GIOVANNI van Bronckhorst is set to add an Ajax youth coach to his Rangers backroom team.
Dave Vos - the Dutch side's U18s coach – has left the Amsterdam club to team up with his countryman at Ibrox.
The 38-year-old left a career in banking to pursue his passion. He began coaching at AZ Alkmaar where he worked under the legendary Louis van Gaal
His work soon saw him climb the coaching ladder before being snapped up by Ajax.
But just who is he and what's his story?
We spoke to Jelmer Jager, host of the Ajax Youth Academy fan site to find out more.
Who is Dave Vos and what is his background?
Dave Vos trained our Under 18’s. He joined the academy around 2011 and worked his way up. You can compare it with our young talents, when they are good enough the club promotes them to a higher team. For coaches it’s a little bit different, of course, but the club gives them the opportunity when it’s possible and the right time.
He started with our youngest teams (Under 8 - Under 11) and already coached some of our talents that are currently in the Under 18-group.
What is his philosophy?
The Ajax philosophy. But he puts development as key, which is so important for our talents. For example, on Wednesday he coached our Under 18’s in the UEFA Youth League against Besiktas Under 19’s. It was a really hectic and chaotic end of the match, with a lot of yellow cards and three red cards. After the match he said: “I was hoping for our talents that something like this would happen, then they can learn how it is to play against different styles, cultures, etc. And we can see how they cope with it.” It shows perfectly how he thinks as a coach.
How disappointed are you that he has left Ajax?
We [@AjaxYA, fan account of our academy] think it’s a huge blow for us. He was an incredibly good fit for our talented and very young Under 18-group. The way he coaches is a very positive and energetic way, which seems really good from the outside and also from what we heard from the inside. He’s correcting, supporting and challenging his talents, but in a very positive way of approaching them. And to give an answer to the question: we think it’s a great step for Vos’ coaching development and career, so we’re not disappointed, but that it will be a huge blow for the team, absolutely. We think he could grow towards the Under 23’s (Ajax’ 2nd team and in pro football) and maybe more in the future.
Should Rangers be excited at his arrival?
He’s a talented coach, for sure. That’s why it’s sad that he leaves, but it’s a good step in his coaching career. We saw some reactions on Twitter and we have to say, it’s not like you have signed Erik ten Hag or something (yet), but he can be a good assistant we think! He was our Under 23’s assistant coach last season, so he knows that role as well. It will be interesting to see how he makes the step from youth football to senior football.
Does he have the credentials to become a manager in his own right?
He has the UEFA Pro license. I think you need to have that when you become a head coach of an Under 18 team and become an assistant coach in pro football (the Under 23’s).
Will he look to bring in a lot of youth players do you think?
I don’t know how those kinds of things work at Rangers, but I don’t think he will do that immediately. He is also an assistant, so van Bronckhorst will take part in most of those decisions. Vos has tactical abilities, so I think he will help the coaching staff on that part first.
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