same problem as the first team had against F-Word - loads of chances but nobody to take them.

-- Anonymous, March 04, 2002

Slightly disappointing result for Ajax A1: a 0-0 draw at De Toekomst against Willem II A1. Vitesse A1 also drew (0-0) against FC Twente A1. This is the top of the table right now:

1. Ajax 20 played, 44 points (56 scored - 20 conceded); 2. Vitesse 19- 41 (47-18); 3. Feyenoord 18-39 (37-19); 5. PSV 17-34 (44 19).

Young Ajax will play an away game at Young FC Twente tonight (a game that got cancelled in January).

-- Anonymous, March 04, 2002

My guess for ghost player would be Cedric van der Gun. If he is indeed healthy, and especially after coming on yesterday, I would think he is being saved for Sunday. Also, question to Menno, Bastiaan, or one of our dutch-speakers: did I read the Ajax Netwerk report correctly re: another injury to Daniel Cruz? An injury that caused Ruud Kras to be subbed in for him about 35' in.

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002

An excellent victory for Young Ajax, tonight at Young FC Utrecht: goals by Kiran Bechan and Walker made it 0-2. Interesting detail: the entire first selection of FC Utrecht was on the stands watching their Amstel Cup opponents. Coach Frans Adelaar wanted to make sure his team will not underestimate the Ajax youngsters. They probably won't, because according to Ajax.nl, Young Ajax played a really good game, after a few weaker ones.

This was Jan Olde Riekerink's line-up, according to Ajax.nl:

Stekelenburg; Mofokeng, Pasanen, Walker, Valencia; Obodai, Seedorf (De Jong), Cruz (Kras); Ikedia (Kujala), Culina, Bechan, Van der Gun.

However, I'm pretty damn sure this was not the line-up, unless the referee graduated from Stevie Wonder Referee Academy... There's thirteen players in the line-up, plus three subs...

We can turn this into a little game, named 'Find The Error'. Which player in this line-up did actuallu not play? Please place your bets now... I go for Culina :-)

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002

YOUNG AJAX vs YOUNG FEYENOORD, an amazing game...

Saturday's "Little Classic" at De Toekomst, between Young Ajax and Young Feyenoord was an amazing game in many ways. First of all, it was amazing that the De Toekomst pitch was as good as it was (most Dutch football games were cancelled this weekend). Secondly: the pretty heavy storm made its amazingly cold at De Toekomst.

The game itself? Amazing!

It was truly amazing to see how much better Young Ajax is. When it comes to talent, the two teams really don't compare. Young Ajax was constantly in possession, kept creating chances and took the lead (Pius Ikedia scored in the 18th minute). It was, yes indeed, amazing to see that there is not one single player in Young Feyenoord who may be good enough to even come close to the first team.

It's amazing that Feyenoord is relatively high on the table: they had no skill, no pace, no system, no outstanding individuals - they really had nothing at all.

The last two amazing things I want to mention: it was amazing that Young Ajax did not score the 2-0, 3-0, 4-0 and 5-0. But the most amazing thing was that Feyenoord scored the equalizer, five minutes from time, as a completely hopeless Boutahar free-kick was deflected, leaving Maarten Stekelenburg no chance as it trickled into the net... Final result, amazingly, 1-1.

The Young Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg; Obodai, Kras, Pasanen (45. De Jong), Valencia; Walker, Culina, Seedorf; Ikedia, Rafael, Bechan.

Yup, indeed: PETRI PASANEN returned to action, playing 45 fine minutes for Young Ajax. Amazing.

One more amazing thing: Ajax USA's trip to Amsterdam, which starts next weekend, already contains Ajax-1 games against both Dutch top opponents (PSV and Feyenoord). It also contains the TOP CLASH in the Talents Competition: Young Ajax vs Young Willem II!

Ccheck out the The game itself started spectacularly: in only 19 minutes time, Young SC Heerenveen had a 2-3 lead. An absolutely brilliant thru-pass from (I believe) Walker sent Seedorf on his way, who finished superbly: 1- 0 (5'). Bischop (8') and Lord (10') then put SC Heerenveen in the lead. Both goals were scored from good attacks over the flanks, followed by a low cross which was tipped in by the scorer at the near post. Van der Gun (18') equalized by scoring a similar goal, but Young Ajax still didn't have its act together: directly from kick off, a good cross ended on the foot of a guy named Vieira (no kidding), who put the Frisians in the lead again (19').

In the remainder of the game, Young Ajax was the better side. Kwame Quansah's second half equalizer (a GREAT, GREAT lift over the goalkeeper into the far corner of the goal, 56') was deserved and it seemed like Young Ajax was gonna able to score a winner. This didn't happen and in the very last minute, Young Ajax was extremely lucky not to concede a fourth goal. Goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg ran out of his goal to intercept a deep ball. However, Heerenveen's left winger was faster and managed to pull it back to the goal before Stekelenburg was there. The central forward has a free finish into an EMPTY goal, but hit the post. The rebound (goal was still empty) was cleared off the line by Obodai... Amazing. Final result 3-3.

In another game, Young PSV and Young Feyenoord shared the points (1- 1). They, therefore, did not come closer to Young Ajax, who are still at the top of the table, with 28 points out of 13 games. NOTE: the number two in the Talents Competition is Young Willem II. Young Ajax vs Young Willem II happens to de be the game we will attend @ De Toekomst during second trip to Amsterdam, from March 02 to March 10!!

-- Anonymous, February 17, 2002

By checking the Ajax Netwerk.to website, I found that the Jong Ajax v. Jong Heerenveen appears to have ended in a 3:3 draw. Also, did I read correctly, on Ajax.nl, that Daniel Cruz , Maxwell, and Cedric van der Gun were included in the side? Hopefully, Cruz is near fit. With Rafael van der Vaart and Johnny Heitinga out, the return of Daniel Cruz could be a big help. I mean, any player who can line-up at striker,in midfield,or as an emergency rightback(remember last year)...and play all three well..is a bonus.

-- Anonymous, February 16, 2002

I was gonna go to De Toekomst tonight and post a short report on Young Ajax' Amstel Malt Cup quarter final against Young De Graafschap... However, Ajax.nl has just announced that the game's off. One look out of the window and I can see why: the weather's absolutely horrible over here. Rain, rain, rain - and a pretty strong storm. No new date found yet.

It's about time those guys start playing again: out of their last five games, four were cancelled. Their quarter final in the 'big', grown-up people's Amstel Cup was the only one that didn't get cancelled.

-- Anonymous, February 11, 2002

The Ajax A1 youth won today's home game against Sparta A1 in convincing style: 4-1. The website about the Ajax youth (AjaxJeugd.nl, reports that it was actually one of the best games of the season for the team of coach Danny Blind. In the mean time, Feyenoord A1 lost two points against Willem II A1 (2-2).

