I like to see the sights but London is so big, even Amsterdam is big for me.”He leaves with the complaint “the houses are so expensive round here”. The afternoon is to be spent house-hunting in the local villages. Rumours that he is a playboy appear unfounded as he says: “I come from a small village and prefer to live in the country. There is also the Coca-Cola and, yes, Europe, but it is not the Champions’ League.”That last line gives away the standards this small, neat and composed man is used to. When I was 18, Willem bought me for a lot of money, it was not a problem for me Nor when Ajax bought me.”I want to win prizes I am used to doing that every year I am 24 and young and hungry. “I don’t feel under pressure because I expect things from myself also.

He never missed anything in training.”But there were times when there were too many orders. After a while you wanted to do some things by instinct not the system.”And so to a Highbury great with expectation. The quality of him was that he could see what you were doing wrong and get you training on it.”He was my trainer for five years He bought me and improved me a lot He demands a lot but you have to admire his energy Every day he was sharp. From player No 1 to No 20 he gives everyone the same time, the same feeling that he is important.

“There were many times we were meeting after the game on a Monday when he got so angry his face went red But he is so good as a coach. Personally, I was never afraid I would not recover, it was simply a matter of time. I tried to get back for Euro ‘96 but it was impossible.”While it was not nice, I learned from the experience. Not playing for six to eight months makes you much hungrier when you start again You need the bad times to appreciate the good. That pace is a big component of his game and there were naturally fears that he would lose it when he suffered a serious knee injury early last year.”I have done tests since and I am just as fast as before.