Martin Ødegaard had just turned 14 when Kjetil Osvold recommended him to Ajax. A long process started to lure Ødegaard to the talent factory. Johan Cruyff was ready. Then it went wrong.
Ødegaard had just turned 14 - and it was still 15 months before he was to make his debut for Strømsgodset in Eliteserien.
But Ajax's Norwegian scout was not in doubt and recommended Ødegaard immediately to the Dutch big club, who really liked what they saw. The 14-year-old from Norway appeared as a typical Ajax player.
- I started to follow Martin Ødegaard in the winter of 2013. He was 14 years old. After just one or two games I told Ajax that here we have one that fits. I was convinced right away, says Ajax-scout Kjetil Osvold to Dagbladet.
- Not everyone is defined as Ajax players, even if you are a huge talent. Ajax looks for a particular type of player. Martin is such a type.
Osvold saw the contours of a new Scandinavian major player in the Ajax ranks in the then 14-year-old Martin Ødegaard. But a transfer could not be arranged before the Norwegian turned 16, as the rules state.
- Eventually several international clubs arrived, but Ajax was the first of the big ones. I had the main responsibility for following up Martin and his father, Hans Erik. I saw Martin play many times, but talked mostly to his father. Then I had contact with Ajax all the time, says Osvold to Dagbladet.
Jasper Van Leeuwen, who was a youth scout in Ajax at the time, was connected to Ajax's Ødegaard project. Van Leeuwen started the process of building a relationship with the Norwegian and getting him ready to come to the club at the age of 16.
Johan Cruyff was ready
Then it took off completely around Ødegaard the following year, when the prodigy child, 15-year-old, broke through and began to ravage in Eliteserien. Shortly afterwards, he was on the A-national team as the youngest player of all time in an European Championship qualifier.
Then more and more clubs were coming around the track for the most sought after talent at the time. Ajax got competition from all the biggest football clubs in Europe.
- Wim Jonk (Academy Manager) and I went to Norway to talk to Ødegaard's father. It was a very good conversation. We clicked well and got a nice relationship. We even stood ready to engage Johan Cruyff to lure Martin to Ajax. If we needed a little extra persuasion, we would summon Johan Cruyff, says Van Leeuwen.
- The positive conversation in Norway should have been followed up with a visit to Ajax for Martin. But it never happened. We tried to find a suitable date, but it was difficult to get to. Martin had a very busy calendar. Team Ødegaard looked at us as an interesting alternative, but we never got him visiting here, because of all the giant clubs that wanted him.
Ronaldo and Zidane ruined the plan
Osvold, Jonk and Van Leeuwen all had a good dialogue with father Ødegaard. But when Zinédine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo turned on the charm, it became more difficult.
- Martin then went on a visit to Real Madrid instead. There were Zinédine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo ready to greet him before they made a massive offer. When a club like Real Madrid puts so much effort in a player, it becomes very tempting for him and difficult for us, says Ajax scout Van Leeuwen.
- That said, Ødegaard's father handled the situation with us very well. He gave us honest answers to what they were thinking and that they received a very good offer from Real Madrid, which they wanted to accept.
Osvold thinks Ajax did what they could.
- Practically, very little can be done before a player is 16 years old. You can invite them to training sessions and build a relationship and trust, to increase the chance of getting the player over when he is 16.
Ødegaard still gives headaches
Van Leeuwen says that it is still pains that Ajax missed out on Ødegaard.
- When I think back on this, it gives me headaches again. Ødegaard was really a special case. He was a real alternative for the first team already then, 16 years old as he would have been after a possible transition to us. The potential was huge. That said, if we do not tolerate disappointments, we cannot work as a football scout, he points out.
Now, however, the Norwegian 20-year-old could finally end up at Ajax, six years after he ended up on the wish list. A two-year loan agreement from Real Madrid is mentioned by several major media in the Netherlands and Spain as a top-level alternative.
However, Osvold doubts that a loan agreement will be the solution.
- Ajax will not develop players for other clubs. Paying a high rent sum for Martin and that Real Madrid can get him back is unthinkable. They will not develop players for other clubs without getting their fair share.
- The choice for Martin now is incredibly important. You may well say that he should go to a better league than the Netherlands for better matching, but then there must be a club that plays football that suits him. There is no point going to a middle or bottom club in the Bundesliga where he does not get to use his qualities. In Ajax he can further develop the offensive qualities and not least the qualities of the recycling phase. Martin must be very careful about his choice now, he believes.
Ajax has a huge device to find, attract and develop great talents.
- How many talent scouts are in the Ajax system?
- There are many, but there are some things I am not allowed to answer directly. In the Netherlands and down in all age groups, they have a lot of leisure scouts - and some full-time scouts in and outside the Netherlands. That's what I can say.