Ajax A1 was already at the top of the table in the Shell Juniors Competition, but Vitesse A1 and Feyenoord A1 had games in hand to leapfrog Ajax. This victory means that Feyenoord will now have to win the two games they have in hand, in order to leapfrog Ajax by two points. In other words: by winning this one, Ajax A1 has pretty much closed the gap that Feyenoord could have created.

In the mean time, Young Ajax has had a quiet New Year until their Amstel Cup victory over Stormvogels Telstar. Their league game at Young FC Utrecht was postponed and the next weekend, their game at Young FC Twente also got cancelled, due to bad weather circumstances.

The Amstel Cup tie with Stormvogels Telstar was actually their first 'real ' game after the winter break. Young Ajax is due again on Monday night, at De Toekomst, against Young De Graafschap in the quarter final of the Amstel Malt Cup (the Amstel Cup for reserves teams). Yeah, they're still going for two Amstel Cups. And they're at the top in the Talents League (the former Reserves Eredivisie). Indeed: there's still a lot to win for Jan Olde Riekerinks bunch...

-- Anonymous, February 09, 2002

From Steve Duke, here's an update on Ajax Under-17s in Disney World tournament: "I noticed that you have not up-dated your page with the results from the Disney Showcase over Christmas. Both Ajax Amsterdam and Ajax Capetown sent teams, along with Bayer Leverkusen. All the International Teams played the 4 Regional ODP Teams, and the U-17 U.S. National Team. Ajax did very well. (results)"

We posted a news article prior to the tournament.

Thanks for the update, Steve!

-- Anonymous, January 04, 2002

From Ajax Netwerk.to:

"The Ajax youth has done very well in several international youth tournaments around the world. On Friday, 28 December, a team consisting of the best U-12 Ajacieden finished third in the major youth tournament at Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona. Spanish side Real Zaragoza was beaten after a penalty shoot-out in the "little final" (for the 3rd/4th place).

Ajax had lost it group game against Zaragoza in an earlier stage of the tournament. The Ajax U-12s did beat Inter Milan, Espanyol and FC Barcelona, before succumbing 2-0 to Real Madrid in the semi finals. Real Madrid ended up winning the tournament."

Ajax's U-17 team also did well in the United States. Ajax Netwerk's report was published on 29 December. At that point, Ajax had won its first two group games against two regional American youth teams (3-0 and 2-0 were the scores). The final group game was on Saturday, the final on Sunday. No report about those games yet. I'll post them here as soon as I find out about it...

-- Anonymous, January 01, 2002

Hey everyone,

You should all take a look at Jason Culina's amazing goal against FC Twente (see homepage). When watching the MPEG, press 'pause' in the 13th second to see our Ajax USA banner... (when Culina's cheering) :-)

-- Anonymous, December 18, 2001

Young Ajax vs Young Feyenerd was scheduled for this weekend, but the game was cancelled due to the frost and the icey pitch. Which is good news for Ajax fans who travelled to Roda (like myself). We had to leave at 3:00 PM and would have, therefore, missed the game at De Toekomst. All fixtures in the national league for A1 youth teams, including Vitesse A1 vs Ajax A1, were also cancelled for the same reason.

-- Anonymous, December 17, 2001

The A1 team is f*cking up: after giving a 4-1 lead away against Vitesse A1 (4-5 defeat), they could not do better than a 0-0 draw at De Toekomst against Stormvogels Telstar A1.

Disgraceful, because the 0-0 draw was the very first point Telstar grabbed this league... A shit-poor result, therefore.

-- Anonymous, December 04, 2001

My favourite name in Ajax nowadays:

M O F O K E N G !!

(It's groovy !)

-- Anonymous, December 03, 2001

Alright, here's the Young Ajax line-up that beat Young PSV: Didulica; Mofokeng, Kras, Yakubu, Valencia; Obodai, Bechan, Pienaar; Quansah, Knopper, Piqué.

The current table in the Talents Competition is: 1) Ajax 11 games - 24 points; 2) Vitesse 10-20; 3) PSV 8-14; 4) Willem II 8-14; 5) Feyenoord 7-13.

As you see, this table is a complete mess, with the feyenerds havind four (!) games in hand. If they win all four, they're actually a point ahead of Ajax. But for now, Young Ajax is comfortably at the top.

-- Anonymous, December 01, 2001

No line-ups and match details yet, but still: good news! Young Ajax won the away game at Young PSV today. 0-1, goal scored by Gabriel Mofokeng. Excellent result!

Details to follow later...

-- Anonymous, December 01, 2001

Both Ajax A1 and Young Ajax played at home against the respective Vitesse teams of the same age bracket this weekend. In both cases, it was a tremendously important game for the top position in their respective leagues.

On Friday, a truly amazing game between Ajax A1 (31 points out of 10 games and league leaders) vs Vitesse A1 (29 points out of 10 games and 3rd) was played. Ajax beat Feyenoord A1 in Rotterdam in their last game, and against Vitesse, convincingly took a lead of no less than 4-1 in the first half. The score was 4-2 20 minutes before the end, but somehow it all went wrong: 4-5. I haven't heard or read any details, but it's unbelievable. Vitesse are now a point ahead of Ajax. Don't know about Feyenoord A1's result yet, but if they won their game, Ajax drops to 3rd... A shame.

Luckily, Young Ajax did not make the same mistake the next day, jumping to the top position in the Talents Competition after an excellent 4-1 win over Young Vitesse. Stefano Seedorf (41'), Kwame Quansah (penalty, 60'), Steven Pienaar (penalty, 65') and Wesley Sneijder (81') gave Ajax a 4-0 lead, before Sonee pulled one back in the 84th minute. A solid victory, in which Brutil Hosé was sent off after his second yellow card, only two minutes before the final whistle.

The Young Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg; Mofokeng, Kras, Valencia, Walker (80. Kujala); Obodai, Seedorf (80. Sneijder), Pienaar (80. Krohn-Dehli), Hosé, Quansah, Piqué.

(Note that the players subbed in, Kujala, Sneijder and Krohn-Dehli, are officially in the Ajax A1 squad. Almost certainly, coach Jan Olde Riekerink will also need a few A1 players for Young Ajax' game in the "big" Amstel Cup, against FC Twente on 12 December. Wesley Sneijder, Nigel de Jong and striker Michael Krohn-Dehli seem to be the main candidates).

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2001

Correction: goalkeeper was not Stekelenburg, but Joey Didulica...

-- Anonymous, November 22, 2001

Young Ajax had already qualfied for the second round of the Amstel Malt Cup (national cup for second teams) by beating Young ADO Den Haag (at home, 4-1) and Young FC Utrecht (away, 1-2). Nevertheless, the third and last game of the first round group stage was of great importance, since it was used to bring back several first team players returning from injuries or suspensions.

