The Coaching Philosophies of Louis van Gaal and the Ajax Coaches [Paperback]

Henny Kormelink (Author), Tjeu Seeverens (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1997

The methods and philosophies of the coaches at one of the most successful Clubs in the history of European soccer.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Henny Kormelink is the senior editor of the Dutch coaching magazine De Voetbal Trainer. He is a permanent staff member of the Dutch National Sports Training Institute, where he teaches soccer. He has also worked for the Dutch National Soccer Association as a soccer teacher and coach for a number of years and has coached a variety of top amateur soccer clubs.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Reedswain Books & Videos; 1 edition (August 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1890946036
• ISBN-13: 978-1890946036
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #101,149 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #42 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Soccer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Louis van Gaal: Genius, April 15, 2001

By 

"shredbaron" (Vancouver, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Coaching Philosophies of Louis van Gaal and the Ajax Coaches (Paperback)

During the late 1960's and early 1970's Rinus Michels and Ajax took flowing, attacking soccer and turned it into a science. This science has become widely known as 'Total Football.'

The fortunes of Ajax and the Dutch national team have always been inexorably linked. As it was in the 70's, 80's, and 90's Ajax's stars of today are the Dutch international stars of tomorrow: Cruyff, Van Basten, Kluivert etc.

In the early 1990's Louis Van Gaal and his staff took over at Ajax, reshaping the team, and in less than six years conquered Europe with what was essentially a youth team. Many of these former Ajax stars have gone on to become the backbone of the Dutch national team, and are among the world's best players.

Kormelink and Seeverens,' 'The Coaching Philosophies of Louis van Gaal and the Ajax Coaches,' is a wonderful book, that details Louis van Gaal's time at Ajax, including system/tactics, drills/training, youth development, goalkeeping and general philosophy. This book takes you behind the scenes of one Europe's most influential and respected clubs, allowing the reader the unique experience of critically observing Ajax through eyes of one of football's greatest minds. Van Gaal and his staff meticulously dissect all aspects of the Ajax system from the ground up, providing coaches, players and fans with an indispensable guide to attacking football.

Litmanen, Kluivert, Davids, Overmars, Kanu, Seedorf, the De Boers, Rijkaard, Van der Sar, Blind etc, all make an appearance, and Van Gaal's comments on their abilities, strengths and roles within the system make for some excellent reading. One of the most fascinating parts of the book from a fan's perspective, is Van Gaal's incredibly detailed account of Ajax's preparations for the Champions League final against AC Milan. He takes you through drills, training, tactics, even the warm up --not to mention the game itself, with the thoroughness one would expect from one of football's perfectionists.

Ultimately this is a book of philosophy and ideas, and is among the very best (of the many) football books I've read. Interestingly enough, it's also extremely accessible. While coaches at all levels will find it an extremely valuable resource, players and fans will find it equally informative. I highly recommend it to all fans of Dutch soccer and attacking football.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too little of Gaal ..., October 31, 2008

By 

Tomasz Wilczak "Tomasz Wilczak" (Warszawa, Poland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Coaching Philosophies of Louis van Gaal and the Ajax Coaches (Paperback)

I expected little more insight on the Luis van Gaal's workshop. There's only one, two chapters that actually describe Luis van Gaal's philosophy and his apporach to the game of football. I was really disappointed that the book focused more on Gaal's assistents than on himself.
One was clear, Dutch's football philospohy was clearly stated and that's a plus. Too much talking about preparation to the final of UEFA Championship game against AC Milan, although it was quite interesting how big teams do that, but I think it was not the purpose of the book. At least that's not what I was looking for.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Coaching Philosophies of Louis van Gaal and the Ajax Coaches, November 22, 2009

By 

Dave Tay (Singapore) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Coaching Philosophies of Louis van Gaal and the Ajax Coaches (Paperback)

Football is a team sports and this book explain everything. From the head coach all the way down to the last man,every coaches contribute in their own philosophies in coaching football. Louis van Gaal's beliefs and trust in his coaches is also one of the many reasons why AJAX is successful with their brand of football in the early 90s. I'll recommend this book to any coaches who has interests in coaching or building a football team. The authors also make the book very enjoyable. Not too much of dry tactics and stats,but lots of ideas and thinkings of the beautiful game.