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Van Basten back at Ajax as a coach

25 August: Just over fifteen years after he left Ajax for AC Milan as a player, Marco van Basten (37) has returend to Ajax this week, making his official comeback to the world of football as Danny Blind's coach-assistant of the Ajax A1 youth (U-18). Van Basten was not officially signed as such; it is part of his KNVB Professional Coaching Course.

On Tuesday, Van Basten's first day at his former club, the Ajax talents visibly appreciated the legendary striker's presence on the training pitch. Coach Danny Blind said: "But they didn't really start to work harder or something like that. In that case, I really would be doing something wrong."

Van Basten was born in Utrecht and started playing football for local amateur side Elinkwijk. He soon joined the Ajax youth. He played for Ajax-1 from his debut on 03 April 1982 to his last game, the KNVB Cup final of 05 June 1987. With Ajax, he won three Dutch league titles, two Dutch KNVB Cups as well as the European Cup Winners Cup of 1987.

He left Amsterdam for AC Milan where he slowly developed into a key player. The trophies he won with the Italian giants include three Italian titles and two European Champions Cups. His main achievement with the Dutch national team was the winning of Euro 88, at which tournament Van Basten was the topscorer.

Meanwhile, his chronic ankle injuries started causing him more and more trouble. His career came to an early end. He played his last game for AC Milan on 26 May, 1993, at age 28. Initially, Van Basten said that he was "not the coaching type" and that he did not feel like ever returning to the world of football.

However, in the past 18 months, he started changing his mind, indicating that he was "considering to do something, somewhere". He joined the KNVB's Professional Coaching Course and was welcomed with open arms for his obligatory 'practice period' at the club where he made his professional debut, just over 20 years ago.

Last season, a Van Basten return to Amsterdam seemed highly unlikely, after Ajax head coach Co Adriaanse had said that he did not need Van Basten's services and that "good horse is not necessarily a good horseman." It is generally assumed that these remarks contributed to Adriaanse's dismissal, later that season.

Ajax A1's first league game after Van Basten's arrival, on Saturday 24 August, ended in a disappointing 1-0 defeat at ADO Den Haag A1.

Meanwhile, the KNVB has introduced a new system by which all youth systems in Holland will be rated and given one to four 'stars'. The Ajax youth system, as you would expect, was given four stars last week. (MP)

(Sources: Ajax.nl and VI Planet.nl)