Ex-West Brom star Richard Sneekes remembers formative Ajax years under Johan Cruyff

Yet his formative years were spent in the immediate environs of one of European football’s most revered academies: Ajax.

“I joined Ajax at 14-years-old but the age categories used to go over two years,” Sneekes recalled.

“Even if I was 14, you would play in the under-16s. That would be called the B’ youth team.

“I started playing for B2 and then quickly moved up to B1.”

Ajax debut aged 16

Sneekes initially rocketed through the ranks with the Dutch heavyweights in his hometown Amsterdam and soon caught admiring glances from three-time European Cup winner and legendary Ajax boss Johan Cruyff.

“The manager of the A1 team said to me a couple of weeks before to Cruyff wanted to take me to one of the away games to sit on the bench,” he revealed.

“I said that I didn’t want to because I was way too young. He said: ‘Are you stupid? You should just go.

“It was just for you to learn the ropes to see what the first team was about, but a couple of weeks later: I made my debut.”

Sneekes was introduced for his Ajax bow aged just 16 - becoming the youngest debutant in the club’s history at that time as a late substitute in a 5-1 demolition of Haarlem in October 1985.

The next day, Sneekes was back at school with a story to tell.

“It was way before the era of social media - so I went on the radio that night, did my homework once I got home and went back to school the next day. It was the stuff made of boyhood dreams,” he remembered with a smile.

Working under Johan Cruyff

As for Cruyff, Sneekes could not have had a better role model to learn from.

Cruyff is hailed as one of the greatest footballing minds in history and his magic also left its mark on Sneekes.

“He was always right,” Sneekes laughed. “He used to join in with training and if he missed a pass then it was your fault, if he had a bad touch then it was also your fault.

“When you’re somebody of his ilk or class, nobody ever used to question it, but he was a very approachable guy.

“His saying was always: ‘You’ve got the talent, but if you don’t dedicate yourself, or if it doesn’t work out, then I won’t lose a minute’s sleep over it.

“He’d just open up another can full of talent and they’d take your place.”

Suddenly, Sneekes was sharing a changing room with the biggest names in the world such as Ronald Koeman, Frank Rijkaard and Marco van Basten.

Sharing the pitch with legends

His dream had become a reality and that team planted a seed for how he views the game - even to this day.

“It was crazy. We used to have season tickets and go to watch them,” he reminisced.

“Koeman was playing at the time, Arnold Muhren was in the team. We had three great wingers: Gerald Vanenberg, who was the best technical Dutch player I’ve ever seen, along with Johnny van’t Schip and Rob de Wit.

“Johan just made it simple. It was 4-3-3 and then a 3-3-4 when you were attacking.

“The keeper would play as a sweeper, the ball-playing centre-half would push into midfield and the midfielder would shift up as a second striker.

“It was just about getting the ball out to the wingers. It was quite rigid contrary to now and the wingers would have to beat their man and deliver into the box for van Basten.

“It wasn’t rocket science and a lot of Cruyff’s sayings make sense. The simplest thing is to play a simple pass because everybody always wants to do something to stand out.

“The ball always travels faster when you pass it rather than dribble. Just simple tips, but he was a great man, albeit a very ruthless one.”

How Ajax instilled a “winning mentality”

One of the biggest lessons that Ajax taught him was that winning was non-negotiable.

He would make just three first team appearances before embarking on pastures new, but that elite mindset left him well equipped for his later spells in England with Bolton Wanderers and the Baggies.

“Ajax was a club where losing did not appear in the vocabulary,” he declared.

“It was simply not an option. I remember losing an international tournament to Inter Milan on penalties with the youth team and it just got disregarded.

“Winning was everything. Times have changed now with safeguarding, but back then it was tough.”

Although sharing a changing room with his heroes was a dream, it could also be a psychological challenge.

Sink or swim environment

After all, those at the top are there for a reason and that competitive edge can sometimes show itself in a different light.

“Older players would think here’s another one of those fancy players who does a couple of step-overs and make their way into the first team,” he hypothesised.

“They weren’t always as accommodating. I wouldn’t say it was bullying because that goes a little bit too far, but it was more character-building.”

But Sneekes somewhat knew what to expect. He had been groomed for the first team environment from an early age and felt blessed to be an academy, which he believes was ahead of its time.

“The youth set-up was where the first team trained and you could smell the first team daily,” he revealed.

“So even as a 12-year-old, even though you’re not mentally or physically ready to play, you could play in the first team because you knew exactly what was expected from you.

“The first team players would sometimes go and watch our games. There was still a real sense of harmony and you had to give your all.

“They were the first in Holland, and probably in the world, where after school, you had to go upstairs in the stadium.

“There were three teachers and you’d have to show them your homework diary. If you didn’t finish your homework then they wouldn’t let you train.

“If I look back now, Ajax were really forward-thinking.”