The line-up (with the names of returning first teamers in bold): Stekelenburg; Obodai, Kras, Walker, Maxwell; Valencia, Pienaar, Seedorf, Yakubu; Zlatan, Mido.

The game, played in Alkmaar against Young AZ, was succesful in every way: Young Ajax won, 0-4, entering the second round with three convincing wins in the first round.

But, more importantly in this case, the returning first teamers did well. Abubakari Yakubu played the full 90 minutes and reportedly did well. Also, all four Young Ajax goals were scored by players who could be important in Sunday's game against PSV: Zlatan, who played particularly well in the second half, scored twice and provided Mido with an assist which the Egyptian converted. Ajax' fourth goal was scored by Maxwell.

-- Anonymous, November 22, 2001

I forgot Mitchell Piqué's goal (and what a beautiful one it was...). The Young Ajax goals were scored by: Quansah (30), Piqué (62), Seedorf (69), Hosé (78) and Seedorf, once again (88). Excelsior's goal (4-1) was scored by a guy named Mtiliga (85).

Young Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg; Mofokeng, Kras (60. Vogelaar), Walker, Valencia; Obodai, Seedorf, Piqué (60. Langguth); Quansah (Sillah), Hosé, Pienaar.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 2001

Some pretty good results for the younger Ajacieden today...

Me and Bastiaan were at De Toekomst this afternoon for Young Ajax' home game against Young Excelsior. Yes indeed: the F- Word's "satellite club". Young Excelsior is bottom of the table in the Talents Competition, and you could tell. Young Ajax didn't even have to play very well to beat them 5-1. The first half was poor. The only goal was scored by Kwame Quansah.

Young Ajax played much better in the second half, scoring a few goals from really, really beautiful attacking combinations. The scorers were, if I remember it correctly, Stefano Seedorf (2) and Brutil Hosé. There's no report on Ajax.nl yet. If I got this wrong, I'll post the correct info later... Excelsior pulled one back when the score was 4-0.

Also very nice: the result of the 'Classic' of A1 teams. Feyenerd A1 vs Ajax A1... 1-2! Good stuff.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 2001

Apart from playing in the fourth round of the 'big' Amstel Cup, Young Ajax is also playing in the Amstel Cup for second teams: the Amstel Malt Cup. As reported earlier, the first game against Young ADO Den Haag (The Hague) was easily won, 4-1.

The second game was significantly tougher, away to Young FC Utrecht at Nieuw Galgenwaard Stadium. Jan Olde Riekerink's 'Cupfighters' had trouble with Utrecht, but did win: 1-2.

A fine assist by Stefano Seedorf was finished with a superb lob by Kiran Bechan, giving Ajax a 0-1 lead (23). The opponents equalized in the 65th and Ajax did not play well in the second half. However, it was Brutil Hosé who converted a Bechan cross by firing home diagonally, only four minutes before game's end: 1-2 (86).

By this win, Young Ajax is already qualified for the second round, although the third group game (away to Young AZ) is yet to be played...

Line-up in Utrecht: Didulica; Mofokeng, Kras, Walker, Valencia; Obodai, Seedorf, Pienaar; Culina (42. Hosé), Quansah, Bechan.

-- Anonymous, November 13, 2001

Rich Savare sent me email asking me about the nationalities of the Young Ajax team. Good question. I figured I might as well share the answer with all of you:

THE NETHERLANDS: Maarten Stekelenburg, Ruud Kras, Kiran Bechan, Stefano Seedorf, Brutil Hosé (born in Netherlands Antilles).

AUSTRALIA: Joey Didulica, Jason Culina.

GHANA: Kwame Quansah, Anthony Obodai.

SOUTH AFRICA: Gabriel Mofokeng, Steven Pienaar.

BRAZIL: 'Walker' Americo Fronio.

ECUADOR: Jose 'Valencia' Murillo.

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2001

After two disappointing draws, Young Ajax is winning again. Yesterday night's away game at Young NAC in Breda was easily won, 0-2. Both goals were scored by Kwame Quansah, who was on the Ajax-1 bench in Doetinchem the day before.

Line-up: Didulica; Mofokeng, Kras, Valencia, Walker; Obodai, Seedorf (Bechan), Piqué; Ikedia, Quansah (Hosé), Pienaar (Culina).

For the table of the 'Talents Competition' on KNVB.nl, click HERE.

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2001

Forgetting to convert one of the many chances in the first half, a red card for goalkeeper Bram Verbist and - in the second half - two goals by Sroka have brought Ajax A1 the first defeat of the season: 2- 0 at PSV A1.

Pity.

-- Anonymous, November 04, 2001

Young Ajax has won the first poule game for the Amstel Malt Cup (the Amstel Cup for reserves teams) in convincing style. Young ADO Den Haag (The Hague) was beaten 4-1 at De Toekomst. Goals were scored by Quansah (21), Obodai (24), Pienaar (84) and Brutil Hosé (89), who has apparently returned from his try-out at Middlesbrough and was not contracted by the English Premiership club, I assume. Van Dijk brought ADO Den Haag back into the game after Obodai's 2-0, scoring the 2-1 (26).

The Young Ajax line-up: Stekelenburg; Mofokeng, Kras, Walker, Valencia; Obodai (60. Pienaar), Seedorf, Culina; Bechan, Quansah (83. Hosé), Piqué.

Two more games to play for Young Ajax in their group: away to Young AZ and Young FC Utrecht...

Important game for Ajax A1 today: away to PSV A1. Result to follow later in this thread...

-- Anonymous, November 03, 2001

Slightly disappointing league result for Young Ajax on Monday night: 1-1 at Young Willem II. Coach Jan Olde Riekerink said that the result asa such was appropriate, but that it was "a bit bitter" because Willem II's equalizer was scored only five minutes before the final whistle. A Pius Ikedia goal had given Ajax the lead (25).

Here's the Young Ajax line-up: Didulica; Mofokeng, Kras, Valencia, Walker; Obodai, Pienaar (75. Culina), Pique; Ikedia, Quansah, Bechan (65. Seedorf).

They're slipping away from the top at the moment... GO YOUNG AJAX!! We want Ajax-1, Young Ajax and Ajax A1 at the top of their leagues!! :-)

-- Anonymous, October 29, 2001

Good news, not only for Ajax-1, but also for Ajax A1. They won their home game against FC Twente A1 (at De Toekomst), 4-0, and saw Feyenoord and Vitesse draw against one another. Which means that Ajax A1 jumps to the top in the league, with 28 points out of 10 games and a goal difference of +29. Feyenoord also has 28 points, but their goal difference is +16. Vitesse is third, six points behind Ajax and Feyenoord.

Here's the line-up in which Ajax A1 played:

Bram Verbist; Jerold Promes, Nigel de Jong, Sergio Hellings, Dirk- Jan in den Eng; Jussi Kuyala, Etienne Esajas, Daniel de Ridder; Wesley Sneijder, Nando Rafael en Michael Krohn-Dehli.

