The day before a Champions League final is pretty long; you just wait and wait. But those hours are probably the most important to keep the balance, the right tension. And that’s something that not everybody is capable of managing in the same way each time. Same for the coaches: every time is different. As much as you’ve been there before, you still really need to stay calm, because you know that this is the moment you’ve been working towards the whole season, your whole career.
But you do become familiar with playing finals. Not just Champions League finals, but the end part of the season where you need to deliver in order to bring trophies home. So that comes with a certain focus, but it also comes with laughter, relaxation, bonding between the players – fighting sometimes too, because the tension needs to be released for some. All of those things become part of an environment that you’re used to living in because that is all you know. I’ve been privileged to play for clubs where this was every year’s business: having to perform to win.
At Ajax in 1995, we were laughing all the time. We went to tournaments and there was no different expectation on us to come back with the first prize. We would win most of the time. You come into the first team, you win the league and you go, “Oh, OK, now the Champions League final.” And we were all these youngsters together, who grew up in the same youth system, so for us having fun was easy. And then you had the other part of the team, the more experienced players; they knew a bit more about what was at stake and that made it a great combination.
The coaches I played for had different leadership skills. Well, Jupp Heynckes and Carlo Ancelotti have a little more similarity in their way of managing the team, but they are completely different to Louis van Gaal. Van Gaal wants to control everything and is really hands-on, but the other two, they are the opposite: they leave the leaders of the team to take care of certain things.
The day before a Champions League final is pretty long; you just wait and wait. But those hours are probably the most important to keep the balance, the right tension. And that’s something that not everybody is capable of managing in the same way each time. Same for the coaches: every time is different. As much as you’ve been there before, you still really need to stay calm, because you know that this is the moment you’ve been working towards the whole season, your whole career.
But you do become familiar with playing finals. Not just Champions League finals, but the end part of the season where you need to deliver in order to bring trophies home. So that comes with a certain focus, but it also comes with laughter, relaxation, bonding between the players – fighting sometimes too, because the tension needs to be released for some. All of those things become part of an environment that you’re used to living in because that is all you know. I’ve been privileged to play for clubs where this was every year’s business: having to perform to win.
At Ajax in 1995, we were laughing all the time. We went to tournaments and there was no different expectation on us to come back with the first prize. We would win most of the time. You come into the first team, you win the league and you go, “Oh, OK, now the Champions League final.” And we were all these youngsters together, who grew up in the same youth system, so for us having fun was easy. And then you had the other part of the team, the more experienced players; they knew a bit more about what was at stake and that made it a great combination.
The coaches I played for had different leadership skills. Well, Jupp Heynckes and Carlo Ancelotti have a little more similarity in their way of managing the team, but they are completely different to Louis van Gaal. Van Gaal wants to control everything and is really hands-on, but the other two, they are the opposite: they leave the leaders of the team to take care of certain things.
But it’s more about personality than leadership. Leadership is something that somebody has or they don’t. Yeah, you can learn it a little bit, but charisma is not to be bought. Some coaches have it more, some less – and those who have it less, they take the players who have a lot and bring them close. Heynckes, for example, was not a big, charismatic guy like Van Gaal but he had the team with him 100%. His way of managing was based on giving space to the leaders of the team. Ancelotti has a similar thing. Heynckes would really give confidence to the players that they were his extension. Guus Hiddink’s style for the Netherlands was similar.
It’s a risk because if you don’t have a team that is responsible, it doesn’t work. But the personalities we had in all these teams that I won with were really strong characters who knew how to overcome difficult moments, which is key. There are moments in the season where things don’t go exactly to plan, moments of crisis, but the teams I played with were capable of beating each other up. Not physically but with brutal honesty – we would go in the dressing room and just straighten out the things that needed to be straightened out. That brought us together. Great champions make the choice to put the team first.
The sports mentality is that you lose, you try again, you lose, you try again… until you win. Like after [the 2005 Champions League final loss to Liverpool in] Istanbul: we went to the semi-finals the year after against Barcelona and if everyone had been available, we would have probably played in the final again. So we continued, then we came out even better the season after and won. Because what else can you do?
