This is a great post. Agree with it all.Reasons why Ajax’s model is not replicable:
1. Their history provides them with a reputation much, much bigger than their present-day league & revenues would merit.
2. They are located in a soccer-mad country with one of the best talent-identification & -development systems in the word.
3. They are widely known as one of, if not the best stepping stones in Europe (right there with Dortmund). It’s not only the world class scouting operation that can spot talents like Tagliafico, Neres, Ziyech, Davidson Sanchez, Christian Eriksen, Zlatan!, and so on for years and years...it’s also that players & agents know that Ajax will positions its players to be successful and not stand in the way of transfers to bigger clubs.
4. They have a specific philosophy - the Book of Cruyff - that informs every level & aspect of the organization. This hasn’t always been well executed, but the current duo of van der Sar & Overmars have really got the entire organization functioning at the highest levels these days.
Ajax’s success rests on all 4 of these things, which I don’t think is replicable anywhere else. A club like Anderlecht has elements of 1-3, but nothing like 4. Other clubs like Porto, CSKA Moscow, Red Star Belgrade, Dynamo Kyiv, or Olympiacos lack 2, that national infrastructure piece. And the growing public racism across many Europeans counties will make it even harder for many of these second tier teams to tap into immigrant and foreign talent.
It’s not possible for Ajax to immediately replace players like de Jong and de Ligt, so next season will definitely be a regression. But the system is in place for regular cycles of huge success.