After the much-discussed departure of Marc Overmars from Ajax, there is plenty of speculation about his succession. In the past week, Clarence Seedorf and Wesley Sneijder, among others, were named as director of football affairs in the Johan Cruijff ArenA. Valentijn Driessen looks at internal options at Ajax and the reporter of The Telegraph provides in that context an expansion of the duties of trainer Erik ten Hag.
“It does not necessarily have to be a football player, but you do have to have someone who is extremely well-informed and who has many international contacts,” concluded club watcher Mike Verweij in Friday’s interview. Kick-Offnational newspaper podcast. “Ajax wants to participate with the big boys, so you also have to have a heavyweight in that position.” Driessen responds to Verweij’s words and puts forward the possibility of a double function of Ten Hag on a technical level.
Driessen calls a striking successor to Overmars with ‘the DNA of Ajax’
The journalist from De Telegraaf also put Clarence Seedorf forward this week as the successor of Marc Overmars.
“I see another heavyweight and he is already walking around at Ajax: Erik ten Hag”, Driessen starts his analysis about the succession of Overmars at the Amsterdam club. “I think it is very important for Ajax that Erik ten Hag stays, especially now that Marc Overmars disappears. He would of course stay and then you keep continuity in your technical policy. But now that Marc Overmars has left, and imagine that Erik ten Hag immediately also walks away, then your entire technical top will walk away. And I can imagine that Erik ten Hag would like to see a challenge and Ajax can also offer him that, for example by playing a role such as Sir Alex Ferguson has fulfilled at Manchester United.”
“A football manager’s role on an English basis”, Driessen continues about Ten Hag. “And then a very good field trainer. And then to make the deals. Marc Overmars made the deals, but he also determined with Erik ten Hag which players would come. Which players do we need and in which category do we look? Erik ten Hag might be a very good one for that and then a deal maker beside. Someone with seniority, someone who has done that before. A soccer boy. I think so anyway. You have to watch out. There has been acting in the line of Johan Cruijff, but I do not see the successors walking around in the line of Johan Cruijff at Ajax.”
Zuidam’s name belongs to Ajax: thirteen possible successors to Overmars
Voetbalzone lists the possible replacements for Marc Overmars at Ajax.
Presenter Pim Sedee wonders whether Ten Hag’s argument at Ajax has already been settled by the sudden departure of Overmars. “The supervisory board and Edwin van der Sar (general director, ed.) do have a duty to keep him indoors now”, Driessen answers firmly. “Because he now represents the Ajax DNA. He is worth much more than just a trainer-coach of the first team. So you have to be willing and daring to go far as a supervisory board and general manager,” said the journalist of the morning newspaper.