Player Focus: Cruyff's Klaassen Admiration Speaks Volumes

When it comes to feuds the one shared between Johan Cruyff and Louis van Gaal – disciples of the 'Ajax school' – is arguably the most philosophical. It boils down to player and team development: individual versus collective. "Of course, Louis van Gaal has an understanding of football," Cruyff says. "But we both have a clear difference in approach."

Van Gaal sides with the collective. His method, often militaristic, is designed for the here and now. "I do not think he can make Ajax a top club again," Cruyff, who is once again heavily involved with the 32-time Dutch champions and believes in the individual, stressed. "He will get results short-term, but things have to change in order to improve Ajax."

Football to Cruyff is more than technique and skills. "I never practise tricks. I play very simply. That's what it's all about," he once said. "The solution that seems the simplest is in fact the most difficult one. With most players, tactics are missing. You can divide tactics into insight, trust and daring." As manager he emphasised individualised training: character building, to Cruyff, is just as important as skill development – talent alone isn't sufficient – with a 'football brain' things are more advantageous. Also, every player is unique. No two are the same. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts: each individual's strength combines to make a strong eleven.

One scenario Cruyff often proposes is a critical stage of a match – pushing for an equaliser or winning goal – following his framework the player would know whether to shoot or pass. His close friend Guus Hiddink, soon to be Oranje manager once again, is an advocate. "Players should not just run with their legs, but with their head as well," he said. "They should be conscious of the fact that they constantly have to think during a game. Sometimes players act without thinking."

A work in progress – as the recent meetings with Red Bull Salzburg and game against SC Cambuur showed – but, across the last 18 months, there have been encouraging signs. The current generation (which encompasses the likes of Viktor Fischer, Davy Klaassen and Joël Veltman) are the first in nearly three decades to train and develop the same way manager Frank de Boer did as a player.

"The individual cleverness of the players was missing when I first got here [in 2006 as a youth team coach]," De Boer recollected. "The individual action at the highest level is essential. We are now training much more individualised. That is so important." The 'legendary number 14' believes the (long-term) structural changes – the same model he introduced at Barça – put in place after his 'velvet revolution' at the backend of 2010 will eventually lead to his boyhood club returning to Europe's summit, as well as solidifying their dominance at home.

No player symbolises the restoration of Cruyff's approach and intelligence in Ajax's game more than Klaassen. His standout performance in red-and-white was against Barcelona in November. "The coach means it when he says we shouldn't be afraid of anyone, his confidence spills over into the group," Klaassen told Voetbal International.

"He played with tremendous intellect," Cruyff enthused afterwards. Comparisons with Dennis Bergkamp, currently De Boer's right-hand man, are slightly wide of the mark from a technical and tactical perspective. Others, including Het Parool columnist Henk Spaan, see similarities with the selfless Jari Litmanen – who is a perfect reference when it comes to playing/transitioning between the midfield and forward lines – a compliment, no doubt, but Klaassen is already carving out his own path.

Bergkamp and Litmanen were number 10s par excellence; a position Ajax no longer utilises. In this incarnation Klaassen acts as a quasi-deep-lying forward – inside a fluid midfield triumvirate alongside Thulani Serero, with Daley Blind (whenever he's not performing at left-back) acting as a single pivot.

Being comfortable with both feet and having a strong passing technique (34.4 per game with a success rate of 81%) has seen him effortlessly settle into the Amsterdammers midfield carousel. His playmaking, vision, intelligent movement, excellent first touch and spatial awareness are all assets.

Meanhwile, he combines individual skill with stamina - imperative to Ajax's pressing game - and has defensive qualities, picking up a strength of tackling from WhoScored.com having averaged 2.3 per game. Nevertheless he also has an eye for goal, with 8 in 19 league games including a well-taken hat-trick against NAC Breda last December.

Turning out for the Netherlands against France last week in Paris was historic. Klaassen, a De Toekomst (the club’s fabled youth academy) graduate, became the 100th player to debut for Oranje whilst representing Ajax. The chances of Klaassen going to this summer’s World Cup are remote but his international future is bright. His immediate focus is on securing an unprecedented four-peat under De Boer. With seven matches remaining Ajax – with a healthy goal-difference – lead the Eredivisie by six points. It's theirs to lose.

Progression to De Boer's starting line-up for the 21-year old has been gradual. He missed a chunk of last season due to a troublesome groin injury and was subsequently sent to a specialist in Barcelona at the behest of long-time admirer Cruyff, who paid him a visit. "That impressed me," Klaassen recalled. Cruyff rarely takes a shine to a player – Van Basten, Bergkamp and Pep Guardiola spring to mind – when he does it's because that individual embodies his ideals. Klaassen, it seems, fits the mould, which – as history has shown – invariably bodes well.

Should Klaassen have a place in Louis van Gaal's World Cup squad? Let us know in the comments below