The Economics of Sport
  • Sports Economics
  • About
  • Workshop
  • Selected Publications
  • Book Reviews
  • A Primer on Gaelic Games
  • Upcoming Events
  • Media
  • Education
  • Resources & Links
  • Data

Age Is Just A Number

20/11/2015

 
Picture
By Ed Valentine

Vienna is not entirely typical of the sort of location a group of lads in their early 20s would choose to go for a few nights in the summer. Ajax, a team of young, inexperienced players contested the 1995 Champions League against the much older, sturdier and robust AC Milan. Despite losing twice to Ajax in the group stage the Rossoneri were of course going to win as the media at the time had constantly admonished that “experience counts for everything”. After 85 minutes of play a 19 year old Patrick Kluivert scored the game’s only goal and Louis Van Gaal’s men left The Earnst Happel Stadion with the Champions League trophy.

Though Kluivert was only 19 years old he was very much part of the furniture having signed with Ajax aged 8. Their squad that day contained 13 home grown players and the average age of the entire 16 man squad at recruitment was just about 17. With a group of nascent and unheard of players, some earning as little as £500 a week, the club had won Europe’s greatest prize with only two players over 25. Only Real Madrid in 2000 can claim to have won the trophy with as young a squad though the Ajax starting 11 had been with the club for an average of 8 years – a surely never to be repeated feat.

Johnny Giles was commentating on the game for RTE and quipped that Marco Simone, who was wearing all white boots with the all-white kit, “looks like he has just made his 1st Communion tonight”. Some of the Ajax players that night were young enough to probably still have their communion money.

Picture
Football has changed a lot since the standard definition days of the 1990s though analysing the data from this season (data based on the top 31 European Leagues) more closely we can see that Ajax are still true to their philosophy of producing young players who make it in 1st tier championships. The Amsterdam club however have not made it past the group stage of the Champions League since the 2005-06 season.

The table clearly demonstrates how the landscape for player recruitment has fundamentally changed. Many of the teams are from Eastern Europe and in some cases export 8 times as many of their cadets as they have playing in their own team.

In Eastern Europe a team can expect to give a debut* to about 1.43 players per team per season. In the top 5 leagues this figure is .68 debuts* (based on ave values over previous 3 seasons). It would appear that the major clubs are less willing to take a risk on new, unproven talent. So it would seem the days of younger squads lifting Europe’s elite prize mainly with players trained in house will be unlikely to happen again - unless Dinamo Minsk can mount a challenge.

* Debut refers to a players 1st ever professional appearance in a senior team as opposed to their 1st match for a new club
** Previous work on player age and recruitment can be read here


Comments are closed.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013

    About

    This website was founded in July 2013.

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    American Football
    Athletics
    Baseball
    Basketball
    Behavioural Economics
    Boxing
    Broadcasting
    Competitive Balance
    Cricket
    Cycling
    Darts
    David Butler
    Declan Jordan
    Drugs
    Ed Valentine
    Epl
    Esports
    Expenditure
    F1
    Fifa World Cup
    Finances
    Funding
    Gaa
    Gaelic Games
    Gambling
    Game Theory
    Gary Burns
    Geography
    Golf
    Greyhound Racing
    Guest Posts
    Horse Racing
    Impact Studies
    John Considine
    John Eakins
    League Of Ireland
    Location
    Media
    Mls
    Mma
    Olympics
    Participation
    Paul O'Sullivan
    Premier League
    Regulation
    Research
    Robbie Butler
    Rugby
    Simpsonomics
    Snooker
    Soccer
    Spatial Analysis
    Sporting Bodies
    Stephen Brosnan
    Swimming
    Taxation
    Teaching
    Technology
    Tennis
    Transfers
    Uefa
    Ufc
    World Cup
    Wwe

Related

The website is not formally affiliated to any institution and all of the entries represent the personal views and opinions of an individual contributor. The website operates on a not-for-profit basis. For this reason we decline all advertisement opportunities. 

Contact

To contact us email sportseconomics2013@gmail.com or find us on Twitter @SportEcon.