Ex-Ajax midfielder joins Raf Diallo on the show
If there's anyone who knows Ajax and Ipswich intimately, it's Martijn Reuser.
The former attacking midfielder was part of Ipswich's last great side and also was in the Ajax squad during their mid-90s heyday.
He also earned a cap for the Dutch shortly after the 1998 World Cup in Frank Rijkaar's second game in charge.
The Amsterdam native joined me for an in-depth interview on his career on Team 33 this week.
These days, he's the Netherlands U15 head coach and we discussed that role as well as their youth development system which is enjoying a renaissance.
But Reuser also touched on Ajax's outstanding aggregate victory over Juventus in the Champions League on Tuesday night. And he also gave his view on Ipswich's decline as relegation to League 1 was confirmed at the weekend.
You can listen to the full podcast right below, here, or on iTunes. You can also watch the chat above via YouTube.
Ipswich Glory Days
The Ipswich team that he was part of, in contrast, enjoyed an extreme high. In their first season back in the Premier League in 2000-01, they managed to finish fifth.
Reuser had arrived towards the end of the 1999-00 promotion season, making a decisive impact. He scored late goals in both the playoff semi-final against Bolton and the final against Barnsley.
And while a Tractor Boys side captained by Matt Holland was expected to be relegated, they almost qualified for the Champions League places.
Reuser discussed that season with me. But he also touched on why Ipswich had a comparatively poor 2001-02 season, leading to relegation.
"George Burley wanted to strengthen the squad, so he really needed to bring 2-3 players," Reuser recalls.
"I thought if you're bringing in new players, they need to immediately make an impact. And they didn't which was a shame.
"I think we could have done without the extra strength. But you never know whether that's the truth of course.
"The second year is always more difficult than the first year. Opponents knew our qualities more and at the end of the days we were two points short of safety which was a shame.
"But I think we could have done it without the extra players who we bought at the beginning of the season."
Also on this week's main show, we discussed footballer comebacks and Irish football's future. Listen in to that below:
