Daley Blind intends to eventually become a head coach after his career as a football player, he says Football is Life. The former Ajax player is currently still active at Girona, but after his active career as a professional footballer he returns to the Netherlands to pursue his next dream.
“I’ll go for it when the time comes,” Blind says in the podcast. ‘You first start discovering from a young age. If at some point I like it, then I’ll continue. I’m not going to do it if I don’t like it, but the way I think about it now, I want to go that way.’ Although Blind is doing well in Spain, he does not want to take the next steps in his life abroad. ‘It’s good to be here, but I won’t stay here. I always go back to the Netherlands.’
Siem de Jong is currently searching for his life after football. “You no longer have a season and you don’t really work towards a goal anymore,” he explains. ‘At Ajax you will now do more things besides football. Sometimes I do an assignment and then I ask myself: I am doing this now, but where do I ultimately want to go and why am I doing this? In football you are used to constantly wanting to improve yourself in order to grow somewhere.’
“In football you try to improve yourself towards a new season,” continues the former player of Ajax and Newcastle United, among others. ‘I understand people becoming a trainer, which means you have another season like that. I may need to be more specific about where I want to go, so that you can develop yourself towards your goal. I’m quietly exploring this year.’
Ambitions De Jong
Unlike Blind, De Jong has no ambitions in the coaching profession yet. Just like life as a footballer, it again takes up a lot of time and he has his doubts about that. ‘I thought Klopp’s interview was telling. He said: I don’t have a holiday with my family. When the season ends, you are already preparing. If you want to become a trainer, you have to make a very clear choice, because if you really want to become good, you have to be busy with it almost 24/7.’
Ajax Showtime sets community rules: check it out here!