We've already gotten acquainted with Nando Rafaël, because he scored the decisive 2-0 for Young Ajax against De Graafschap last week. Some of the most promising names in the A1 squad are the central defensive duo, Nigel de Jong and Sergio Hellings. Also, Michael Krohn-Dehli has been amazingly productive recently.

The goals against FC Twente A1 were scored by Krohn-Dehli, De Ridder, Hellings and substitute, Gary Spier. A promising crop, people tell me.

As always: thanks to Erik Verheijen's Ajax Jeugd website for the reports and pictures!

-- Anonymous, October 29, 2001

From Ajax.nl:

Despite the fact that Young Ajax is still participating in the 'real' Amstel Cup, the team will also have to play in this year's national cup competition for reserves teams, the Amstel Malt Cup, starting at the end of this month. First, Young Ajax will have to play three games in a poule. There are four poules of three teams. Two teams out of each poule qualify for the quarter finals.

Here are the games Young Ajax will play:

Fri 02 Nov: Young Ajax - Young ADO Den Haag (@ De Toekomst, Amsterdam)

Thu 08 Nov: Young AZ - Young Ajax (in Alkmaar)

Mon 12 Nov: Young FC Utrecht - Young Ajax (in Utrecht)

Check back to this thread regularly for all results and game info.

-- Anonymous, October 27, 2001

GREAT NEWS! Young Ajax won their Amstel Cup Match (third round) against eredivisie team De Graafschap. At 'De Toekomst' they beat the Superboeren 2-0. More news later on at Ajax-USA's homepage.

-- Anonymous, October 23, 2001

One more disappointing result for Young Ajax... They drew, 1-1, at De Toekomst against Young FC Twente. According to Ajax.nl's report, Young Ajax was far the better side, was a bit unlucky in the event of some decisions by the referee. FC Twente was playing extremely defensive, but took the lead after a Ruud ter Heijde goal (21'). The equlizer was scored three minutes later by - YES, there he is! - MIDO (24'), who played the full 90 minutes.

Here's the Young Ajax line-up: Didulica; Mofokeng, Kras (46. Walker), Heitinga, Valencia; Galasek, Pienaar (81' Seedorf), Piqué; Ikedia, Mido, Bechan (46. Quansah).

In the mean time, Ajax A1 has played two friendly games because there was no league game for them. AjaxJeugd.nl reports that they beat Young FC Den Bosch (not FC Den Bosch A1!) 1-0 and, this weekend, Hellas A1 vs Ajax A1 ended 0-12.

-- Anonymous, October 21, 2001

Damn - lost it... Young Feyenoord vs Young Ajax 2-0.

This is the line-up Ajax was playing with:

Didulica; Mofokeng, Walker, Heitinga, Maxwell; Galasek, Knopper, Pique (Valencia); Ikedia (Obodai), Quansah (Bechan), Pienaar.

It is good news that Pius Ikedia made his return to action in this game. Hope he'll be available for Ajax-1 soon. Ajax was three points ahead of Feyenoord on the table. Standing is now:

1. Young Vitesse 5-12; 2. Young Ajax 5-10 (goal diff. +6); 3. Young Feyenoord 5-10 (goal diff. +5).

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2001

Played this Sunday: Fortuna Sittard A1 vs Ajax A1 2-3

According to AjaxJeugd.nl, Ajax played a good game and was unlucky to go 1-0 down. Michael Krohn-Dehli and Nando Rafaël gave Ajax a 1-2 lead before Fortuna equalized again. The winner, once again, came from the foot of Michael Krohn-Dehli.

For other results and standings follow the link I posted below, a few posts ago...

-- Anonymous, October 15, 2001

Exciting days for Young Ajax anyway: away to Young Feyenoord tonight, and after that (next week) their Amstel Cup safari continues... The home game in the third round against De Graafschap is re-scheduled from Thursday 25 to Tuesday 23 October. Kick-off time t.b.c.

-- Anonymous, October 15, 2001

Nice game tonight @ 6:30 PM Dutch time: Young Feyenoord vs Young Ajax, in the 'Talents Competition' (the new name for the Reserves Eredvisie). We'll report after the game in this thread...

(Of course, we'll also report - on the homepage - about RKC Waalwijk vs Ajax. Jim's enjoying a short and well-deserved vacation and will install the match report when he gets home, this Monday. Check back to the Ajax USA homepage in a few hours...)

-- Anonymous, October 15, 2001

Hi all i want to join Ajax youth football and i dont know how to go about it my name is biodun am 20 years old please do reply me now

-- Anonymous, October 13, 2001

Excellent win for Young Ajax this weekend!

They won, 1-2, at Young SC Heerenveen. The game was played for no less than 3,000 spectators at Abe Lenstra Stadium ("This is the atmosphere the new Talents Competition deserves", said Ajax coach, Jan Olde Riekerink) and marked the return of a few Ajacieden: Joey Didulica, for example, who returned to action for Ajax after his return from Germinal Beerschot Antwerp.

Also, as announced earlier this week, Tomás Galásek played his first football after his recovery from a severe injury. Stefano Seedorf and Brutil Hosé were not available due to injuries. First squad players Johnny Heitinga, Richard Knopper and Mitchell Piqué played with Young Ajax.

SC Heerenveen was the better side in the first half hour and took an early lead: Kolk scored in the 6th minute. After some twenty minutes, Ajax started dominating and continued to do so for the rest of the game. Kwame Quansah equalized before half time (33.); Richard Knopper finished off a good dribble with a well-placed shot in the 75th, 1-2.

Here's the Young Ajax line-up:

Didulica; Kras (46. Mofokeng), Heitinga, Walker, Valencia (46. Obodai); Galásek, Knopper, Piqué; Bechan (75. Culina), Quansah, Piqué.

Next game: Young Ajax vs Young FC Twente, on Saturday 20 October @ De Toekomst in Amsterdam.

-- Anonymous, October 07, 2001

Today's result:

Ajax-A1 vs NEC-A1 3-1

For standing and other results from the Eredivisie for A1 teams, click the link in the post below...

-- Anonymous, October 06, 2001

This is useful...

Here's a page on KNVB.nl, with the latest results and the standings for the nation-wide Eredivisie for A1 youth teams. You won't find this info on Ajax.nl (they only have the latest result of Ajax-A1 - no standings). You'll find the page (updated after every game) HERE.

-- Anonymous, October 05, 2001

Wouldn't it be crazily cool to see Young Ajax vs. Ajax One? Maybe in a semi-final or final match... That would be totally cool. There would be no such thing as an away or home game. That would be a dream... I just hope that Young Ajax will be given the chance to play all the way in the Amstel Cup and not be substituted by Ajax One.

