Cape Town - Perhaps, as Capetonians, as South Africans, we aren’t always fully aware that a football great walks among us. Yet he’s gone about his business quietly, methodically and efficiently, very quickly whipping Ajax Cape Town into shape and turning the club’s fortunes around in spectacular fashion.
Meet Stanley Menzo, former Ajax Amsterdam and Netherlands goalkeeper, now the head coach of Mother City PSL club, Ajax. Spoken of with great respect in world football, as a player the 53-year-old achieved great success in his career and, during that time, he had the privilege of playing alongside some of the most prominent football names in the world.
Make no mistake, Menzo is not just another overseas coach - he’s a legend. And he’s permeating the Ajax squad with all his vast international experience and the wealth of information and knowledge accumulated over many years at the highest level of world football.
Born in Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname, Menzo is one of the many Dutch footballers to have originated from this small country, once a Dutch colony, on the north-eastern coast of South America. Other top names born in Suriname include Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Aron Winter and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
“When I was six years old, we left to stay in Holland,” said Menzo. “I learnt my football, playing on the streets. Initially, I wasn’t a goalkeeper, I was an in-field player too, but when we played for a team I was always the goalkeeper. I was scouted by Ajax Amsterdam when I was 12 while playing for an amateur team called Zeeburgia, but my parents did not allow me to go. They wanted me to finish my schooling first. When I was 16, I was scouted again and this time I went. I started in the Under-19s and then worked my way into the Ajax Amsterdam first team.”
It was, in fact, the great Johan Cruyff who was in charge of Ajax Amsterdam at the time - and it was he, probably one of best footballers ever, who gave Menzo his break in the senior side. The keeper would go on to be Ajax Amsterdam’s first-choice for a number of years and rake in a host of titles and trophies with the successful Dutch club, including the 1986-87 Uefa Cup Winners’ Cup and the 1991-92 Uefa Cup.
And, after that, when Menzo eventually lost his place in the Ajax Amsterdam starting team, it was to another legendary goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar.
Internationally, Menzo was a member of the Dutch national team for 1990 World Cup and Euro 1992, where he was the third-choice goalkeeper.
“Back when I first came to Ajax Amsterdam as a teenager, I arrived at the same time as Marco van Basten,” said Menzo. “We would go on to play together and achieve great things at the club, along with players like Frank Rijkaard, Jan Wouters, Ronald Koeman and Gerald Vanenburg.
“In the Netherlands national team, Rinus Michels was the coach when I was first selected - and I made my debut in a friendly in 1989.”
Michels, of course, is the legendary Dutch coach who is credited with introducing the concept known as “Total Football”, the famed Dutch style which eschews the usual, rigid positional on-field approach to football.
Van Basten is famous for one of the best goals ever scored - during the 1988 Euro final for the Netherlands, of which Menzo was a squad member - when he struck a thunderous volley from an almost impossible angle.
Other top names Menzo has played alongside include Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp and Ruud Gullit. Bergkamp, in fact, was just a youngster when he first came into the Ajax Amsterdam senior squad when Menzo was already an established star.
“When he came in, we could see at training that he (Bergkamp) was something special,” said Menzo. “And he made rapid progress to realise his full potential as a player.”
After losing his place to Van der Sar, Menzo then moved on to play for PSV Eindhoven, Lierse in Belgium, Bordeaux in France before returning to his beloved Ajax Amsterdam, where he ended his career.
Having moved on to coaching, after successfully completing the EUFA Pro Licence, it was in 2004 that Menzo’s big mate Van Basten, then Netherlands national coach, asked him to be the goalkeeper-coach. He accepted and he was in the role for the Netherlands’ 2006 World Cup campaign.
After that, he coached at Dutch clubs Volendam, Cambuur and Vitesse Arnhem (as an assistant coach).
“The opportunity to come to Cape Town first came in 2011,” said Menzo. “But, at that time, I was working at Vitesse and they did not want to let me go. Then, earlier this year, Van der Sar (now the general director at Ajax Amsterdam) asked me if I wanted to go to Cape Town. I accepted and arrived as the club’s Head of Youth in April.
“After Roger de Sa left, I was asked to step into the position as head coach and I was happy to help. The first thing I felt I needed to do was improve the discipline in the team, especially from a tactical point of view.
“In the PSL, I think the speed is higher and the spaces are a lot tighter. In Europe, players are technically better and physically stronger.”
When Menzo stepped into the hot seat at Ajax on 28 October, Ajax were second-last on the PSL standings, with two points. They hadn’t won a game as yet and things were looking really bleak.
Two months later, and Ajax are in a more secure ninth spot on the log, with 18 points. They have put together a superb run under the former Dutch football great, winning five of their last six games. The Menzo magic has certainly worked like a charm.