“You have to be authentic,” Pascal Jansen says. The AZ Alkmaar manager is thinking about how to lead. There is, he says, no point in putting on a face. The Dutchman has spent years doing things his way since a knee injury ended his hopes of becoming a professional player when he was 17.
He began jotting his ideas about football down in a book and he had big dreams. He wrote about wanting to pass his Uefa pro licence before his 35th birthday – mission accomplished – and his ambition was limitless, his determination to manage in the Premier League a sign this was going to be no ordinary journey.
The fascination with English football is no surprise. Jansen was born in London and his grandparents lived in Aylesbury. The 50-year-old grew up in the Netherlands, but he speaks of “coming home” when he is in the UK and he is looking forward to taking his young AZ side to West Ham for the first leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final on Thursday evening.
“I spent major parts of my youth in Aylesbury,” he says. “I haven’t seen one of my dear friends from the time for over 40 years and we’re back in contact since last year. He’s coming to the game with his family and brother. Those are the joyful things of coming back.”
The connection is down to Jansen’s mother, Sue Chaloner, who was one half of Spooky and Sue, a British-Dutch pop duo who had three top-10 hits in the Netherlands in the 70s. She had moved to Amsterdam for work but she was born in London and wanted the same for her son. Jansen understands why there is intrigue about his pop star mum. “She’s 70 and enjoying life,” he says. “She has her own school. She teaches drama, dance and singing. She follows my career. She tells me to follow my dreams and be very passionate. And enjoy it.”
Enjoyment is key. Jansen says there has never been a day when he has not loved working in football. “When one door closes another opens,” he says, thinking of his injury. “I was young but I was self-aware. I was very determined to become the best coach in the world.”
Did he do it alone? “No, I have somebody who still is in my life today, Joop Brand. He was my academy coach when I was at AZ and once I started my coaching education he was one of my teachers.
“We talked a lot: about making sure that you enjoy what you’re doing every day. Don’t forget about that, even though you might work at a high level at some point. It is always about the love of the game and making talented players better.”
Jansen has worked at academy level and he has travelled. “I was turned down twice before I got into the pro licence,” he says. “The first time they told me: ‘You’re very talented, very ambitious, but you need more experience’.”
Jansen got in touch with Jan Reker, an influential Dutch coach, in 1998. They spoke about a role at PSV Eindhoven’s academy. But Reker also asked Jansen about working abroad. An opportunity to move to Abu Dhabi and become Rinus Israël’s No 2 at Al Jazira followed.
“That was a great experience,” Jansen says. “Working with senior players and trying to get your vision across to people who come from a totally different part of the world.”
Jansen enjoyed working with Israël, who captained Feyenoord to the European Cup in 1970. “One the things that I learned from him is just keeping everything in perspective,” he says. “Once you’re a young coach you want to control everything. I’ve learned over the years that once you’re in charge you cannot do everything by yourself. You need good people around you.
“Stress is a factor. I strongly believe if you think you can control everything then stress will increase. If you have a calm mind, you’re able to make good decisions.”
Writing brought Jansen clarity. He has swapped the pen for the keyboard now. He sits in front of his computer at the end of every season and thinks about how to improve.
AZ have to be innovative. They do not have the finances of the dominant Dutch clubs, Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV, but they find ways to compete. They are fourth in the Eredivisie and have just won the Uefa Youth League. They bring players through, raise funds through sales and keep refreshing the team.
Jansen has bought into the philosophy. He has flourished since he stumbled into his first managerial job. His life changed when he was filling up his car at a petrol station on 5 December 2020. AZ had just discovered that their manager, Arne Slot, was in secret negotiations with Feyenoord. Slot was fired; AZ asked Jansen, Slot’s No 2, to take over as interim until the end of the season.
“My mum always told me: ‘When opportunity knocks on the door, it doesn’t send an email,’” Jansen says. “You have to be ready.”
Jansen took a few hours to make up his mind. He adjusted to being the boss and earned the job on a permanent basis. “I had a few players come into my office and I was happy to hear them tell me I hadn’t changed,” he says. “But they could tell I was in charge now. That is one of the biggest compliments I could get. I was still the guy who wanted to make them better every day. But everybody could see, feel and hear that I was the guy in charge, even though I didn’t have to raise my voice or act differently. I just stayed who I was.”
It was authentic. “Just be yourself,” he says. “Stay very close to what you believe in. That, for me, is the key. Make sure you don’t go into role-playing. Players will always see through you.”
Jansen, who was at the London Stadium to watch West Ham beat Manchester United on Sunday, talks about his footballing vision. He wants the ball but he also wants his team to be dynamic and flexible. “I’ve always been interested in what happens in Italy, Spain and the Premier League. You can learn if you’re open-minded. If you’re educated from the Dutch point of view you have a very offensive way of thinking. We were inspired by Rinus Michels and Johan Cruyff.
“It’s having the ball and being creative, but also not being naive by only playing attack and forgetting what it’s like to be out of possession. I strongly believe if you want to attack as much as we do you have to be better in defending than anybody could imagine.”
AZ are enjoying their European tour. They stunned Lazio in the last 16 and Jansen believes they can beat West Ham. “They have more money to spend and the average age of the team is older than ours. But those are things you can put aside. I always tell my boys a few things Johan Cruyff mentioned. He once said he’s never seen a bag of money win a game.
“We strongly believe the truth will always be within those lines. We are ready to compete with West Ham. We have a lot of faith that we will go through. We have the quality. It’s a massive game. We’re going to enjoy it. But we’re going to fight.”
