Steijn: 'I really want to play attacking football'

"Maurice Steijn, head coach of Ajax. That sounds very nice." A big smile appears on the face of the 49-year-old coach. The former Sparta coach was presented on Wednesday as the successor of John Heitinga. Steijn feels proud that Ajax has chosen him. "When the club selects you after several discussions and sees you as the right person, of course, you are very happy."

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The fresh coach explains how the past few weeks have been since Ajax contacted him. "At the moment that Ajax calls, at first it's a surprise. Beyond that, I mostly thought it was great that I was one of the candidates."

The forty-year-old says he was approached about five weeks ago. After that, he entered discussions with Jan van Halst, Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Edwin van der Sar and Sven Mislintat. "Last week, we finally reached an agreement. I was very happy. When the club chooses you after several discussions, of course you're very happy."

Dutch school
Now that he's a member of Ajax, Steijn wants to do everything to achieve success with the club. "That means working hard together; with players and staff, the whole club. For Ajax, that is also part of the way we play football. That means attractive play combined with results."

The trainer says that the club's vision is a good fit for him. Before Ajax, Steijn mostly trained smaller clubs. "There, I always tried to play attacking football from the Dutch school: 4-3-3. At VVV-Venlo for example, I became champion in the Eerste Divisie with a record number of goals."

"I really want to play attacking football," the Ajax coach continues. "Football was made to give the crowd an enjoyable afternoon. Ultimately, it's also about winning. I'm always looking for that combination."

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