Toby Alderweireld, the recently retired Belgian defender, has revealed a surprising desire to return to Ajax, the club where he honed his skills. In a candid interview on the Amsterdam team’s podcast, 14 minutes with…, alderweireld reflected warmly on his formative years at the Johan Cruijff Arena, a period that profoundly shaped his career.
Alderweireld joined Ajax’s esteemed youth academy at the age of fifteen in 2004. Nine years later, after making 186 appearances for the senior team, he transferred to Atlético Madrid for a reported seven million euros. “I wasn’t ready for Ajax at all when I joined the club,” Alderweireld admitted. “I wasn’t an ‘Ajax boy’ at all, adn the level of football was seven times higher then I was used to. But Ajax and Amsterdam made me, and I’m still reaping the benefits of that today.”
He elaborated on the lasting impact of his time in Amsterdam, stating, “Now, when I’m in a challenging situation, I think: If I could do it in Ajax’s youth academy, I can do this too.” Alderweireld found Amsterdam and the Netherlands to be a “great fun” experience,emphasizing the valuable life lesson of perseverance. “Don’t give up, despite the homesickness and the toughness of Amsterdammers. Becuase I persevered, achieved Ajax’s first team, and became champion, I feel like I can handle anything in the world.I complained a lot about Ajax and that I wanted to return to Antwerp, but afterwards, I am grateful that I stayed at Ajax. It’s the best life lesson I could have had.”
alderweireld clearly felt at home at Ajax after overcoming his initial challenges. He expressed contentment with his situation there, even if a move abroad hadn’t materialized. “If I couldn’t make a move to a foreign club and had to stay at Ajax for various reasons… I was really happy at Ajax, it was the ideal picture: we became champions three times in a row (eventually four times) and won the cup and the Johan Cruijff Scale. In my time, we won everything there was to win.”
“I Made an Effort to return”
Despite ultimately playing for prominent clubs like Atlético Madrid,Southampton,Tottenham Hotspur,Al-Duhail,and Royal Antwerp,Alderweireld harbored hopes of a return to the Johan Cruijff Arena. “When I played at Tottenham, I tried to return to Ajax,” he revealed. “I then inquired whether there was a possibility to come back. My second child had just been born, and I wanted to be closer to Antwerp. Sadly,it did not happen. We did make the effort.”
