Heart in Cruyff link
August 9, 2013
Michael Lynch
Barcelona, Ajax - and Melbourne Heart? Not names that are usually associated with each other.
But a flying visit to Australia by Heart's former coach John van 't Schip could see a link developed, at least tangentially, through the Cruyff Football coaching and academy program.
Van 't Schip left Heart after guiding the club to the finals in its second season to link up with his mentor Cruyff for a short-lived spell at Chivas Guadalajara in Mexico. He is due to land in Melbourne on Saturday.
The coach, a former Ajax and Holland national team star, has family in the city. But he is also planning to visit Heart to talk to his successor John Aloisi and to look at the potential to establish the Cruyff Football coaching set-up in Australia, with Heart acting as an A-League link.
''John will be dropping in to see how things are and to offer advice or bounce ideas off if needed,'' said Heart CEO Scott Munn.
''We have been talking to him about developing the player pathway in Australia and we will be talking about potential opportunities with Cruyff Football.''
Heart has always had a strong Dutch link courtesy of its founding coach and the club will look to Europe to fill one, if not both, of the two remaining foreign player spots on its roster for the 2013-14 season.
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/heart-in-cruyff-link-20130808-2rki3.html#ixzz2bhZ1tPHs