-- Anonymous, October 04, 2001

I forgot Berck Beelenkamp, he also played for Ajax once, didn't he?

-- Anonymous, October 04, 2001

So this will be the return of several former Ajacieden to Amstedam. These guys are playing at De Graafschap now: John van de Brom, Dennis Schulp, Rody Turpijn, Peter van Vossen (maybe I forgot one, is Arno Splinter still playing overthere?). I don't think the last one (Van Vossen) will get a warm welcome...he's not so popular in Amsterdam anymore since he moved to feyenoord (before moving to De Graafschap), stating that this was 'his biggest dream'.

-- Anonymous, October 04, 2001

Yesterday (Wednesday) was the last remaining game in the second round of the Amstel Cup. The winner will play Young Ajax in the third round. De Graafschap beat Sparta, 2-1, by a 'golden goal' in extra time (scored by former Ajacied, Dennis Schulp, by the way).

So, it's gonna be Young Ajax vs De Graafschap on Thursday, 25 October.

Here's the third round draw in full (E = Eredivisie; F = First Division; A = amateur side).

FC Zwolle (F) vs Eindhoven (F) RKC Waalwijk (E) vs Emmen (F)

NAC (E) vs Excelsior (F)

Fortuna Sittard (E) vs Cambuur Leeuwarden (F) Stormvogels Telstar (F) vs Dordrecht '90 (F)

FC Den Bosch (E) vs VVV (F)

BV Veendam (F) vs SC Heerenveen (E)

FC Groningen (E) vs ACV (A)

YOUNG AJAX vs De Graafschap (E)

RBC Roosendaal (F) vs AZ (E)

-- Anonymous, October 04, 2001

I've watched a few Young Ajax games this year, and Stefano Seedorf (to me) looks like the guy who's closest to making the jump to Ajax- 1. Really good player. His problem is that he would be a candidate for Van der Vaart's or Wamberto's position (what used the be the 'number 10' position) - and they are probably Ajax' best players of the year so far...

There was sort of a buzz about Kwame Quansah over the past few seasons. He was expected to be Ajax' secret weapon for the future. However, he has not developed as spectacularly recently. Also, I think he's too light and too short for a striker.

Another player I am *very* fond of, is Young Ajax' Brazilian captain: Walker Americo Fronio, simply referred to as 'Walker'. He seems to be a central figure in the team, a Blind/Chivu type.

I'm pretty sure that Seedorf and Walker could play in Ajax-1 without too much trouble. They seem ready to give it a try. It will be very interesting to see them play a *real* game against an Eredivisie opponent with Young Ajax. The last remaining Amstel Cup 2nd round game (De Graafschap vs Sparta) will be played tomorrow evening. The winner faces Young Ajax at De Toekomst.

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2001

You're right Rich... Stefano Seedorf is not Clarence's brother, but his cousin. Excuse moi :-)

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2001

Oke menno, keep promoting the AjaxYouth. Hope to see you soon! TB

-- Anonymous, September 29, 2001

YOUNG AJAX UPDATE!!

Young Ajax went top in the Reserves Eredivisie today, by trashing Young Sparta in Rotterdam, 0-4. Young Vitesse, however, have a game in hand to leapfrog Ajax by two points. Today's goals were scored by Walker (penalty), Pienaar, Quansah (penalty) and another one by Kwame Quansah.

According to Ajax.nl, Young Ajax played a *very* good game in this line-up:

Verbist; Mofokeng, Kras, Valencia, Walker; Van Halst, Seedorf (Culina), Pienaar (Hosé); Obodai, Quansah, Bechan.

Yes, indeed: 'Van Halst' is good old Jan van Halst! Coach Jan Olde Riekerink explains: "I'm really happy to have Jan in my squad. You see, the first team is in training camp (didn't know that, by the way, MP) and the A1 youth team played against Willem II today. Therefore, I can use every available player. It's also good for Jan to play some games, in case a new club shows up for him. And he played well."

My favourite Young Ajax player so far, Stefano Seedorf, was substituted because he sustained an ankle injury. Nothing serious, so it seems.

Ajax A1 (highest youth team, for 16/17 year-olds) is doing well, too. They grabbed 19 points out of 7 games so far: only one draw, the rest of the games were won. Feyenoord A1 is doing even better: they have the full monty and are top, with 21 points out of 7 games.

Here's the results of Ajax A1 in the 'Shell Juniors Competition':

Ajax vs FC Utrecht 1-0 ; Telstar vs Ajax 1-4 ; SC Heerenveen vs Ajax 0-3 ; Ajax vs ADO Den Haag 5-0 ; Sparta vs Ajax 1-1 ; Ajax vs SC Feijenoord 7-0 (note: this is NOT Feyenoord, but its amateur section!) ; Willem II vs Ajax 1-4.

-- Anonymous, September 29, 2001

Funny detail if Young Ajax has to play against Sparta: Young Ajax coach Olde Riekerink (38) once played for Sparta and lost against Ajax-2 in the 1986/87 season. "I considered that extremely humiliating." In August Olde Riekerink already said that he doesn't have any feelings of revenge and that he doesn't wish to play against Sparta: "I don't hope so, because that means we also have to knock out Aron Winter."

Now there is a great possibility that this will happen anyway. So if Sparta will beat De Graafschap a unique match will be followed!

-- Anonymous, September 24, 2001

YOUNG AJAX UPDATE...

After the splendid Amstel Cup result against Haarlem, Young Ajax screwed up against Young FC Utrecht this Saturday. Kwame Quansah and Stefano Seedorf gave Ajax a 2-0 lead at half-time, but they allowed FC Utrecht to dominate thoughout the second half and level the score: 2-2, goals by Tsiorlas and Katipana. Here the Young Ajax line-up, for your information:

Verbist; Mofokeng, Kras, Valencia, Walker; Obodai, Seedorf (86. Rafael), Pienaar; Culina, Hosé (46. Bechan), Quansah.

Anyways - the Amstel Cup safari continues. The draw took place on Friday (executed on SBS6 TV by Stanley Menzo). He paired Young Ajax with the winner of De Graafschap vs Sparta (which has yet to be played, on 03 October). No matter which team wins that one: after having eliminated two First Division sides (FC Volendam and Haarlem), Young Ajax now faces an Eredivisie opponent. I *hope* it'll be Sparta; I *think* it's gonna be De Graafschap.

The game is scheduled for Thursday, 25 October, but I'm not sure where (in Amsterdam, that's for sure). There were 2,000 spectators at De Toekomst against Haarlem. There will be more the farther Young Ajax gets. Also, now the opponents will be Eredivisie or major First Division sides, you may expect a few busloads of visiting fans as well. Therefore, I think there's a fair chance that this game will be played in the ArenA (for capacity and safety reasons).

