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WELKOM FRANK

Frank de Boer’s story, style and chance for glory. All in his own words

By Atlanta United FC

January 16^th, 2019

It’s quiet in the coach’s locker room at the Atlanta United training ground. Just outside, the local media is huddled together, with the clang of metal on metal bouncing down the halls as cameras snap onto tripods and reporters whisper into their microphones. Frank de Boer is sliding on his fitted suit jacket – nice, but not flashy– and has an unmistakable air of calm. As he walks out to the bright lights to meet Atlanta media for the first time, he knows his entire life has prepared him for this.

“I’m very excited to be here,” he begins, as the microphone bounces his words around the room, starting a new chapter for Atlanta United and Frank himself.

Like many Dutch families, Frank could kick a soccer ball before he could walk. But Frank’s family was special, even if he didn’t know it yet.

“One of my first memories was my father behind one of those old video cameras, the big old boxy ones, I had my first game as an amateur player when I was 7 years old with my twin brother Ronald. I sat on his bike on the handlebars to get to the game. I just remember it being an amazing experience to finally play an official game. We won 10-0. I scored five and my brother scored five. It was our first game, so it was a pretty good start.”

De Boer tends to understate. His calm demeanor can make a ten-goal debut with your twin brother seem like nothing at all. But what Frank didn’t know at the time was his life was about to change forever.

“When we were 12, we were selected to represent our regions. The comparison would be like the state of Georgia, only we were from North Holland, and we played against Amsterdam. Of course you play against Ajax players, and we won, I believe, 3-0. Scouts were there, and there were rumors that the twin brothers could be of interest to Ajax.”

But it wasn’t that simple. Frank's father worked in construction about an hour outside of Amsterdam, where Ajax plays. His parents were willing to drive him there and back every day, but the gas added up. He needed a scholarship, and to get it, he needed the approval of one of the icons of the game.

“[Ajax] said no at first,” he laughs. “Then AZ Alkmaar started their own academy and they were afraid we’d go there because my father played there when he was young. So, one of the Ajax assistant coaches went to Johan Cruyff, who asked if we were any good. The scouts said yes, and the rest is history.”

For a Dutch soccer player, getting the seal of approval from Johan Cruyff is like Michael Jordan complimenting your dunking style, so he had confidence coming in. But as he joined the top team in the Netherlands and realized he could compete, he started to dream of a pro career.

“When you realize you’re as good or better than your teammates at Ajax and they’re the top of Holland, then you think yes this is what I want. By the time I was 14 I had my career already planned. By 18 I wanted to sign my first pro contract, and from there everything pretty much went as I expected it to go. When you’re 7 years old, every boy is dreaming of that, but really seriously thinking by 14 I was spending 95% of my time in Amsterdam. So for me it was a normal process.”

“A normal process.” Another casual understatement for a man who went on to become a legend. De Boer turned into one of the premier defenders of his generation, matching a hardnose defensive style with a silky passing touch. He played alongside his twin brother and won a Champions League title with Ajax. He'd move to Barcelona and win the Spanish league at one of the most iconic clubs in the world while representing a powerhouse Netherlands team more than a hundred times. After he hung up the cleats and moved into management, it was those years at Ajax that molded him the most.

“I played for four years in the Ajax Academy, then ten and a half more as a professional in the first team. So that’s almost 15 years under one philosophy, so it has to develop you of course. I always tried to solve problems in my kind of style. But playing for Ajax is about trying to play as attractively as possible, and to dominate.”

“Dominate.” It’s the word Frank goes to most when talking about that Ajax ethos, the tactical philosophy that made him into the soccer mind he is today.

“You want to dominate the game at all times,” he says, mapping out a makeshift miniature formation on his lap. “You can obviously dominate with the ball, but also when you don’t have the ball. There’s something called 'the four second rule,' where you want to win the ball as quickly as possible back after losing possession. You play mostly in the half of the opponent. This is the style that we used to play with Ajax, because we were the best team then and other teams allowed you to do that in order to try to use the counterattack against you. But dominating the game is the most important part.”

That “dominant” style of play made De Boer an instant success in his transition from the pitch to the touchline. He led Ajax to four straight Dutch titles, the best run in the team’s history. That caught the eye of Italian giants Inter Milan, and later, Crystal Palace in the Premier League. Those stints were famously not as successful, but it taught him the most about himself, as a manager and a person, and put a chip on his shoulder.

“The five and a half years as the Ajax head coach cost me less energy than the eight months between Inter and Crystal Palace. I started getting gray hairs,” he says. “If you want to change structure at a club like that, it takes time, and I didn’t get the time. But it was a good learning experience. I’m a better person now and a better manager now than I was one or two years ago because of it. There’s a little bit of redemption, absolutely. For me it’s so much easier now I can focus on the first team. That’s what I’m really looking forward to, getting to focus on the things I’m good at.”

It’s a similar message to the one his predecessor, Tata Martino, repeated upon his arrival in Atlanta: the desire to get out of the bureaucracy of soccer and get back out on the field, focusing on the coaching. And it’s ultimately what brought him to ATL UTD.

De Boer says he’s been following MLS for years now, calling it a rising star among the leagues. So when he found out Atlanta United had reached out regarding their vacant head coaching position, he was intrigued right away.

“Atlanta United was one of the clubs that had the structure that really stood out to me from the other clubs. After the club reached out to my agent, I looked into it a lot more closely and I said, ‘wow, this is really a big club.’ Everything seemed to fit me perfectly. The quality of MLS is rising every year, and I wanted to be part of that. So I was excited to talk to them then and I’m excited to be here now.”

He says he heard about the team’s success on the field, and the beautiful stadium they played in. But what made Atlanta United stand above the rest of was the incredible, record-breaking support they’ve gotten from fans in their first two seasons.

“I love it, because in the end we do this for the fans,” he says. From what I’ve seen they really are the twelfth man behind the team, and I’m really looking forward to playing our first game in front of our fans. Atlanta is a fantastic city, all cultures are here. From what I’ve seen so far I’m very happy I chose this city and I’m very happy to be here.”

Coming from the fertile soccer soil in the Netherlands, he arrives at a new hotbed in the South to try and build an epicenter for the beautiful game. And part of that is nurturing the young talent already here. De Boer says he believes that’s one of the primary reasons he was brought on.

“The relationship I had with the Ajax Academy, they want me to have that here,” he says. “I won’t hesitate when I can let a young player debut because I think he’s up for it. When you’re young and you’re ready, I’m not hesitating to put you in the first team. In the end you need to see the perspective of the player. You need minutes to really know the player when he comes to the first team, but also he needs minutes to get that experience. So I will give them that when they’re ready.”

But in the end, success or failure is determined on the field with the first team. So now De Boer begins his new life in a city thousands of miles away from where he learned the game, and with his biggest challenge yet. But he has respect of what came before him, and wants to honor that.

“We want to go as far as possible in the Concacaf Champions League, but overall I want to continue what Tata started,” he says. “After two years he won MLS Cup. You have to be very humble toward him because that’s not an easy thing. I will not try to change everything because what’s good is good.”

And with a renewed motivation and a chip on his shoulder, he says he’s ready to put in the work to make sure Atlanta United reaches the next level.

“I can promise the fans I’ll be giving 100% every day for Atlanta to get better and better, to be the best club in the United States and become a respected club all over the world. That’s what I want, that’s my goal.”

A goal that started in the Netherlands long ago now reaches a new chapter in Atlanta. It was a long winding road, but as he walked out into the spotlight of awaiting media for the first time, he finds a shot at redemption, and a new chance at glory.

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