Botman: Why I knew Ajax was not club for me
SVEN Botman has no regrets that his one-time dream of being a first-team star at Ajax faded after rising through the club’s famous youth Academy.
Botman, who signed for Newcastle United for £34million, was not chosen as one of the pick of the Ajax Academy and was instead loaned out to Heerenveen before being sold to Lille in Ligue 1.
His route to the top has therefore been slightly more unconventional than some of his Ajax counterparts.
Hailing from the small Dutch town of Badhoevedorp, the place where Holland legend Marco Van Basten grew up, Botman was picked up by Ajax at just seven years old.
He told the Chronicle: “I started playing there when I was seven or eight.
“I went through all the youth teams and at a certain point I went to one team higher. I was seen as a talented player but I was also not the big talent of the youth squad.
“It was a smooth journey into the
Ajax squad. When I trained with the first team it was really good but I felt I was not ready to be in the squad.
“So I went on loan to Heerenveen for one season, which was really good for me to have a different environment.”
Botman admits that despite having talent he was ultimately overlooked due to the amount of choice on offer at Ajax.
He added: “At Ajax everything is a good level. The facilities, everything is top. It was good for me to also see the other side.
“Afterwards I went back to Ajax and signed a new contract but that same summer I knew that Ajax was not the best club for my profile. Lille would fit me better.”
Now Botman is ready for a different type of challenge.
When asked about Ligue 1 compared to the Premier League, he said: “It is totally different here compared to Holland and France.
“The intensity is much quicker and the training is tougher. The preseason is heavier.
“The coach is really good, he demands a lot from the players so the level is going higher and higher, which I think is really good.”