-- Anonymous, September 24, 2001

A good start for Young Ajax, too, by the way... They won their game against Young AZ, 4-1. Even though there was a lot of erratic passing, the difference in quality between Ajax and AZ was absolutely huge. The game took place on AZ's half of the pitch for 90 minutes and the difference in power was much bigger than the result indicates.

Young Ajax played in the following line-up:

Stekelenburg; Kanu, De Cler (68. Hellings), Walker, Mofokeng; Seedorf, Pienaar (76. Quansah), Obodai (46. De Jong); Culina, Hosé, Piqué.

(For the record, Bill: five Dutchmen in the starting line-up, two more subbed in).

Two surprising names: Tim de Cler and Mitchell Piqué, both members of Co Adriaanse's first selection. They returned in competitive action, after injuries. Tim de Cler played a decent game (no mistakes; nothing special), whereas Piqué was the surprise of the evening. I did not like him at all so far in Ajax-1, but (Erik of AjaxJeugd.nl told me this): he made his debut as a left back in Ajax-1, but he had *never* played there before. He's a left midfielder, or left winger, originally. He played this game as a left winger and he was absolutely unstoppable. De Cler as well as Piqué were back on the Ajax-1 bench at FC Twente.

The first goal for Young Ajax was a lucky goal. An AZ defender tried to clear but miss-hit the ball, which went straight up in the air. Brutil Hosé picked it up as it dropped back and easily fired home (16 or 17th minute or so). Half time score was 1-0. After the break, Stephano Seedorf doubled the score with a backward header from a corner kick, after which Young AZ pulled one back (scorer: Van der Meijden).

Ajax did not allow Young AZ to really get back into the game. Ajax did not seem to worry about the AZ goal and wrapped up the game after the inevitable had happened: the unbelievably weak AZ goalkeeper (Zwarthoed) finally made a mistake which cost him a goal. He dropped a high cross, which Culina crossed to Brutil Hosé for an easy finish, 3-1. Substitute, Nigel de Jong, added a fourth a few minutes later.

My personal favourites in this game were Mitchell Piqué, Stephano Seedorf and South African right back, Gabriel Mofokeng. They really impressed me. So did Jason Culina in the first half. He played as a right winger and did not show too many beautiful movements or something, but his crosses were amazing. What a beautiful kicking technique. However, during the half-time break, Erik of AjaxJeugd.nl told me that Culina has been playing for Ajax-2 for three years now, and that there's absolutely no improvement. "A hopeless case", Erik said and it was as if Culina had heard us talking. He was hopeless indeed in the second half... Main problem is that he doesn't seem to have the guts to individually take on his opponent (which is a real problem, for a striker).

It's hard for me to judge on who the *real* talents are in this team. I'll have to watch a few more games to get the picture.

-- Anonymous, September 09, 2001

Menno - thanks for the interesting insight - I was pondering over the mix of players in Ajax2 - does the squad mirror Ajax1 and have more "foreign" players or is there more "home" players ?

-- Anonymous, September 08, 2001

Some more explaining... ;-)

We are aware that not every ajax fan is interested in 'Young Ajax' and Ajax youth matches. Young Ajax home games are usually attended by a few hundred fans, whereas Ajax-1 games attract 36,000 on average. The fans interested in games at De Toekomst, are the 'hard core'. Most fans are interested in Ajax-1, residing across the street in the ArenA, only.

Therefore, our editorial policy is not to announce results of Young Ajax and Ajax A1 on the Ajax USA homepage. Instead, I'll keep you informed throught this thread.

There's one exception: we *will* announce Young Ajax' Amstel Cup results on the homepage, because Ajax-2 won the reserves' Eredivisie last season and is therefore playing in the 'big' Amstel Cup, and not in the Amstel Malt Cup (I know, cheesy name, but it's not a joke...) for reserves teams. They made it through the first round already. The first round is a group, in which many amateur sides are playing, as well as the 18 First Division teams and last year's #11 - #18 Eredivisie teams. The Eredivisie's #1 to #10 join the competition in round three. If Young Ajax reaches the third round, they may bump into PSV or Feyenoord. However, they can not be paired with Ajax-1.

'Young Ajax' was in a group with amateur sides Huizen, ADO '20 and First Division side, FC Volendam. They won all three games and reached the second round, for which the draw is pretty bizarre: Young Ajax faces First Division team Haarlem, the satellite club in which Ajax has a majority stake. The game could be regarded as a 'Young Ajax vs Young Ajax' confrontation. It'll be played on Wednesday, 19 September at De Toekomst @ 6:30 PM CET. That's gonna be a special night.

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2001

For the record: starting this season, Ajax-2 (the Ajax reserves) will be referred to as 'Young Ajax'. This is due to a change in the regulations for reserves teams. It is no longer allowed to line up older players in the reserves team, who don't get to play in the first team.

'Young Ajax' should now be considered the next step after the A youth (16-17 year olds). There is an age limit, although I'm not quite sure what that age limit is (U-21, I believe).

Anyways, there's ten players (all born in 1982) forming the core of Young Ajax: Maarten Stekelenburg (goalkeeper), Kiran Bechan, Ruud Kras, Gabriel Mofokeng, Anthony Obodai, Steven Pienaar, Kwame Quansah, Stephano Seedorf (yes, brother of...), Jose Valencia Murillo and Walker Americo Fronio. The team will be completed with young Ajax- 1 players who don't get to play (Johnny Heitinga, for example, although he is a candidate to replace suspended Hatem Trabelsi against FC Twente). Like last year, Young Ajax is coached by Jan Olde Riekerink.

The 'Talents Competition' (Eredivisie for reserves teams) starts today. Young Ajax plays at home, against Young AZ, tonight at De Toekomst. Bastiaan and I are going to that game. I'll post a short report in this thread after the game.

This thread, about the Ajax youth, is gonna be the place where I'll regularly post updates about results of Young Ajax and the Ajax youth teams. We haven't really done that last year; I will do it more regularly this year.

To get into the mood, don't forget to read Jim's excellent profile of the Ajax youth system. For more info about Young Ajax and the youth teams, the best place to go is Ajax Jeugd.nl. The news and reports on the site are in Dutch, but the navigation structure is simple, so you'll have no problems finding the separate youth teams and their complete rosters (with pictures), as well as the game schedules.

The webmaster of Ajax Jeugd.nl is Erik, who almost seems to *live* at De Toekomst. Bastiaan and I will most definitely bump into him tonight, and we'll surely drink a beer with him in the bar at the complex, the place where the real soul of Ajax lies. Over there, you can see and feel that Ajax is still very much a real Amsterdam *club*. Unfortunately, all the journalists and other folks who keep saying that Ajax is not, never go there...

ANYWAYS: short report of Young Ajax vs Young AZ in this thread, tonight...

