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Post by buddha on Feb 15, 2012 11:41:22 GMT 8
Well said, cjeagle. Do understand that I'm not attacking the Ajax system per se but the pervading culture at the youth level of Ajax. While it's true you never did say we should adopt the Ajax system wholesale the overwhelming impression I got from the responses was that it was a good thing. And people just took it in - hook, line, and sinker! The crux of the matter is that people here are missing the forest for the trees. Are we so enamored with a certain system (Ajax) that we are oblivious to its accompanying negative culture? Or do we turn a blind eye to a negative culture in favor of the success it guarantees? I fear it is the latter - success at any cost. True, it makes no sense reinventing the wheel but do we stop to question if the wheel fits? Maybe we don't need a wheel in the first place... maybe what we need are caterpillar tracks/treads instead, like a tank. But enough of idioms.  So yes, I concur with your point of view that we need to carefully sift through the various systems and select what is appropriate. I appreciate this dialogue because there's a need for a deeper appreciation of football issues if we are to speed up the development of our own football culture. Cheers, mate! |
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Post by Striker_Manager_and_Owner on Feb 16, 2012 9:34:28 GMT 8
You know what I think? When a kid first enters the academy, its sometimes not his choice, but he can drop out anytime. He has a choice, and its not that they aren't educated - most of these kids have a good education.'
What I got from the comments is that the world keeps producing sports stars instead of getting a good education. My answer to that is that sports didn't exist for itself! In reality sports exists because humans need it - they need to be entertained and a small percentage of people want to entertain their own! It broods inspiration and motivates other people to do well in their own lives. Sports therefore is a positive in society. I don't get why there are negative comments about churning up tens or hundreds of kids who are good at soccer/football by running an academy. Academies teach discipline and i believe that this can be used in real life too, not just soccer. They can use routine as a good base to educate themselves and continually learn - the sciences, arts, business, about how to live period.
Then there are comments about the system not being really good at discovering or making stars. I tell them this: a football team is not made up of 1 or 2 or 3 stars (7 for the galacticos), but it is composed of 23 very good players. Academies do not make average players. They make good to very good players, and they can get lucky and produce 2 stars every so often. But the thing is, your average player at Ajax academy is better than the average player (of the same age) of most countries. It just so happens that the stars of Brazil and other countries where football is learned on the streets are better than the stars of europe.
But having an academy raises the average skill level higher. and it ensures a consistent philosophy. After Eto'o how many other players were there?
Not a whole lot. But Ajax and similar academies just continue to produce talent. On the streets it is hit and miss. Of course a raw, uncut diamond in the rough is better - but who would refuse a diamond anyway?
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Post by buddha on Feb 17, 2012 13:06:17 GMT 8
-I don't think anybody has commented on merits of an academic education over a football education. The debate is NOT whether academic learning is better than that of a football academy because that's really beside the point. The debate is on whether the current culture surrounding the Ajax system is producing socially healthy, well-adjusted individuals. Should success at all costs be a risk we should take? See my previous post on page one of this thread. - Let's hear what an Ajax player has to say: "...asked if some of what he learned at Ajax — focus, perseverance, the ability to perform under pressure — might benefit him no matter what he ends up doing. “No,” he said, shaking his head. “We’re training for football, not for anything else.” www.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/magazine/06Soccer-t.html?pagewanted=7- I haven't read of such comments. The question I'm posing is not about the Ajax system (or the academy system for that matter) but the current CULTURE pervading Ajax's youth football. Nobody is questioning the merits of football academies. We need academies. Again, the argument isn't about the system but about the culture surrounding the system. My earlier posts were a commentary on the article (which is the title of this thread) posted by cjeagle. It was my way of asking if the people reading the article only saw the merits of the Ajax academy rather than the rot and decay of a once beautiful football culture which I believe the article carefully exposes. cjeagle said we've got to be selective... and that is exactly my point. I really just wanted to hear somebody say it so that my faith in you discerning fans would be strengthened.  |
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Post by cjeagle on Mar 24, 2012 0:09:08 GMT 8
Alaska milk in the Philippines has recently been bought(majority stake) by a Dutch milk company, Royal Friesland Campina is one of the sponsors of the Ajax football team in the Netherlands and the company which has a team in the PBA, the local professional basketball league has said that they have plans to bring the Ajax football team there, although it is unclear whether he meant in a friendly or to open up an academy. Alaska is already involved in grassroots sports programs for basketball and soccer as well sponsoring numerous other sports events. My hope is that the company will eventually decide to sponsor a team in our local professional football league, the UFL, open up an academy and bring Ajax coaches and their system of play to the Philippines.
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