Bosz the boss is pledged to do it Cruyff’s way

THE bad news for Jose Mourinho is that Peter Bosz is a huge admirer of Pep Guardiola, the one manager who comes out on top in head-to-heads with the Manchester United boss.

The good news for Mourinho is that Bosz does not have quite the same quality of players at Ajax as Guardiola has had at Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Manchester City.

But the 53-year-old has assembled a young, energetic and improving team and shares the same footballing principles as Guardiola – as well as the same source of inspiration: the late, great Johan Cruyff.

He had the chance to learn from Cruyff a few weeks before he died last year during Bosz’s spell in charge of Maccabi Tel Aviv, whose technical director is Cruyff’s son, Jordi, a former United player.

“I knew from the age of 16 that one day I would become a coach,” said Bosz.

“So I was preparing by writing down what my coaches were doing right but also reading a lot from Johan. I had only one idol – Cruyff.

“The Ajax sides of the 1970s and 1980s were a great influence on me. That was the time when Rinus Michels and Cruyff were at Ajax and it was fantastic, very attractive football, which we all enjoyed watching. That really influenced the way I look at football now.

“With some friends, we more or less wrote our own scrap book. Every article, all his interviews were in there – this is for attacking, this is how you defend, this is tactical.

“Just before Johan died, he came to Israel. We spent a week together. It was just amazing. Instead of the book that I had made, he was talking to me.

“I was just listening. In one week I learned enough for 10 years.” Guardiola is also a Cruyff disciple, from the time he played for the legendary Dutchman in the Barcelona ‘Dream Team’ of the early 1990s.

Bosz’s favourite book is Pep Confidential, an account of Guardiola’s first season at Bayern Munich. He learned from Guardiola’s attention to detail, how he would work out in advance which opposition player was always free on the counterattack.

Like Guardiola, he is a football obsessive. He was so fascinated by Ajax in the 1990s that he would drive from Rotterdam to Amsterdam to watch Louis van Gaal’s training sessions. But he is aware that a footballer’s attention span can be short.

“This is dangerous for a coach. If I want to give all my knowledge to my players, they will get bored.

“My speech before the game is not more than five minutes. There may be 50 things we have to do well but it’s important from those 50 things that I pick the right ones.”

Bosz was a defensive midfielder who plied his trade in Holland, Germany, France and Japan. But, again like Guardiola, he cannot stand negative football, loves possession and favours a high-pressing game.

“When I see my team only defending and destroying like I did, I will not enjoy it,” he said.

“I thought when I’m on the bench at least I will give myself a happy afternoon. If I give myself a happy afternoon, I can give it to the fans.”

It is 22 years to the day since Ajax won their last European trophy, beating AC Milan in the 1995 Champions League final with a goal from Patrick Kluivert, whose son Justin now plays for them.

Bosz has developed a team true to those traditions and insists he will not compromise his principles or style.

“We will only have a chance to beat United if we play our own game. We have developed a way of playing which I call ‘the Ajax way’, so if we are capable of playing our way we have a chance.

“The fact that United are more experienced doesn’t make my job harder, it makes it more interesting. It is a contrast of styles, so let’s see which is the stronger.”

United may be favourites at the Friends Arena tonight but Mourinho will be well aware of the threat posed by Bosz’s youthful and vibrant side.

We have to play our own game