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2001

Hello Mustafa,

Ajax USA is an independent fanclub for Ajax and we have NO official connections with AFC Ajax. We can not help you in joining the Ajax youth program, but we can help to answer some of your questions. Please read our feature article on Ajax Youth Development and our Interview with Kees Zwamborn. Then, you should post another message to this forum if you still have questions. We're here to help!

To contact Ajax directly, you can either visit their official website or email them: info@ajax.nl.

-- Anonymous, September 04, 2001

Hello, my name is Mohamed Mustaffa and I am 18 years old.I would like to know how ajax selects their player and would like information on how and where to tryout and also I would like to know your terms and comditions.Thank you. from,Mohamed

-- Anonymous, September 01, 2001

So the reserves qualified for the next round where they meet satellite club Haarlem!. Contrary to earlier reports this match is now scheduled for September 19. We'll keep you informed about their performances...stay tuned!

-- Anonymous, August 27, 2001

By winning the Championship in the Reserves Eredivisie, Ajax-2 has qualified for the first round of the 'real' Amstel Cup, instead of the Reserves Amstel Cup. For your information: as one of the top nine Eredivisie teams, Ajax-1 does not have to enter the competition until the third round.

The first round is a poule system in which a string of amateur sides, the First Division and the bottom nine Eredivisie clubs participate. Ajax-2 is in a poule with amateur sides Huizen and ADO'20 (from Heemskerk), as well as First Division team, FC Volendam. The teams play one another only once (a draw determines whether it's gonna be at home or away).

The schedule for Ajax-2 is as follows:

09 August: Ajax-2 vs Huizen (De Toekomst, Amsterdam, 7:00pm)

14 August: ADO'20 vs Ajax-2 (in Huizen, 7:00pm)

?? August: FC Volendam vs Ajax (in Volendam, 8:00pm; strangely enough, Ajax.nl does not provide the date for this game).

I will keep you posted of Ajax-2's performances in the Amstel Cup in thsi thread. It makes me think of some thirteen years ago, when Ajax- 2 (with the generation of the De Boers, Richard Witschge, Roy) qualified for the KNVB Cup (not sponsored yet, back then) and performed excelltenly. I remember a pretty good victory over Eredvisie team FC Groningen. Ajax-1, in the mean time, screwed up against RKC. And then, the club's management decided to let Ajax-1 continue Ajax-2's campaign.

Ajax-2 was furious, because it was *their* achievement, and now they were pushed aside, just because the big guys had failed themselves... Anyway: the disaster was complete when Ajax-1, playing under the name of Ajax-2, was eliminated when they took over, against FC Den Bosch (1-0)...

-- Anonymous, July 04, 2001

Okay, so Team USA lost their semi final against FC Twente (0-1), after which they had to play the losers of the other semi: Feyenoord. The two teams had already met before, earlier in the tournament. The US won that one, but this time the game ended 0-0, after which Feyenoord won the penalty shoot-out: 3-2.

Ajax finished off its brilliant performance (NOT) by drawing 1-1 against River Plate in the "final" for positions 7 and 8. Of course, they lost on pennos, 5-4, since they're Dutch.

So here's the final ranking of Essent Euro Voetbal 2001: 1. Red Star Belgrade (Yugoslavija); 2. FC Twente (Holland); 3. Feyenoord (Holland); 4. Team USA; 5. America FC de Belo Horizonte (Brazil); 6. PSV (Holland); 7. River Plate (Argentina); 8. Ajax (Holland); 9. SC Heerenveen (Holland); 10. FC Groningen (Holland); 11. Galatasaray (Turkey); 12. Benfica (Portugal).

-- Anonymous, June 04, 2001

Ajax A1 has pretty much fucked up at the Essent Euro Voetbal Tournament. They started off very well, grabbing seven points in total against three international opponents: a 1-0 victory over Galatasaray, a 3-3 draw against Red Star Belgrade and a 4-0 victory over Belo Horizonte. But then it all went wrong: they lost 1-0 against both FC Groningen and FC Twente and are now playing for positions 7 or 8, against River Plate from Argentina (tomorrow at 12:50 Central European Time).

That sucks, but there's good news as well: the USA team is still going for gold! They beat PSV 2-0 (HAHAHA), drew against SC Heerenveen (0-0), River Plate (1-1), the they won their games against Benfica (2-0) and... Feyenoord (3-1, HAHAHA). They're playing their semi final against FC Twente tomorrow morning at 10:00 Central European Time).

Stay tuned to the Euro Voetbal website...

-- Anonymous, June 03, 2001

The tournament Bastiaan informed us about (named Essent Euro Voetbal), is actually a pretty interesting international youth tournament for A-youth teams (16-18 year-olds), played in several northern cities in The Netherlands, such as Heerenveen, Groningen and Emmen. Check out the website of the tournament, which lives right here. It's got an English version as well (click on the little British flag), but it's probaly more interesting to check out the 'score updates'.

Participants are (in Group A): Benifica, Feyenoord, PSV, River Plate, SC Heerenveen and - yes, indeed! - the USA National Team!! Group B consists of Ajax, Belo Horizonte, FC Groningen, FC Twente, Galatasaray and Red Star Belgrade.

So far, Ajax has beaten Galatasaray 1-0, Belo Horizonte 4-0. And they took a 3-1 lead against Red Star Belgarde, but ended up giving two points away: 3-3. Funny detail: the USA Team beat PSV 2-0!!! Here's the line-up of the USA Team in that game: Cronin, Cameron, Clark, Cochrane, Colon, Dinnal, Enfield, Hartman, Klaas, Roberts, Saavedera. (Their other results: 0-0 against Heerenveen and 1-1 against River Plate).

Here's Ajax' line-up which beat Belo Horizonte, 4-0: Verbist, Dijs, Martha, Greene, Fleur, De Jong, Bechan, Sneijder, Rafaël, Seedorf, Lohy.

All line-ups, goal scorers and results are on the pretty good Essent Euro Voetbal website

-- Anonymous, June 02, 2001

Within 15 minutes (8.15 PM CET) the number one youth team of Ajax (A1) plays against the youth team of Galatasaray at the Heerenveen Tournament. This match is broadcasted on internet. Visit http://www.sc-heerenveen.nl for a live connection. Hope you'll get a better view then I have... :-(

-- Anonymous, June 01, 2001

Just a couple notes about two AJAX youth products. Today, I was able to view the Dutch U-21 side currently playing in the Toulon tourney. Notable for AJAX Supporters is that the side is coached by Ruud Krol. Included in the squad are Johnny Heitinga(#4) and Youssef Hersi(#10). Neither started today but Heitinga got a 20 minute run out after NEC defender Jeffrey Leiwakabessy was hurt and Hersi played the last 10 minutes.The Dutch side won 2:1 and ,coupled with a 0:0 draw against twice defending champions Colombia, sit second in their group based on goal difference.Colombia is 1st.They won 3:1 v the USA today. The USA and the Netherlands square off next. FSW has the matches so check listings for details.Hersi played in the previous match also.This tourney is not FIFA recognized,plays 40 minute halves, and so doesn't include the regular U-21 side for the Netherlands(i.e. no van der Gun, van der Meijde, etc.)currently fighting for a U-21 World Cup place.

