“I promised John van den Brom that position,” said Van Gaal. “I couldn’t just put Rijkaard on 4 without giving Van den Brom a chance. I also told Frank that. He started as a right half and I first gave Van den Brom a chance.”
In the end, Rijkaard quickly removed the doubts, he replaced Van den Brom as number 4 and everything fell into place at Ajax. “The Litmanen substitute for Bergkamp, no matter how good Bergkamp was, and Rijkaard for Jonk, made a difference in the balance sheet and made us unbeatable,” said Van Gaal.
‘Then Rijkaard spoke up’
According to Danny Blind, the 1994/1995 Ajax was a good mix of talent, players with a football age of 25 years old and good, targeted purchases. “And Rijkaard was the icing on the cake,” Blind said Studio Sport.
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