"Selected" by Dennis Bergkamp
Ajax Amsterdam beat Tottenham in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final thanks to a goal from Donny van de Beek. He also scored against Juventus in the quarter-finals.
10 years ago, former Ajax and Arsenal player " Dennis Bergkamp" saw the potential of this 22-year-old talent. Van de Beek joined Ajax's U12 team in 2008 2009 when Bergkamp was working as a youth coach. When Frank de Boer took over as Ajax head coach, Bergkamp was also promoted to become the assistant of this coach.
The former Crystal Palace head coach recalled: Dennis started an exciting talk about a talent in the youth team. The guy reminded me of the image of Dennis at that age. That signal made me keep an eye on Donny.
Ruben Jong kind, another Ajax youth coach, told Sportmail: Bergkamp, he has been following this player since he was 10 years old and said this will be an excellent player. I said, I dont see it, how do you know?
American football, Judo and rough gem honed
Bergkamp may have seen something that many others do not. However, Van de Beek may not have become the promising young talent in European football as he is now, if his mother had taken his life in a different direction, without football.
Coming from lowland lowland conditions, the Netherlands and his family living on lowland lowland conditions in lowland conditions, Van de Beek is more good at climbing wooden posts in his home than playing football.
Gerdina - his mother said that this child lacked passion for sports. On the contrary, his father, Mr. Andre, took his child to the Veensche Boys team. He confided on AjaxShowtime in 2016: "After the first training session, it completely changed and the ball never disappeared in its life...".
As a 10-year-old, Utrecht, Feyenoord and PSV all pursued this young talent and this family chose the "giant" of Dutch football. Although Bergkamp soon recognized Van de Beek's talent, he still told Jongkind that the player needed more efforts to develop his personal fitness.
Jong kind recalled: We put him in a strict physical development system. Van de Beek comes from a rural area, in an area famous for the Netherlands with strong farmers. We have invited American football experts and Judo to help him.
In the "green eye" of "Sang" Johan Cruyff
Later, Van de Beek caught the eye of a greater figure, Johan Cruyff. Andre and Johan Cruyff once had a chat in Amsterdam.
Mr. Andre said about that memory: "I could only stay silent. You know, Johan said: I understand your son very well. That is Donny van de Beek. He's good at one point, good at the other...
Can he tell you everything? Is it strange to you that your idol knows everything about your son? He can mention the smallest details....
Van de Beek is one of the stars of the very strong youth team. He once scored a goal that reminded Bergkamp's goal against Bayer Leverkusen.
Jong kind continued: He was excellent at the U19 team at the age of U16, because they played great football. At Athletic Bilbao and Villarreal, they often use the match between U19 Ajax and Barcelona as a model for youth football.
He benefits a lot. They focus on his finishing skills, which are often not perfected at youth level.
In November 2015, Van de Beek made his first-team debut for Ajax against Celtic in the Europa League. Coach Frank de Boer used him infrequently that season, before Peter Bosz gave him more playing opportunities in the 2016-17 season.
In that season's Europa League final, Van de Beek came on as a substitute late in the game and quickly caught the eye of hundreds of scouts. Then Barcelona and Bayern Munich also started to follow him.
In the summer of 2018, the young Dutchman turned down the opportunity to play for AS Roma, because he believed Ajax was the most suitable place to develop his career. What is happening on the pitch and the development has proven that is true.
He became the "king" of "third man" movements, starting late from midfield to catch up with Frank Lampard's passes upwards. And Van de Beek has scored 15 goals in all competitions this season.
Van de Beek often plays slowly before making the right decision. He is described as knowing how to choose the right place and time to receive accurate passes from his teammates. The recent goal against Spurs was as accurate.
In the first leg of the semi-final against Tottenham, Van de Beek helped Ajax gain an advantage on the way to the UEFA Champions League final. Few people could have predicted this, when the hometown boy came to Ajax's De Toekomst training centre in 2008, except Bergkamp.
Now everyone knows who Van de Beek is and there is an opportunity to participate in the first final match of his life...
