Frenkie de Jong’s future has been a topic of huge debate for the better part of a month. After a breakthrough season with Ajax in 2018/19, winning the league and cup double while also being an instrumental figure in the team’s run to the Champions League semi-finals, he signed for...
In this podcast, Adam Scully sat down with Ben Jackson from the Belgian Football Podcast to discuss all things football in the Belgian Pro League, from Alfred Schreuder’s appointment at Ajax and Vincent Kompany’s eyebrow-raising move to Burnley, all the way to Belgium’s prospects in the 2022 World Cup in...
James Garner is a name that has been on the lips of the majority of Manchester United fans over the past months and weeks. Garner has excelled and progressed through all the ranks of United’s academy starting from the under-8 level. After finding himself down the pecking order in United's...
Born in Utrecht, the Netherlands, on the 17th of June 2001, Jurrien David Norman Timber is a full Dutch international who plays for Ajax Amsterdam. Timber began his footballing career in Utrecht before being snapped up by Feyenoord in 2008, ultimately moving to Ajax in 2014. After spending six years...
Ever since arriving from Sporting CP in a deal worth €55 million, Bruno Fernandes has been a gamechanger for Manchester United. Rewind to January 2020, United were sitting fifth in the Premier League table, six points off fourth and 14 points behind Leicester City in third. Champions League qualification was...
There were some very eye-catching matches on Sunday, such as the huge victories by Barcelona and Monaco on the league leaders in Spain and France. However, these results almost mean nothing to the title race, because Real Madrid and PSG still had a great gap over the rest. By contrast,...
Tuesday evening saw Benfica get a 1-0 win against Ajax in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, meaning Benfica go through on aggregate. We've broken down all the key stats for you to digest in this tactical analysis and provide insights around; * shot maps and set-pieces * xT...
Last week’s Eredivisie had one of the biggest games of the season as PSV took on Ajax at Philips Stadion. It was a potential title decider as the two teams were only separated by a one-point margin before the match, although Erik ten Hag’s men had a huge goal differences...
Under Erik ten Hag tactics, Ajax have been playing attractive football and achieving good results in recent years, such as entering the UEFA Champions League semi-final in 2018/19. Some great players, including Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt of Juventus, emerged from the Dutch side, but their replacements...
Ajax is known for always giving youngsters a chance and developing them into players who can compete at the highest level and are wanted by the top European teams. In the summer of 2020, they invested in another young player, Antony, who arrived from the Brazilian São Paulo at 20. They...
Ajax wouldn’t be Ajax if not for how well their academy is set up. It wouldn’t be possible for the team to end up Eredivisie champions year after year if not for the amount of talent they constantly keep producing to fill in the shoes of players who move out...
Ajax Amsterdam is home to one of the most renowned footballing academies in the world. Their academy, De Toekomst, is respected by every international club for their ability to develop and train youth talents, making winners and selling them for high margins to other clubs. Notable amongst these talents were...
Ajax Amsterdam were capable of reaching the Champions League semi-finals with a relatively young side under Erik ten Hag. The Dutch coach could mold the young Ajax team into a competitive Champions League side. Therefore, Erik ten Hag utilised several tactical concepts that lent Ajax their dominant style of play....
In Total Football Analysis’ February magazine edition, I analysed some of Eredivisie’s important transfer trends. While youth academy optimisation and scouting around Europe are commonplace, many Dutch teams are discovering the wonders of finding hidden gems in the Americas. Brazilian winger David Neres – hailing from football metropolis São Paolo...
Over the past few years, we've witnessed a huge amount of young talents getting all the attention from the biggest European clubs. Scouts are going crazy and teams are paying enormous figures just to make sure these young talents are going to develop their skills in their club. One of...
Justin Kluivert's name may sound familiar to you, even if you're a sporadic watcher of the Dutch Eredivisie. Of course, Justin's father is Patrick Kluivert, the famed Ajax and Barcelona striker. The days of Patrick's career have passed, and the family torch has been passed to Justin, a 19-year-old diminutive...
