After our goodbyes beside the Cruyff mural out in the drizzle on the stadium concourse, he is accosted by a boy with a bright red Ajax rucksack and ball. He has meetings to go to and a sore hip that is legacy of his 20-year playing career, but Edwin Van der Sar cannot resist. The last glimpse is of the pair playing keepy-ups; Edwin in his jeans, shoes and sensible knitwear. The perfect image of the footballer-CEO. And football knowhow, coursing from the very top, is what has Ajax back in Europe’s elite.

In April 2015, Van der Sar outlined to The Sunday Times a vision for Ajax to “have an impact on European football again”, promising that a new crop of talents had “tremendous