Dean’s Euro dream comes true with Dutch giants
REMEMBER the name Dean Solomons because, in time to come, he’ll be a household name on the European football stage.
Last week, lost in the hype of the local transfer window, which triggered moves for Cape Town City’s Lebogang Manyama to Konyaspor in Turkey and Ajax Cape Town’s Rivaldo Coetzee to Mamelodi Sundowns, there was an even bigger, probably far more important, piece of football business taking place. Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam, a club with a storied status in world football, signed two 18-year-olds from Ajax Cape Town’s famed youth academy – central defender Solomons and winger Leo Thethani.
The two burgeoning Capetonians – Solomons is from Heathfield and Thethani from Khayelitsha – are currently in London on national duty with the SA U20 squad, and are expected to head for the Netherlands later this month.
Solomons is in matric at Norman Henshilwood in Constantia and started playing football at the age of five at Ashford Athletic in Heathfield. Always a promising junior, he accumulated numerous junior awards at his local club before joining the Ajax Cape Town academy at the age of 11. It was to be the start of a journey that would eventually culminate in last week’s sought-after move to play professional football in Europe.
The 18-year-old central defender’s ability was endorsed by one of the Mother City’s most gifted talent eyes, Duncan Crowie lauding the player’s temperament as a key reason for his elevation to the European stage.
Crowie, the Santos legend, coached Solomons during the Ajax U19s’ European tour in May this year – and it was based on his performances during this trip that Ajax Amsterdam moved speedily to capture his signature.
“What makes him so good is his attitude to the game,” said Crowie. “There are an abundance of central defenders at the Ajax Cape Town academy at the moment, but Dean has made it to Europe earlier than the others because of the positive way he approaches the game.
“He is a composed player, capable of starting the play from the back. Also, because of his size, he is a tall, elegant footballer, he is just the type of player they are looking for in Europe.”
Solomons’ parents – Reginald and Shireen – needless to say, are overjoyed at what their son has achieved. “I am the proudest dad at the moment,” said Reginald. “It has always been Dean’s dream to play in Europe and now he has done so. We couldn’t be happier for him. I believe he will go much further than just Ajax Amsterdam, and go on to play for one of the bigger clubs in Europe in the future.”
“Let me just say that I am very, very proud of Dean,” said Shireen.
“From a very young age, he was always mad about football. You could see that he had a great passion for the sport.
If you go back, his grandfather – Sedick Galant – was a very good footballer in Retreat, and I played netball when I was younger, so I’m sure that there is where the sporting genes come from.”