Wednesday, April 14, 2021 at 12:30 AM• Rian Rosendaal • Last update: 00:46

Valentijn Driessen did not spare Frank de Boer in the most recent football podcast of The Telegraph. The chief football of the morning newspaper thinks the Ajax level under the current national coach of the Dutch national team is very high. Despite all the critical reactions, Driessen’s statements about Ronald Koeman’s successor have not been completely unfounded. Since the appointment of De Boer in September last year, Ajax has indeed been the purveyor to the court of the Dutch. Players of the leader in the Eredivisie have a total of twenty international matches to their name since the entrance of the former defender at the KNVB.

While discussing the situation of Donny van de Beek at Manchester United, Driessen came to the decision last Friday about De Boer’s alleged preference for players of Ajax or with a history in the Johan Cruijff ArenA. “As long as you have a good relationship with Frank de Boer, then you go to the European Championship”, Driessen opened his account about Van de Beek, no more than a reserve player in England this season. “And you must have played under him at Ajax or come from Ajax and you just go to the European Championship. Of course it seems that way. For some people different rules apply than for others. Wout Weghorst for example.” Ajax watcher Mike Verweij, who is also present, understands De Boer’s train of thought a bit better. “It is not surprising that a coach gathers people around him that he has a lot of confidence in. And apparently he has a lot of faith in Donny van de Beek.”

Ajax clearly purveyor to the court
The internationals of Ajax have so far collected twenty international matches under De Boer, which means that the Amsterdam club is currently at a lonely height. AZ is still somewhat in the trail of the upcoming champion of the Netherlands with fifteen games. The top three is completed by Liverpool (twelve), although Virgil van Dijk’s serious knee injury has had a significant impact on the current situation. Georginio Wijnaldum has been the only member of the Board for some time now the Reds. PSV falls just off the podium with eleven international matches and Feyenoord is currently not even in the top five in terms of the Dutch internationals. De Boer’s start as the choice lord of the Dutch national team was not really yet with Ajax as the starting point. During his baptism of fire as national coach, in the 0-1 exhibition match with Mexico in October, not a single Ajax player had a starting place. Quincy Promes, who has now left for Spartak Moscow, kept the honor of Ajax high as a substitute, while Daley Blind remained on the bench for the entire match. Frenkie de Jong, Jasper Cillessen, Joël Veltman and Marco Bizot, all with a past in Amsterdam, although the AZ goalkeeper never managed to break through in the main force, were also not used by De Boer against the victorious Mexicans. There were, however, basic places for three other former Ajax players: Tim Krul, Van de Beek and Galatasaray attacker Ryan Babel, of whom Johan Derksen finds it incomprehensible that he may be included in the final European Championship selection of the Dutch.

From the friendly meeting with Mexico in the autumn of 2020, there is certainly an upward trend in the number of (former) Ajax players in the eight consecutive selections that have been put together by De Boer and his technical staff. It should be noted, however, that the list leader has never had the upper hand in terms of basic places in the total of nine international matches led by the current elected lord. A maximum of two Ajax customers were awarded a basic place each time. Nevertheless, the number of internationals made in Amsterdam remains high. In the first series of international matches in October, against Mexico (9), Bosnia and Herzegovina (10) and Italy (10), almost half of the the Dutch selection consisted of players with an Ajax stamp. In the next international match period in November, with showdowns with Spain (10), Bosnia and Herzegovina (11) and Poland (11), De Boer’s elite corps consisted of half of (ex-) Ajax players in the last two international matches. At the start of the qualifying cycle towards the 2022 World Cup in Qatar in and against Turkey, no fewer than 14 of the 23 selected internationals came from the Ajax stable.

Ajax is clearly at the top of the number of internationals under Frank de Boer.

Familiar faces return under De Boer
Davy Klaassen is one of the Ajax players who ensures that his club has been very well represented in the Dutch national team for several months. The attacking midfielder returned to the the Dutch in early November, after an absence of three years. “He manifests himself very well at Ajax. He is the logical replacement for Marten de Roon and Leroy Fer who are also injured”, De Boer said. comeback of the player who gave him three consecutive national titles as coach of Ajax. In the practice match against Spain (1-1) in the Johan Cruijff ArenA, familiar to Klaassen, the midfielder still started on the bench, although he was still allowed a raid. Since then, Klaassen has been a familiar face in the midfield of the Netherlands, with base spots against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, Latvia and football dwarf Gibraltar. Only during the loss against Turkey did the 28-year-old playmaker have a spare role, although he managed to score in Istanbul as a substitute. Klaassen is, provided he does not get injured in the coming weeks, a certainty for De Boer in the final European Championship selection of the Dutch, which will probably be announced to the world in May.