-- Anonymous, May 26, 2001

FYI: Ajax' C1 team (the first team in the youth category of players of some 13 years old) is this season's first Ajax team to win their category's championship, by beating Neerlandia/SLTO 6-0.

Next year, Ajax C1 will play in a new, national league for C-youth teams, named the Shell Competition. There are already national leagues for A and B-youth teams. Ajax C1 desperately needs such a national league, since the resistance they meet in the current regional league is insufficient. They lost only one game, won the rest, scoring a stunning 127 goals in 21 games. Amsterdam club Voorland, for example, was beaten 15-0.

This season, the opponents of Ajax C1 included six C1 teams of professional clubs. Next season, Ajax C1 will get to play ten or twelve C1 teams of Eredivisie or First Division clubs. (From Ajax.nl)

-- Anonymous, April 10, 2001

Well Derek, The 'talentdagen'In August in Amsterdam are indeed the time when young promising footballers try their luck for a place in the youth system. Competition is extremely tough and you have to be up for it not only physically but mentally as well. The instructors are tough and can sometimes seem to be cruel but they are fair. If you fancy your luck then why not? It doesn't hurt to try and it would be a great experience for you whatever the outcome. Good Luck! Joey

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2001

For those of you who'll be in Amsterdam from 26 February to 2 March and/or 5 to 9 March: on those days the annual Ajax Talent Days take place at the ArenA and Ajax's youth complex, De Toekomst. Loads of Dutch boys aged six to nine have enlisted and will be tested by Ajax youth scouts during the Talent Days. Great fun to watch.

In case you've got an extremely talented son (no daughters accepted, I'm afraid...) or cousin or whatever: he can still enlist until 1 February, at the ArenA or De Toekomst youth complex.

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2001

Might be right, but what does it mean? Players in that part of the world don't dream of being a player of Ajax. They like other teams just as much. Ajax should be in Surinam or Israël, not in Sout Africa.

-- Anonymous, January 05, 2001

Speaking of the AJAX system in general, I read on line that AJAX Cape Town won the South African League Cup on Wednesday evening. Glad to see that at least one club in the organization is hoisting silverware.

-- Anonymous, December 13, 2000

Here's some interesting content on the official Ajax website (in English, no less!) about the International programs. It's mostly about the search for new youth talent abroad.

http://www.ajax.nl/ international/index.html

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2000

Hello i saw what Ajax as done in south Africa Setting up Ajax coaching school for kid in that country, helping them with their football skills, fitness and some other stuff. i really want to go to Holland because i want to be a footballer following the footstep of KANU NWANKWO ,FURTHER MORE there is no chance in England because most white coach are racists they don't like black players but on Holland, France, is not like that. I know one day i will go to Holland and play for Ajax.

-- Anonymous, November 03, 2000

Response to Ajax youth tryouts

Way cool article. Anyway, how do you pronounce De Toekomst? Might as well learn the language... :) Thanks.

-- Anonymous, October 24, 2000

Response to Ajax youth tryouts

The official FIFA website is currently running a very pleasant "puff-piece" on the Ajax youth training center, "De Toekomst" (The Future). See: http://www.fifa2.com/scripts/runisa.dll?m2:gp::67173+article+16253+E

-- Anonymous, October 23, 2000

Response to Ajax youth tryouts

Absolutely right: they lost the Juventus one. Thanks.

-- Anonymous, August 24, 2000

Response to Ajax youth tryouts

Little correction: Ajax lost 2-0 against Juventus. Still they ended first in their group (with Arsenal, PSV and Juventus). It was in the semi-finals where they beat Feijenoord.

-- Anonymous, August 23, 2000

Response to Ajax youth tryouts

They beat Juventus as well: 2-0. Not bad.

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2000

Response to Ajax youth tryouts

A prestigious youth tournament took place at 'De Toekomst' this weekend ('De Toekomst' means 'the future'; it's the name of the youth gorund next to the ArenA). Ajax A1 (the highest youth team, for 16/17 year olds) mad an excellent impression, beating Arsenal (1-0), Feyenoord (2-1) and PSV (7-3!) on their way to the final, in which they lost against Sao Paolo from Brazil (2-0). People were pretty pessimistic about the level of the current generation of youth players, but this performance was really promising.

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2000

Response to Ajax youth tryouts

(this message, originally posted January 13, 2000, is being re-posted by Jim.): My name is Vincent Fulchiron and I live in San Diego and I am currently a director of a club. I believe if the level of soccer wants to continue to rise in the US a set of standards must be implemented at the club level to progressively educate our youth players. Ajax has a wonderful youth system to develop talent. I would like the opportunity to read any material regarding the system they use to develop players. Specifically in the areas of technique, tactics, fitness, and psychology. If anyone has any information, please send me an e-mail.

-- Anonymous, January 24, 2000

Response to Ajax youth tryouts

Hi Derek,

Yes Ajax has a fantastic youth selection and development system. It is one of the best in the world (probably the best). The system centers aroung the "Talentdagen" which is a selective process whereby young children (9 / 10 years) mainly from Amsterdam (but may also be from other areas) apply to join. If they demonstrate the necessary qualities they are then asked to join AFC Ajax. Obviously their talents will continue to be further developed in the Ajax School. The "Talentdagen" occurs sometime in August (if I am not mistaken)..

Ajax also engages promising youngsters from other nurseries throughout the year and now has a systematic and very developed nursery network which includes nurseries in Vancouver (Canada), South Africa and other countries.

If you are interested you may find some videos dedicated to the Ajax Youth Development System. One video if I am not mistaken, was issued by BBC (UK) in 1996.

Alistair Mangion (MALTA)

-- Anonymous, July 28, 1999

Response to Ajax youth tryouts

Derek,

You are right: the Ajax School is the best. However, as a supporter we I can give you only one advice: please contact Ajax: AFC Ajax Amsterdam P.O.Box 12522 1100 AM AMSTERDAM Netherlands tel. 31 20 311 1444

Ajax does have an "open day" for young talent, but I don't know when it will be this year. Anyway, if you are accepted be prepared for a hard time. It's not easy to reach Ajax1. I wish you good luck and will cheer you when you are playing in Ajax1 in 2010 or so.

Greetings, Jan

-- Anonymous, July 12, 1999

Response to Ajax youth tryouts

Ajax has try-outs for players your age every august(if i remember well). Lots of kids come and play matches and do training. Ajax scouts pick players they see future in. Remember u need to have talent. And, Yes, Ajax there is an Ajax School.

-- Anonymous, July 12, 1999