chelseafanatic83
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As I leave Macpherson Stadium, home of the Carolina Dynamo after our second USL Premier Development League title during my 6 years in charge, I feel a sense of accomplishment. On the ride home I think about what we can do to repeat next yearand keep this up and coming team on the rise. I get home and walk in and head straight for the fridge for a beer. As I sit down on the couch I grab my laptop to check my mail. I have an email from friends and family, and one email in particular from my agent. I click it first and I see the subject line is … Congratulations. Upon opening the email he congratulates me on the Championship and the success I have had over the last 6 years in the USL. As I read on he mentions that he has been in talks with a few lower level teams and a couple of teams with continental reputation. Most notably AFC Ajax from Holland. I start to think immediately think, why in the **** would Ajax want me?. Sure I have European experience as a player but not managing, not even close to that level anyway. I pick up the phone and call Dan Segal, my agent and ask him what’s up with the email. He informs me that Ajax want a meeting on Friday morning and that we will be leaving for Amsterdam Airport Schiphol tomorrow afternoon.
As Dan and I arrive at the Amsterdam Airport Schiphol we are greeted by Wim van Kol who is head of public relations for AFC Ajax. We gather our belongings, hand them to the driver and get inside the limo and head off torward Amsterdam Arena. On the way there is a bunch of small talk going on but a million thought rushing through my head. I ask myself what in the **** am I doing here? Am I way out of my element? What if this is a waste of time? Who cares, it’s still worth it. Wim ask’s us how our flight was as he and Dan engage in conversation I am lost in thought about a ton of different things.
We arrive at Amsterdam Arena as Dan and I are let out of the Limo. Wim thanks us for coming and assures us that our belongings will be taken to the Hyatt Andaz Amsterdam Hotel. We are then met by a lovely lady by the name of Klara Beenhakker who leads us into Amsterdam Arena and up to the boardroom. Dan and I take a seat and wait for Mr. ten Have.
As we walk in there are 4 men standing in the room and they each introduce theirselves to Dan and I. The first gentleman I met was Frank Sneijder who is assistant director of football, next was director of football, Danny Blind, after him there was the managing director of Ajax, Jeroen Slop and last but not least Mr. Steven ten Have. Mr. ten Have tells us to “have a seat”. As we get started he thanks us for coming to Amsterdam and at this point I let him know … “The pleasure is all mine Mr. ten Have”. As the meeting goes on I field numerous questions from all 4 men but mostly from Danny Blind who is the director of football as he is interested in how I will handle football related issues. A couple hours in Mr. ten Have thanks us for coming out to Amsterdam and informs us that he will let us know of his decision within the next couple of day’s. He tells is to enjoy the rest of our stay and have a great evening. We walk out of the board room and Ms. Beenhakker walks us back outside where Mr. van Kol awaits us inside the limo. As we pull away he asks me how things went as I say “I don’t have a clue, I hope good, but I’m really not sure”. Dan of course strikes up conversation with Wim as we ride to the Hyatt where we will be staying tonight before heading back home tomorrow. As we arrive at the Hyatt we are walked in by Wim as he already checked us in and had a room waiting for us. Wim thanks us for coming and wishes us a safe trip back home. I am starving at this point so Dan and I walk into the restaurant at the Hyatt and sit down for dinner. After dinner, we get to our rooms and settle in for the evening before our trip back to the states tomorrow.
As I arrive at Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, NC I am awaited by my brother who has come to pick me up in Charlotte and drive me back to Greensboro, NC where I live. As I arrive home I lay down for a few hours as the past 48 hours has taken quite a toll on my body. I wake up to the sound of my phone going off as I hit the silent button, thinking “I’ll have to call them back” …. I lay in bed for a few minutes trying to wake up before picking my phone up and seeing I have a missed call from Dan. I call Dan and he is extatic, informing me “They want to offer you the position man, can you believe this ****?” I quickly ask “Are you ******* with me?” he says “I promise I would **** with you about something like this”. I sit there for a second and just start laughing with joy trying to figure out how in the **** I got this job. Dan tells me “they have called a press conference for Sunday evening and you have to be there for the press conference yourself”. I tell Dan “thanks and to make sure you gets me a **** good deal if you want to get paid”. He laughs and says “goodbye”. As I am packing my things for Amsterdam I am nervous, excited and happy as **** to somehow have gotten this job with no “real” managerial experience so to speak.
