Ronald de Boer has suggested that both Rangers and Celtic can achieve similar levels of European success as Ajax have by emulating the Dutch side’s youth policy.
A young Ajax side reached the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time since 1997 with a last eight win over Juventus on Tuesday, and the former Ibrox man sees no reason why the two Scottish giants can’t do the same one day.
As quoted in the Daily Record, he said: “Rangers and Celtic should take inspiration from Ajax. Celtic are rated even higher than Ajax so of course it’s possible for them to do the same.
“I played in Scotland for four years so I know how passionate the fans are and there are Celtic and Rangers fans all over the world. It’s a great starting point to have such an enormous fanbase but at basic youth level the set-up, from amateur to pro level, is better in Holland.
“You can’t buy 11 great players. You have to invest in your own homegrown players. If you have 10 Matthijs de Ligts then it doesn’t work but if you have Frenkie de Jong, de Ligt, de Beek – all the different positions – then that makes that generation special.”
OPINION
This is obviously a lot easier said than done, but realistically, there is no reason why the two Glasgow clubs can’t at least take some steps towards furthering their European ambitions. The key is obviously youth, and that should be a real priority for both sides. The better an academy is, the better a first team is, and the more money you save yourself in the long run. Obviously, the initial outlay of the investment it takes to build a system like the one Ajax have is a real heavy cost, but look at the success it can yield. If we’re being honest, is there any other way for these clubs to reach that level? The answer is surely no. Both teams already have decent setups, but they could take things further, and if they can, it would not just be to their benefit, but to the benefit of Scottish football as a whole.