out professionals, with eight of their
current squad homegrown and no less
than 35 ex-OL graduates in Europe’s
leading five championships.
“For us the goal is to start our scouting
efforts in the Lyon area and our partner
clubs [the majority are found in the
Rhone-Alpes region, but there are
also two in Paris and in such far-flungspots as Senegal, South Korea and
Libya],” says academy director Jean-
Francois Vulliez. “The core of our young
teams is Lyonnais plus others from
different horizons. We scout kids from the
age of nine or 10 to 17. Ours is a mixed
academy. We have 250 boys from under-
eights to under-20s and around 150 in
the girls section.”
In France’s capital of gastronomy, the
proof of the OL pudding is in the eating,
with such class-act academy graduates
such as Karim Benzema, Alexandre
Lacazette, Samuel Umtiti, Anthony
Martial, Corentin Tolisso and present-day
stars Nabil Fekir and Houssem Aouar.
A dish to put before a king.An Ajax official once joked to Wor ld
Soccer: “When we sell a player we just go
along to the pond and hook out another.”
That was more than two decades ago,
when a team of mostly homegrown
youngsters that had won the 1995
European Cup was being broken up.
The Ajax official was putting a brave
face on a recruitment crisis caused by
the Bosman ruling. Patrick Kluivert,
Clarence Seedorf, Edgar Davids, Frank
and Ronald De Boer, Edwin Van der Sar
and Marc Overmars all left Amsterdam,
many on free transfers or reduced fees.
In addition to their famed academy,
Ajax had always recruited overseas
players, with the 1995 European Cup-^
winning side also containing Finnish
playmaker Jari Litmanen and Nigerians
Nwankwo Kanu and Finidi George.
But Bosman revolutionised the
European transfer market and left
Ajax struggling to compete.
Ceding domestic dominance to
PSV, Ajax were forced to play a more
pragmatic style, prompting Johan Cruyff
to lament in his De Telegraaf column that
“this is not Ajax any more” and call for
drastic change.
The subsequent “Velvet Revolution”
saw Ajax go back to basics, placing
emphasis once again on developing
youth and handing control to former
players. The likes of Wim Jonk and
Dennis Bergkamp returned in key
managerial positions, with Marc
Overmars appointed as technical director.
The club re-doubled its efforts to
recruit Holland’s best youngsters and the
results have been savoured this season,
with Frenkie De Jong, Matthijs De Ligt
and Donny Van de Beek all playing key
roles in the Champions League.
A more recent development has beenFrenkie De Jong
€0m
sold €75m to Barcelona (summer 2019)
Davinson Sanchez
bought €5m from Atletico Nacional
sold €45m to Tottenham Hotspur
Arkadiusz Milik
bought €3m from Bayer Leverkusen
sold €35m to Napoli
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
bought €10m from Heerenveen
sold €27m to Real Madrid
Davy Klaassen
€0m
sold €27m to Everton
Wesley Sneijder
€0m
sold €27m to Real Madrid
Luis Suarez
bought €7.5m from Gronignen
sold €25m to Liverpoola loosening of the purse strings
with the club spending big
money on Dusan Tadic
(€11.4m), Daley Blind (€16m),
David Neres (€11.4m) and
Hakim Ziyech (€11m).
Crucial to Ajax’s recent
renaissance has been the
recognition that their best
young players will be sold to
fund the next cycle of success.
Last summer, they were unable
to persuade Justin Kluivert to
stay and he was sold to Roma,
but De Jong and De Ligt were tempted to
spend another season in Amsterdam.
In January, defender Lisandro Magallan
arrived for €9m from Boca Juniors as a
likely replacement for De Ligt, who could
follow De Jong, who has agreed a €75m
deal to join Barcelona this summer.
“I will be proud,” says coach Erik Ten
Hag. “The scouts who found them will
be proud. Marc Overmars will be proud.
Everyone will be. If they transfer to a big
club you are happy for them.”Scouting Networks
Next generation...Frenkie De Jong (left) and Matthijs De Ligt have both impressed in this season’s Champions League
Director...
Marc OvermarsOL graduate...Karim Benzema
“The core of our young teams
is Lyonnais plus others from
different horizons. We scout kids
from the age of nine or 10 to 17”
Lyon academy director Jean-Francois VulliezAJAX