Upon arriving in Amsterdam I am met by Wim and Klara at the Airport as the driver takes my things, puts them in the limo, we get in and are shuttled away to Amsterdam Arena where the press have packed the place and are awaiting the announcement of who will become the next manager here at Ajax.
Steven ten Have:
“It is with great pleasure that we have come to an agreement with a very talented and young manager from the United States of America, Mr. Jeremiah Walsh. At this time if you would please direct all questions to Mr. Walsh and please, one at a time. Thank you.
Davy Bouy: (Sky Sports News)
“Good day Jeremiah, welcome to Holland. As Mr. ten Have has stated you are very young at 28 years of age with very little, almost no experience at any major level managing football, how nervous are you to be here and have been appointed to this job?”
Jeremiah Walsh:
“I am actually very relaxed right now, I’m not sure it has set in yet but I’m sure when it does there will be a few butterflies but I’m more excited and looking forward to the opportunity than anything. I am looking forward to getting to work on this upcoming season. Thanks for the question”
Ricardo de Kamp: (Eurosport)
“Hi, Jeremiah. As an English speaking manager will you find it hard to get on with your players and staff?”
Jeremiah Walsh:
“Thank you for the question Mr. de Kamp. I will need to get in some books and work a little with a translator to become fluent with the language. I do know the basics from when my father was stationed in Germany and I learned a little Dutch there so I will not be completely out of touch. In order for there to never be a communication barrier I will have to get with it pretty quickly”
Marco Klassenns: (Voetbal International)
“Jeremiah, can you give us any insight to which formations you prefer and what style of football you will be playing here at Ajax. As this is your first attempt at managing at this level, we would like to know what to expect”
Jeremiah Walsh:
“Thanks again for the question Mr. Klassenns. I am afraid you will have to wait like everyone else to see which formation and style of play we will be running. Football is to me about winning matches and winning matches only. We will have to figure out who our starting 11 is who out staff is going to be and mesh those 2 together to get the best possible results from our players and coaching staff. So, as much as the press and public want an answer I would be lying if I told you anything at this point. At this point I would like to thank everyone for coming out. Have a great evening”
As Dan and I arrive at the Amsterdam Airport Schiphol we are greeted by Wim van Kol who is head of public relations for AFC Ajax. We gather our belongings, hand them to the driver and get inside the limo and head off torward Amsterdam Arena. On the way there is a bunch of small talk going on but a million thought rushing through my head. I ask myself what in the **** am I doing here? Am I way out of my element? What if this is a waste of time? Who cares, it’s still worth it. Wim ask’s us how our flight was as he and Dan engage in conversation I am lost in thought about a ton of different things.
We arrive at Amsterdam Arena as Dan and I are let out of the Limo. Wim thanks us for coming and assures us that our belongings will be taken to the Hyatt Andaz Amsterdam Hotel. We are then met by a lovely lady by the name of Klara Beenhakker who leads us into Amsterdam Arena and up to the boardroom. Dan and I take a seat and wait for Mr. ten Have.