Due to injuries, De Boer returned to a player with whom he worked at Ajax: Maarten Stekelenburg in his selection. Between December 2010 and mid-2011, the national coach and goalkeeper were together on the training field in Amsterdam every day, before the long last post after Ajax’s thirtieth national title opted for the adventure at AS Roma. Stekelenburg had a few difficult years abroad and since his return to Ajax last year has been nothing more than André Onana’s stand-in. The one-year suspension of the latter goalkeeper quickly changed everything for the now 38-year-old goalkeeper. His place below the bar in the capital led to a very surprising return to the Dutch national team, no longer his field of activity since November 2016. In the qualifying matches against Turkey, Latvia and Gibraltar, however, the veteran had to give priority to Tim Krul, who was briefly associated with Ajax as a mercenary in the 2016/17 season. For the return of former Ajax player Kenny Tete, after an absence of two years, De Boer had a statement that caused quite a stir in football-loving Netherlands. That PSV captain Denzel Dumfries was passed against the Turks was not possible for many people. However, the defensive qualities of Tete were the deciding factor for the national coach.

“In my opinion, he (Tete, ed.) Is very strong in the one against one. In that one year at Ajax (the 2015/16 season, ed.) He has not passed one against one once, not even on the training “, said De Boer in the talk show prior to the away match in Turkey Rondo from Ziggo Sport. Trailing 3-0 against the Turkish team, Tete was relieved by Dumfries and the the Dutch quickly managed to come back to 3-2. However, De Boer refused to accept the credits to give this to PSV’s right back. “The balls came twice from the left. There is no question that Denzel is a very good right back. But sometimes you need a different type.” In addition to Tete, Matthijs de Ligt returned to the the Dutch defense, after an absence of several months as a result of shoulder surgery. De Boer is also responsible for Ryan Gravenberch’s debut as an international, as a reward for his strong season in Ajax’s midfield. For the time being, the widely acclaimed midfielder, only eighteen years old, has to settle for the role as a substitute for the Dutch. The same can be said about Van de Beek, who since the start of De Boer as national coach has largely had to do with raids. So far, the Manchester United banker could only count on a basic place in the Dutch national team twice since the departure of Koeman and the appointment of De Boer in Zeist. Verweij’s statement that the national coach has ‘a lot of confidence’ in Van de Beek is therefore only partially true.

The most used Ajax player since the start of De Boer’s tenure is Blind, who is currently recovering from a knee injury: seven international matches. The top three is completed by Klaassen (six) and Gravenberch (three). The Promes sold to Spartak was allowed to show up twice in total for the Dutch and Stekelenburg therefore has to wait for his first playing minutes in his second period with the Dutch national team. With the focus on the former Ajax players in the shirt of the Dutch, Frenkie de Jong takes the cake: eight. On this podium there is also room for Van de Beek (seven international matches), while the third place is a prey for both Babel and Krul (both six international matches). Despite his step towards Brighton & Hove Albion, this season a relegation candidate in the Premier League, Veltman (four international matches) remains in the picture at De Boer. Despite the fact that his debut has not yet taken place, Sven Botman has clearly presented himself as an international for the future. It is striking that Steven Bergwijn, who was active in Ajax’s youth academy between 2005 and 2011, has little illusions under the current national coach. His one-off appearance in nine international matches since October last year is proof of that. A copy of the current situation of the PSV player at Tottenham Hotspur, where manager José Mourinho also allows him sporadic playing time.

Daley Blind played the most international matches of all Ajax players since the arrival of Frank de Boer.

Discussion about Ajax not new
Incidentally, the discussion about the number of Ajax players in the Dutch national team is not new. More than a quarter of a century ago, the then national coach Guus Hiddink consciously chose the players who had delivered Ajax the Champions League in an impressive way in 1995, which caused some dissatisfaction in some places. The dominance of the record champion from Amsterdam was best reflected in the encounter with Ireland at Anfield in December 1995, when both countries competed for a ticket to the 1996 European Championship in England. At the time, Hiddink chose no fewer than eight basic players who at that time earned their living at Ajax: Edwin van der Sar, Michael Reiziger, Danny Blind, Winston Bogarde, Ronald de Boer, Edgar Davids, Marc Overmars and Patrick Kluivert. Former Ajax players Dennis Bergkamp and Clarence Seedorf and Arsenal forward Glenn Helder completed the the Dutch line-up at the time. Hiddink’s gamble with the Ajax-dominated Netherlands worked out well, as the Irish were defeated 0-2 in Liverpool and despite the very difficult qualifying series, the European Championship was still reached.