Kik Pierie – Ajax’ new ball-playing extraordinaire
Kik Pierie was born in Boston, Massachusetts as his parents worked at Harvard Medical School before the family moved to Leeuwarden in Holland. Pierie would ride his bike into the neighbouring Heerenveen for training. Pierie ironically lived in Leeuwarden, the city that host Cambuur while nurturing his talents for the side’s bitter rivals Heerenveen as he rose through the academy. The Frisian club have facilitated the blossoming of talented ball-playing centre-backs like Jeffrey Gouweleeuw, Jeremiah St Juste as Pierie is the latest young defender on the production line.
Heerenveen gave Pierie his first start at the age of 16 in a Europa League Playoff against Utrecht as he showed immense confidence to push out of the defensive line to play line-breaking passes into attack. The Dutch youth international would thread passes through tight lines of pressure into the attacking line while he made a crucial goal-line clearance. Pierie finished the game with a 91% pass succession rate and 2 interceptions in a performance that belied his tender age and lack of experience.
Pierie would earn a permanent starting role for Heerenveen the next season as the young Dutchman would recycle the ball with zest as the Frisians pressed high and played at a high tempo. In a home match against Ajax that season, Pierie’s left-back Lucas Woudenberg pushed up high which left the fledgling centre-back vulnerable as the young Dutchman quickly adapted to the situation. The Boston born centre-back moved out wide and won possession to then set his team on a break which ended with a Reza Ghoochannejhad opportunity while Pierie had an opportunity on goal of his own.
In a match against PEC Zwolle, Pierie was not as confident in bringing the ball out of the back but showed a keen reading of the game to cut out several through balls to prevent his team from losing by a large margin. Jurgen Streppel who gave Pierie his debut would be replaced by Jan Olde Riekerink for this current season. The new manager inexplicably viewed Pierie as a left back which was not a position where his talents were best served.
Heerenveen’s usual left-back, Woudenberg had been nursing an injury so Pierie found himself deployed in the position for an extended period of time. As a team, without Pierie at centre-back, Heerenveen struggled to effectively recycle the ball at an effective pace while the centre-backs usually worked the ball to Pierie on the left flank. Pierie drove forward with purpose and could stretch the pitch on the overlap but struggled defensively when he was isolated with the quicker and more skilful wingers. Pierie was deployed at left-back for the majority of the first half of the season as his side found themselves as relegation candidates despite having one of the most young and talented squads in the Eredivisie.
In the first game of 2019, Pierie was restored to his proper position against Ajax in a match where his side conceded four goals from set-pieces. Pierie helped his team stay in the game as for Heerenveen’s first goal, he pushed up to win possession and then play the ball to Lammers who beat his man, drove forward and lashed a shot past Kostas Lamprou from range. Pierie also had a hand in his side’s second goal as he played the ball to Lammers who drove forward and rolled an opportunity past Ajax’ second choice goalkeeper at the time. The 18-year-old then rose highest to head in an Arber Zeneli corner during the last few minutes of added time in a Matthijs De Ligt-ian fashion to earn his side an all-important draw.
Pierie would continue at his natural centre-back positon after a performance in which he accumulated 8 ball recoveries, 1 assist and 1 goal against Ajax. Against AZ Alkmaar, his centre-back partner, Daniel Hoegh who is 8 years his senior, relied on him to work the ball forward as the Dane would frequently play the ball to his younger protégé who had the ability and vision to play line-breaking passes through the centre. Heerenveen were still stringing together the rest of their side as they had lost Zeneli during the winter break which had forced Michel Vlap to play out wide instead of his natural central attacking position.
Against Vitesse Arnhem, with Pierie at centre-back, Stijn Schaars as the ball-playing defensive-midfielder while Vlap was reinstated to the familiarity of his attacking midfield role as Heerenveen were much more fluent in possession. Pierie used his extraordinary vision and technique to work through balls into Vlap and Lammers who were taking turns in the pockets to receive his passes. Pierie’s distribution is his biggest strength as against PSV Eindhoven, he pushed up to play pass to Schaars who sent a cross-field pass to Woudenberg to play a combination with Vlap who managed to turn, drive into the box and finish with aplomb.
Pierie had another moment where he launched a pin-point diagonal to Dennis Johnsen who trapped the ball, cut in and had his shot cannon off the crossbar. However, at his tender age, Pierie has rarely played in what looks like a cohesive tactical system as he is at fault for some terrible decision making. In a recent away match against Feyenoord, Pierie pushed up to pressure Nicolai Jorgensen and prevent him from properly working the ball from a deeper position. The Danish striker played the ball back as Pierie tracked the ball back to the opposition centre-back before Feyenoord lobbed the ball into his vacated area for Toornstra to beat Walter Hahn and cut back for Steven Berghuis to double Feyenoord’s lead.
Ajax play with a consistently higher defensive line than Heerenveen as Pierie will thrive with the possessional aspect but he will need to time the moments he pushes up to mark opposition attackers better. Ajax will need to tactically train him as Daley Blind will also need to constantly usher him into position as the more experienced centre-back. As a floppy-haired, buck-toothed youth player, Pierie cleverly predicted a move to Ajax as a stepping stone to Barcelona as he halfway away from Catalonia in his eyes. Ajax will provide the opportunity to polish and improve his burgeoning skillset with more intense and much higher-level football as he fills the massive shoes left by fellow teenager, Matthijs De Ligt.
"The fact that I'm already heading towards the thirty games, I haven't really thought about that myself," said Pierie to Voetbal International last year. "I didn't expect that I would play so much at the start of this season. It is learning, learning, learning. That's very beautiful.”
Pierie and De Ligt are similar in that they both made their debuts in their mid-teens and have accrued ample experience before they turn 20. Pierie has two full seasons of Eredivisie football in two positions as he has the opportunity to play European football in a more tactically cohesive unit at Ajax. Pierie has constantly kept a measured head throughout his development as he has developed gradually while he will have an opportunity to develop as a high-level ball-playing centre-back. Ajax have made an apt acquisition to replace De Ligt for a meagre fee for a young player with Eredivisie experience and boundless potential.
