An exclusive interview with Alvaro Henry!
1) You have been at the club for 1.5 years now. It has been a bizarre period due to Corona, but also a very good one for you personally. How did you experience all of it?
- I look back to that period with pride to be honest, because I came to Ajax with one goal and that was to join the U17’s. I feel like I started my first season with a lot of confidence, which gave me my chance in the U16’s just before the COVID-break. I left a good impression there and I think I would have played there more often, had the season not been cancelled.
2) After a great season at Utrecht U14 you made the transfer to Ajax. How did you experience it as an Amsterdammer to be able and to go to Ajax?
- I started at Zuid-Oost United in Amsterdam. I was scouted by FC Utrecht when I was nine years old, where I had 5 great seasons. In my last season (U14), I switched from right winger to central defender and right back. From that moment on it all went very quickly. I almost joined another club, but then my father told me that Ajax was interested in me. It was a dream, that I could make reality. I think everyone from Amsterdam wants to play at Ajax.
3) What was it like to become captain of your team (U15’s) almost immediately and then already be promoted to U17’s?
- I remember when we went to a tournament in Denmark and the coach made me captain. I was a little bit shocked, because I was just new, haha. I am a naturally leader, so nothing really changed except for the band around my arm. The fact that I have been promoted to the U17’s last summer was the reward for a good season. I try to get the best out of myself and to develop optimally. If I do that every training, a place in the first XI will come in the end.
4) What is it like to play as a right back again? Is it difficult to switch?
- I have played as right back before and I can play in that role well. I play as a central defender in my own age category, but I think it is good for my development to play as a right back as well. I don’t really have a preferred position. I do think that as a back you can get to the first team a little faster at the moment.
5) Despite this being a strange season, what do you hope to achieve this season with the team and for yourself?
- I hope that we will become champions with the team. We can certainly win the Future Cup, if it isn’t cancelled. My personal goals are to improve myself, develop further, become a starter in the U17’s and to make my U18 debut. A reward, like a contract, will then come naturally.
Be sure to check out Q&A Time #1 with Julian Rijkhoff!
