PSV wipe the floor with Ajax

BBC Sport Online's Nada Grkinic takes a look at the unthinkable in Dutch football - no Ajax players in the national squad.

Who would have thought that a club which has produced such world-class footballers as Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard would fail to find themselves represented at national level?

Well that is the reality for Ajax, who have hit a hiatus in terms of supplying Dutch players good enough to be selected to wear the famous Orange shirt.

Once the masters of total football and a constant source of excellent young players, the Amsterdam club were completely overlooked by Louis van Gaal for the friendly against England.

And for the Dutch coach, who knows what Ajax embodies better than most having led a youthful side featuring Patrick Kluivert, Marc Overmars and Edgar Davids to European glory in 1995, to snub his former club suggests all is not well.

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Ajax's total omission from the national team is a painful blow for a proud club.

But to suffer the ignomy of having fierce rivals PSV Eindhoven pack out the squad makes the blow a thousand times worse.

No-one is questioning that Ajax's football academy - a production line of prodigious teenage talent - remains the envy of Europe.

Yet they have fallen behind PSV in terms of dominating the national team and exporting their best players to Italy, Spain and England.

PSV have well and truly taken over that mantle.

Mark van Bommel and Ruud van Nistelrooy were both on target for Holland in their 2-0 win over England at White Hart Lane.

The former is a PSV man and the latter has just left the Eindhoven club to join Manchester United.

Drastic action

So where have Ajax - known for producing players of flair, versatility and vision - gone wrong?

To begin with, if you cast an eye over their current squad, the first thing that is strikingly unusual is the number of foreign players.

Ajax sides of old would boast the odd Brazilian or Nigerian whose individual brilliance would be harnessed seamlessly with the skill of home-grown talent.

But circumstances have forced them to break with tradition and sign established internationals from outside Holland in a bid to revive their fortunes.

There was the 1990s exodus of many of the club's star names, who took with them a football education second to none.

Former PSV man van Nistelrooy is a class act

And the ramifications of the Bosman ruling have hit Ajax particularly hard at a time when they have been struggling to repeat their former glories.

PSV, meanwhile, have crept quietly to the fore of Dutch football, using their considerable financial muscle to gain a stranglehold on proceedings.

The likes of Wim Jonk, Phillip Cocu, Arthur Numan, Jaap Stam and Boudwijn Zenden have been succeeded at PSV by a crop of players who have shown - by their international call-ups - that they are more than up to the task.

While Ajax will undoubtedly be keen to redress the balance, domestically and internationally, they may face a long wait unless they make a drastic return to their roots.

Emphasis must once again be placed on nurturing young talent but also giving young home-grown players first-team opportunities.

And this ultimately means Ajax's quest for success will have to be sacrificed to allow any potential Oranges to blossom.