How Cruyff inspired Ajax's rebirth

Welcome to Football Architects - a summer series for The Athletic FC Tactics Podcast. 

Over the next five weeks, we’ll tell the stories of esteemed footballing nations and clubs, speaking to the unsung heroes who changed history.

Today’s episode is focused on Ajax’s rebirth and how the club was rebuilt in the image of legendary figure Johan Cruyff.

Host Michael Bailey will be joined by The Athletic’s Jacob Whitehead and a number of our tactics writers. We’ll also be hearing excerpts of Jacob's interviews with key figures who were at the forefront of these projects.

On this episode, we hear from Ruben Jongkind, former head of talent development at Ajax, and the club’s former head talent recruitment, Jasper van Leeuwen.

Every episode will also have a written piece on the website, which we will link below.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6445365/2025/07/03/football-architects-rebuilding-ajax-johan-cruyff/

Host: Michael Bailey

With: Jacob Whitehead and Liam Tharme

Producer: Mike Stavrou

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