De Boer steered Ajax to four titles before the embarrassment of early dismissal at Inter Milan last year

It is the end of an eventful day for the new Crystal Palace manager Frank de Boer that started with training in Beckenham, where he casually juggled the ball to admiring glances. “Sometimes it is to show them I can still kick a ball,” the 47-year-old smiles.

As Wednesday afternoon melts into evening, De Boer gets ensconced with his squad at St George’s Park, their training retreat, before finding time to talk about his plans for Palace but first about his illustrious career. For Ajax, Barcelona and Holland, De Boer intercepted and kicked a ball with true elegance, and accuracy, launching passing moves, leading and marshalling defences over almost two decades, as well as swerving in free kicks.

He was demanding of his team-mates, constantly