As we walk in there are 4 men standing in the room and they each introduce theirselves to Dan and I. The first gentleman I met was Frank Sneijder who is assistant director of football, next was director of football, Danny Blind, after him there was the managing director of Ajax, Jeroen Slop and last but not least Mr. Steven ten Have. Mr. ten Have tells us to “have a seat”. As we get started he thanks us for coming to Amsterdam and at this point I let him know … “The pleasure is all mine Mr. ten Have”. As the meeting goes on I field numerous questions from all 4 men but mostly from Danny Blind who is the director of football as he is interested in how I will handle football related issues. A couple hours in Mr. ten Have thanks us for coming out to Amsterdam and informs us that he will let us know of his decision within the next couple of day’s. He tells is to enjoy the rest of our stay and have a great evening. We walk out of the board room and Ms. Beenhakker walks us back outside where Mr. van Kol awaits us inside the limo. As we pull away he asks me how things went as I say “I don’t have a clue, I hope good, but I’m really not sure”. Dan of course strikes up conversation with Wim as we ride to the Hyatt where we will be staying tonight before heading back home tomorrow. As we arrive at the Hyatt we are walked in by Wim as he already checked us in and had a room waiting for us. Wim thanks us for coming and wishes us a safe trip back home. I am starving at this point so Dan and I walk into the restaurant at the Hyatt and sit down for dinner. After dinner, we get to our rooms and settle in for the evening before our trip back to the states tomorrow.
As I arrive at Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, NC I am awaited by my brother who has come to pick me up in Charlotte and drive me back to Greensboro, NC where I live. As I arrive home I lay down for a few hours as the past 48 hours has taken quite a toll on my body. I wake up to the sound of my phone going off as I hit the silent button, thinking “I’ll have to call them back” …. I lay in bed for a few minutes trying to wake up before picking my phone up and seeing I have a missed call from Dan. I call Dan and he is extatic, informing me “They want to offer you the position man, can you believe this ****?” I quickly ask “Are you ******* with me?” he says “I promise I would **** with you about something like this”. I sit there for a second and just start laughing with joy trying to figure out how in the **** I got this job. Dan tells me “they have called a press conference for Sunday evening and you have to be there for the press conference yourself”. I tell Dan “thanks and to make sure you gets me a **** good deal if you want to get paid”. He laughs and says “goodbye”. As I am packing my things for Amsterdam I am nervous, excited and happy as **** to somehow have gotten this job with no “real” managerial experience so to speak.
Upon arriving in Amsterdam I am met by Wim and Klara at the Airport as the driver takes my things, puts them in the limo, we get in and are shuttled away to Amsterdam Arena where the press have packed the place and are awaiting the announcement of who will become the next manager here at Ajax.
Steven ten Have:
“It is with great pleasure that we have come to an agreement with a very talented and young manager from the United States of America, Mr. Jeremiah Walsh. At this time if you would please direct all questions to Mr. Walsh and please, one at a time. Thank you.
Davy Bouy: (Sky Sports News)
“Good day Jeremiah, welcome to Holland. As Mr. ten Have has stated you are very young at 28 years of age with very little, almost no experience at any major level managing football, how nervous are you to be here and have been appointed to this job?”
Jeremiah Walsh:
“I am actually very relaxed right now, I’m not sure it has set in yet but I’m sure when it does there will be a few butterflies but I’m more excited and looking forward to the opportunity than anything. I am looking forward to getting to work on this upcoming season. Thanks for the question”
Ricardo de Kamp: (Eurosport)
“Hi, Jeremiah. As an English speaking manager will you find it hard to get on with your players and staff?”
Jeremiah Walsh:
“Thank you for the question Mr. de Kamp. I will need to get in some books and work a little with a translator to become fluent with the language. I do know the basics from when my father was stationed in Germany and I learned a little Dutch there so I will not be completely out of touch. In order for there to never be a communication barrier I will have to get with it pretty quickly”
Marco Klassenns: (Voetbal International)
“Jeremiah, can you give us any insight to which formations you prefer and what style of football you will be playing here at Ajax. As this is your first attempt at managing at this level, we would like to know what to expect”
Jeremiah Walsh:
“Thanks again for the question Mr. Klassenns. I am afraid you will have to wait like everyone else to see which formation and style of play we will be running. Football is to me about winning matches and winning matches only. We will have to figure out who our starting 11 is who out staff is going to be and mesh those 2 together to get the best possible results from our players and coaching staff. So, as much as the press and public want an answer I would be lying if I told you anything at this point. At this point I would like to thank everyone for coming out. Have a great evening”
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