It is difficult to overstate just how much of an influence Dutch football legend Johan Cruyff has had on the sport. From his time on the pitch, starring for Ajax, Barcelona and the Dutch national side, to his time in management at the same institutions, Cruyff has always been at the cutting edge of football development. Player Development Project spoke to Cruyff in 2015 about his coaching philosophy and more. Winner of the Ballon d’Or an incredible three times, Cruyff started his footballing career at…
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Wesley Sneijder has gone from playing street football in the Netherlands to becoming a Champion’s League-winning superstar. We caught up with Wesley to discuss his development, how he has transitioned between football cultures on his journey, and what he believes best enables creativity to flourish. Wesley Sneijder has played for some of the biggest clubs and in some of the biggest games of the last 10 years including FIFA World Cup and UEFA Champions League finals. A graduate of the famed Ajax Academy in Holland, Sneijder broke…
Frenkie De Jong is one of Dutch Football’s brightest stars. PDP Lead Researcher James Vaughan examines a recent interview with De Jong and shares some brilliant research around knowledge and learning, helping coaches understand how to create a learning environment and difference between telling and doing. In a recent interview, one of the most exciting prospects to emerge in European football talks about the secret of becoming a good football player. Ajax’s Dutch international Frenkie de Jong explains: “Good players play on intuition. When I…
John Van’t Schip is a Dutch coach who developed as both a player and a coach under the guidance of the legendary Johan Cruyff. Van’t Schip has worked as first-team coach for both Ajax and the Netherlands. He now finds himself at the heart of FFA Cup Winners, Melbourne City FC in Australia’s A League. In this exclusive interview with PDP Editor, Dave Wright, we hear about John’s journey and what advice he has for developing coaches. Given his deep connections to Dutch football, it…
Piet Keizer was described as a ‘genius winger’ who was a critical component to the Amsterdam side dominating football in the 1960’s and 70’s. In May 2016, Player Development Project was privileged to sit with late, great Keizer in an old changing room at the top of the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam. The Ajax legend was attending the NextGen Series tournament as a special guest, watching the future of top European U19 talent play. We spoke to him about the past and the future of football in…
Steve Lawrence is a consultant to Cruyff Football and Ajax. With a Masters in International Sports Management, Steve is at the forefront of research into the topic of Relative Age Effect. Here Steve gives Player Development Project readers an exclusive look behind the scenes at Ajax’s brand new academic education centre, a building he worked on as a consultant architect. The project for the new academic education centre at Ajax football club came about following discussions about the nature of pedagogy in the elite youth…
Ruben Jongkind worked alongside Johan Cruyff implementing ‘Plan Cruyff’ – an overhaul of the Ajax player development system. He is in an expert in talent development who has gained first hand experience of the Cruyff philosophy on player development working alongside Johan Cruyff for many years. Join Dave Wright in a 1-on-1 conversation with Ruben covering the following points:
Player Development Project is thrilled to be a part of the NextGen Series & NextGen Talks in Amsterdam from May 14-16. Day one began with the NextGen Talks & concluded with some excellent football from some of the world’s top U19 talent. The NextGen event kicked off with a fantastic morning of discussion at the inaugural NextGen Talks, hosted by Player Development Project’s, James Vaughan. James facilitated a round table discussion with Tottenham Hotspur Academy Manager, John McDermott, Chelsea FC Scout & Talent ID…
The football world recently mourned the passing of the Dutch Master, Johan Cruyff. PDP contributor and son-in-law of Johan, Todd Beane shares his personal tribute to the great man, poetically describing the impact of mentors and heroes. We do not honor our heroes because they are flawless. We do not mourn our idols for their perfection. We weep their passing because despite their flaws our mentors carry us forward to triumphs unforeseen. Our most cherished mortals nurture a vision deep within us,…
Bio-banding. Is it the answer or just another challenge in youth player development? In Player Development Project Magazine Issue #10, Cruyff Football and Ajax consultant Steve Lawrence gave some background to relative age effects, explaining why they occur and identifying the use of cut-off date rules as the causal culprit. Steve is at the forefront of research in this area, and in this follow-up article he explains the concept of bio banding and suggests how to solve the issue of relative age effects. Concerns about…
Player Development Project Assistant Editor, Jon Hoggard asks when is creativity deemed disrespectful? Do coaches have double standards or show bias depending on who is brave enough to take the risks that lead to some of the great moments in football. Twitter went mad. Opinions flew all over social media. Newspaper columns were written, some praising, some condemning. Readers commented back and forth, for and against. What caused the furore? Barcelona scored a penalty in a run-of-the-mill 6–1 win against Celta Vigo. It was the…
Todd Beane has been a contributor to The Player Development Project since our inception. A Co-Founder of Cruyff Football and the Cruyff Institute, Todd has a passion for positive player development. We caught up with him to ask about his latest venture, TOVO International and what his philosophy involves. Todd, you’ve got an obvious passion for player development. What has inspired you to create the TOVO training program? My ambition reaches far beyond the development of talented athletes. I want to nurture capable leaders who…
An inspirational chance meeting with a legend and a blog post that reiterates the value of mentors. Former US Men’s National Team Player & Player Development Project Contributor, Erik Imler talks about the impact Johan Cruyff had on him as a young player. Not many would argue that nearly my entire identity is this game we all love. While I played a little basketball, some baseball, tennis on occasion and even tried wrestling in my high school years (that did not last long), soccer is the…
Steve Lawrence is a consultant to Cruyff Football and Ajax in the Netherlands. With a Masters in International Sports Management, Steve founded the Football Analytics Lab and is at the forefront of research into the topic of Relative Age Effects. In this article, Steve explains how the Relative Age Effect works and discusses the impact of this phenomenon. Relative Age Effects have become a well known, if slightly puzzling, phenomenon in youth football where players with birthdates at the beginning of the season have a huge…