Pachuca - like Ajax - is known for training talent. The club has one of the largest youth academies in Mexico and, as a result, produces many players for the national youth teams. The Mexican club became national champions six times, won the CONCACAF Champions League five times and was the only Mexican club ever to manage to win the South American equivalent of the Europa League, the CONMEBOL Sudamericana.
The point of working together is to share knowledge with Pachuca about how to train talent. Ajax will assist with training the coaches, so they get to exercise some influence over young player development at Pachuca. This might lead one day to the top talent moving to Ajax. Joint activities have also been agreed, such as arranging friendly games.
Armando Martinez, President of CF Pachuca, is thrilled with the partnership. "Here at this club we often work with self-trained players. Currently, 70% of our first team is made up of lads who came through from our own academy. We are very proud of the partnership we enjoy with the finest youth academy in Europe."
Huntelaar agrees with Martinez's words. "You can see we think alike. Being Ajax, we can share a lot of information about how to train talent. It is very important to us to be aware of what is happening on a different continent in terms of talent."
