Dutch coach Andries Ulderink reflected on his time at the now-defunct Ajax Cape Town, recalling the moments when he saw a 15-year-old Asanele Velebayi. The winger, who now plays for Kaizer Chiefs, was developed at the now-defunct Ajax.
Ulderink, who recently resumed his role as director of football at Cape Town City FC, has shared his initial impressions and observations of young Velebayi.
“What I liked about that first period was that I saw in that period, and I see it now again, that there’s a lot of youth potential in South Africa,” he told FARPost. “And I remember working with a player like Asanele Velebayi, who was really young at that time, but already 15, 16, starting training with the first team and later on already playing games for the first team…”
Ulderink believes South African players are motivated by a strong desire for professional development. He is dedicated to using football as a tool to help young people address societal issues and create better futures.
WHY ULDERINK PREFERRED PLAYERS LIKE ASANELE VELEBAYI
The Dutchman explained that his philosophy has always centred around technical ability, something Velebayi had in abundance.
“If you want to play a dominant kind of football and you have a defender or a goalkeeper who’s not so good with the ball at his feet, the opponent presses a little bit, and you can make mistakes, or you need to kick the ball long. I like to have the option where you can do both.”
“I prefer technical ability. And when you look at Asanele, his technical ability was really high,” he added.
He revealed that, besides the “good technical skills”, the Cape Town-born winger could scan well and was aware of his surroundings when playing. “And that’s what I saw a lot with Asanele. But not only the technical [ability], but also his ambition to become a better player in all aspects of football. That really triggered me to help develop him. But I’m using him as an example. There were more of those players at that time.”
While he tried to follow the 23-year-old’s progress, he admits it was difficult, especially when he played in the Motsepe Foundation Championship. But the former Bayer Leverkusen assistant coach is happy “to see that he’s knocking on the door again” at Amakhosi.
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