All journeys to the final have their own story. Many times, they come with ups and downs, with doubts. There are some years, like with Ajax [in 1995], where we didn’t lose a match in the Champions League; it was a perfect season. But it doesn’t happen all the time, like with Real Madrid [in 1998]. It wasn’t a perfect season, but we made it perfect by winning the Champions League.
But whatever the situation, lifting that trophy is an explosion of positive emotions. It’s a very deep joy.
The day before a Champions League final is pretty long; you just wait and wait. But those hours are probably the most important to keep the balance, the right tension. And that’s something that not everybody is capable of managing in the same way each time. Same for the coaches: every time is different. As much as you’ve been there before, you still really need to stay calm, because you know that this is the moment you’ve been working towards the whole season, your whole career.
But you do become familiar with playing finals. Not just Champions League finals, but the end part of the season where you need to deliver in order to bring trophies home. So that comes with a certain focus, but it also comes with laughter, relaxation, bonding between the players – fighting sometimes too, because the tension needs to be released for some. All of those things become part of an environment that you’re used to living in because that is all you know. I’ve been privileged to play for clubs where this was every year’s business: having to perform to win.
At Ajax in 1995, we were laughing all the time. We went to tournaments and there was no different expectation on us to come back with the first prize. We would win most of the time. You come into the first team, you win the league and you go, “Oh, OK, now the Champions League final.” And we were all these youngsters together, who grew up in the same youth system, so for us having fun was easy. And then you had the other part of the team, the more experienced players; they knew a bit more about what was at stake and that made it a great combination.
The coaches I played for had different leadership skills. Well, Jupp Heynckes and Carlo Ancelotti have a little more similarity in their way of managing the team, but they are completely different to Louis van Gaal. Van Gaal wants to control everything and is really hands-on, but the other two, they are the opposite: they leave the leaders of the team to take care of certain things.
The day before a Champions League final is pretty long; you just wait and wait. But those hours are probably the most important to keep the balance, the right tension. And that’s something that not everybody is capable of managing in the same way each time. Same for the coaches: every time is different. As much as you’ve been there before, you still really need to stay calm, because you know that this is the moment you’ve been working towards the whole season, your whole career.
But you do become familiar with playing finals. Not just Champions League finals, but the end part of the season where you need to deliver in order to bring trophies home. So that comes with a certain focus, but it also comes with laughter, relaxation, bonding between the players – fighting sometimes too, because the tension needs to be released for some. All of those things become part of an environment that you’re used to living in because that is all you know. I’ve been privileged to play for clubs where this was every year’s business: having to perform to win.
At Ajax in 1995, we were laughing all the time. We went to tournaments and there was no different expectation on us to come back with the first prize. We would win most of the time. You come into the first team, you win the league and you go, “Oh, OK, now the Champions League final.” And we were all these youngsters together, who grew up in the same youth system, so for us having fun was easy. And then you had the other part of the team, the more experienced players; they knew a bit more about what was at stake and that made it a great combination.
The coaches I played for had different leadership skills. Well, Jupp Heynckes and Carlo Ancelotti have a little more similarity in their way of managing the team, but they are completely different to Louis van Gaal. Van Gaal wants to control everything and is really hands-on, but the other two, they are the opposite: they leave the leaders of the team to take care of certain things.
The day before a Champions League final is pretty long; you just wait and wait. But those hours are probably the most important to keep the balance, the right tension. And that’s something that not everybody is capable of managing in the same way each time. Same for the coaches: every time is different. As much as you’ve been there before, you still really need to stay calm, because you know that this is the moment you’ve been working towards the whole season, your whole career.
But you do become familiar with playing finals. Not just Champions League finals, but the end part of the season where you need to deliver in order to bring trophies home. So that comes with a certain focus, but it also comes with laughter, relaxation, bonding between the players – fighting sometimes too, because the tension needs to be released for some. All of those things become part of an environment that you’re used to living in because that is all you know. I’ve been privileged to play for clubs where this was every year’s business: having to perform to win.
