"There are players Ajax bought for too much money who think they're the tops, yet I've had to show them the most elementary things. You must ask what the trainers have done with these players for the last couple of years."
"Rijkaard is an introvert, Gullit is extrovert, but I really hope he can go far because he has qualities. He's at least at the same level. I think Rijkaard can be even better then Gullit. Rijkaard is tactically more advanced and more disciplined. Technically they're the same. They're both reasonable."
- Not good?
"No. Reasonable to good. Look, when I say reasonable, I mean compared to the highest level.... I think Rijkaard can do much more. Because he's still not convinced about his potential, he's easily satisfied. Frankie is now becoming professional. Everyone sees him as an experienced professional because he's played for four years, but he's only 24."
"One of the nicest developments has been Frank Rijkaard. You could say I had a tough confrontation with him. But when you see how he's playing with AC Milan: the intuition, the professional attitude, I think it's beautiful. How he got this far doesn't matter. He has reached the level he was capable of reaching."
"Again, Rijkaard is the best example. At one time we had to use Wim Jansen to keep him awake, to make sure he was always working. Some people need to be hit once to understand. That's all. Then they're there, because that little bit of extra quality they have immediately takes them to the top. But some of them won't make it to the top. That's a pity. You analyze and analyze. You go through all the details and then you look at where someone's potential really does lie."
"To begin with, I do think there are small, weak teams you have to play against. I know it's fashionable to say countries like Luxembourg and Cyprus aren't small anymore, but that's nonsense." (They are not at the same level.)
"They're not. Let's say Koeman doesn't stay. I have the whole world to choose from. Firstly, his replacement must have something exceptional, as Koeman does. But he also has to be able to cope with pressure, he has to have something. Here you not only have to play football well, you have to be hard and mean. Playing in Spain is different from playing a couple of times with a Dutch club against a Spanish club. Look at Richard Witschge: being a good player is not enough."
"Of course there is space for the exceptional. But you have to see it first. That's one thing. So you have to see it, and then you have to give it room to develop. And then let a player develop so that he discovers himself. Because people like Roy, Van Basten or Witschge, have to develop through shame and getting things wrong. We use to have those boys play two teams higher than their age level and we put them ahead of other players on purpose. At the higher level they got kicked so hard that they really understood. I believe in a very hard school.Then you get to the next stage: turning playing football into the mentality of winning. Then you see that alot of players fall by the wayside. Why? Because few people have taught them how they could bring higher returns on their qualities. Quality football is one thing, but how do you get the maximum return on that quality? Because that's what it's all about in football. If someone has a lower return then he should, it can only be for two reasons. Either he's not good enough or he's not looking for the position where his return can be maximized."
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