Young Namibian making it big at Ajax 

A young Namibian footballer Gerald Alders (19) is fast making a name for himself in The Netherlands, where he has already represented his country of birth at youth level.

Alders, who has a Namibian mother and a Dutch father, was born in Amsterdam in 2005, and after being scouted by the famous Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam at the age of eight, made a steady rise through their ranks.

He went on to represent Ajax at each age group level, from u9s through to u19s and two years ago made his debut for The Netherlands u18 team.

Last year, he also represented The Netherlands u19 on three occasions, and this year he broke into the senior Jong Ajax or Ajax II team, which competes in the Dutch Eerste Divisie and is basically the reserve team of their professional side, Ajax Amsterdam.

As a versatile defender who can play right or left back, or as a holding midfielder, Alders has become an integral part of the team, representing them in all their matches so far this season.

Having signed a three-year contract with Ajax Amsterdam last year, Alders has become hot property, and with his Namibian roots he is also eligible to play for the Brave Warriors.

Namibian Sport caught up with Alders in a zoom call this week.

Tell us about your Namibian background?

My mom is Namibian, she grew up in Ongwediva, so yes, I have a Namibian background. I have visited Namibia about 10 times and I have a lot of family there who support me – I get a lot of messages from them so that’s really cool. Namibia is an amazing country and I’ve travelled there a lot, from Sossusvlei and Walvis Bay to northern Namibia, so I’ve seen a lot and I can’t wait to go there again.

How did your football career develop with Ajax?

I was playing for an amateur club, Sporting Martinez in Amstelveen, which is just outside Amsterdam. When I was about eight years old I was scouted by Ajax and invited for trials, and luckily I passed them. Since then, I have represented Ajax at each age group level from about u9 to u19 level. Now I’ve made it into the Young Ajax under 23 team so I’m very glad that I got so far. Each year I had to do well enough to go to the next level and initially, it was quite tough because you got told the truth – and some harsh things. So there have been some disappointments, but that’s how it goes in the football world. Over the years you learn how to deal with it.

In 2022 you were called up to The Netherlands u18 team for the first time, while you played for the u19 national side three times last year. How was the experience?

My debut was against the United Arab Emirates in Dubai and it was an amazing feeling, especially because at that age and I wasn’t even among the biggest talents at our youth academy, so I did not expect it. But I worked very hard to get there and then last year, I played three more matches for the u19s against Switzerland, Australia and Luxembourg.

This season you broke into the Jong Ajax team. How has that been going?

I think I’m doing okay. I got the most minutes of the team, so that’s quite a compliment. And now we are playing against older players for the first time, so we are experiencing the real tough world of football. It’s more physical but more tactical, because we are a younger group, so we need to play better football than them. You are not going to win through long balls because the opponents are more physical, so it’s tougher and you lose more matches, but I like it because it’s more of a challenge. If you want to make it to the first team, you need to get used to that physicality.

What are your ambitions – do you want to play for Ajax or further abroad?

For now, I really want to make my debut for Ajax’s first team. I’ve worked 10 years to get to this position and now there’s only one team left to go, so it would be amazing to make Ajax’s first team. Maybe it will be this season, maybe next, or maybe I won’t make it, but I will do the best I can to make it possible.

Would you be available to play for Namibia in the future?

I’ve been asked this question a lot, but I’m keeping my options open because I don’t know if The Netherlands want to select me again in future, so at this stage I’m just keeping my options open. For now, I’m just focussed on Ajax and making my debut for them – I think that’s the most important thing for now.

Has anyone from the Namibia Football Association contacted you?

Not me directly, but my mom got a call. But I think she’s keeping that a bit under wraps, so that I can just focus on my Ajax career for now, and after that we’ll see how things go.

Have you been following the Brave Warriors and do you know the players?

I know Deon Hotto, and I followed them at the Africa Nations Cup in the Ivory Coast. Their victory against Tunisia was amazing and obviously with my mom and my family supporting them as well, it was great to see not only The Netherlands, but also Namibia doing well.

Do you follow the English Premier League and which club do you support there?

Yeah I follow it, but I don’t have a specific club that I really like. It’s more about who plays good football and I think this season, Arne Slott is doing a great job at Liverpool. Obviously, it’s a dream to play there, but I’m first focussing on Ajax and if I ever do go to the English Premier League, it will be a dream come true.