At Ajax in 1995, we were laughing all the time. We went to tournaments and there was no different expectation on us to come back with the first prize. We would win most of the time. You come into the first team, you win the league and you go, “Oh, OK, now the Champions League final.” And we were all these youngsters together, who grew up in the same youth system, so for us having fun was easy. And then you had the other part of the team, the more experienced players; they knew a bit more about what was at stake and that made it a great combination.
The coaches I played for had different leadership skills. Well, Jupp Heynckes and Carlo Ancelotti have a little more similarity in their way of managing the team, but they are completely different to Louis van Gaal. Van Gaal wants to control everything and is really hands-on, but the other two, they are the opposite: they leave the leaders of the team to take care of certain things.
But it’s more about personality than leadership. Leadership is something that somebody has or they don’t. Yeah, you can learn it a little bit, but charisma is not to be bought. Some coaches have it more, some less – and those who have it less, they take the players who have a lot and bring them close. Heynckes, for example, was not a big, charismatic guy like Van Gaal but he had the team with him 100%. His way of managing was based on giving space to the leaders of the team. Ancelotti has a similar thing. Heynckes would really give confidence to the players that they were his extension. Guus Hiddink’s style for the Netherlands was similar.
It’s a risk because if you don’t have a team that is responsible, it doesn’t work. But the personalities we had in all these teams that I won with were really strong characters who knew how to overcome difficult moments, which is key. There are moments in the season where things don’t go exactly to plan, moments of crisis, but the teams I played with were capable of beating each other up. Not physically but with brutal honesty – we would go in the dressing room and just straighten out the things that needed to be straightened out. That brought us together. Great champions make the choice to put the team first.
The sports mentality is that you lose, you try again, you lose, you try again… until you win. Like after [the 2005 Champions League final loss to Liverpool in] Istanbul: we went to the semi-finals the year after against Barcelona and if everyone had been available, we would have probably played in the final again. So we continued, then we came out even better the season after and won. Because what else can you do?
All journeys to the final have their own story. Many times, they come with ups and downs, with doubts. There are some years, like with Ajax [in 1995], where we didn’t lose a match in the Champions League; it was a perfect season. But it doesn’t happen all the time, like with Real Madrid [in 1998]. It wasn’t a perfect season, but we made it perfect by winning the Champions League.
But whatever the situation, lifting that trophy is an explosion of positive emotions. It’s a very deep joy.
The day before a Champions League final is pretty long; you just wait and wait. But those hours are probably the most important to keep the balance, the right tension. And that’s something that not everybody is capable of managing in the same way each time. Same for the coaches: every time is different. As much as you’ve been there before, you still really need to stay calm, because you know that this is the moment you’ve been working towards the whole season, your whole career.
But you do become familiar with playing finals. Not just Champions League finals, but the end part of the season where you need to deliver in order to bring trophies home. So that comes with a certain focus, but it also comes with laughter, relaxation, bonding between the players – fighting sometimes too, because the tension needs to be released for some. All of those things become part of an environment that you’re used to living in because that is all you know. I’ve been privileged to play for clubs where this was every year’s business: having to perform to win.
At Ajax in 1995, we were laughing all the time. We went to tournaments and there was no different expectation on us to come back with the first prize. We would win most of the time. You come into the first team, you win the league and you go, “Oh, OK, now the Champions League final.” And we were all these youngsters together, who grew up in the same youth system, so for us having fun was easy. And then you had the other part of the team, the more experienced players; they knew a bit more about what was at stake and that made it a great combination.
The coaches I played for had different leadership skills. Well, Jupp Heynckes and Carlo Ancelotti have a little more similarity in their way of managing the team, but they are completely different to Louis van Gaal. Van Gaal wants to control everything and is really hands-on, but the other two, they are the opposite: they leave the leaders of the team to take care of certain things.
