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Born 09.06.1984, Utrecht
Nationality Dutch
24 year old Wesley Sneijder is the product of the world-renowned AFC Ajax youth system.
Wesley Sneijder's route into the famous Dutch club started down the A2 in Utrecht.
Spotted at an early age Sneijder's was soon directed onto a path that his coaches
hoped would lead to a professional career.
But they may not have thought that here's a star. After enhancing his ball skills and knowledge
of the game, Sneijder progressed to the next stage in the Ajax development process by regularly
featuring in mini-games and eventually full games. All of this happened before he was a teenager.
Initially ear-marked for a potential wide position, Sneijder's innate ability on the ball
changed the perception of him as a winger to a possible central-midfielder. As is widely-known,
Ajax youth players are taught the fundamentals of a variety of positions and young Sneijder
was no different. Some accounts have him appearing as a full-back in various tournaments but
his real position by now had already been allocated as an advanced one of three midfielders
in a typical Dutch 4-3-3 formation. However, a mature Sneijder has been pushed into a
full-back cum wing-back role on occasions for club and country and has done well when asked.
The Dutch made his senior bow in a 2-0 win at SC Excelsior on 22 December 2002 and the rest
as they say is history. Sneijder's significant step-up into the Ajax first-team at the young
age of 18 was mainly due to one man, Danny Blind. Luckily for him, the Amsterdam legend was
in charge of the Ajax youth set-up during Sneijder's rise to prominence, and throughout his
development remained a firm believer in the youngster's ability. Sneijder has attributed
his success to Blind for strengthening his positional sense in-order to become a more
affective midfielder. It was Blind also, that pushed then Ajax manager Ronald Koeman
into starting the youngster when the first-team had been depleted through injury.
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