Sunday’s Scottish League Cup final between Philippe Clement’s Rangers and Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic is not one likely to be short on talking points.
But, still, here’s another.
And, if you cast your minds back a few years to the height of the Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi debate, the arguments would often centre on the virtues of hard work versus natural talent.
Of course, things were never really this black and white. Ronaldo had his fair share of God-given gifts too, while Messi also shed plenty of sweat en route to becoming an eight-time Ballon D’Or winner.
But, as former Ajax coach Rene Stam looks back on the formative years of Vaclav Cerny and Nicolas Kuhn in Amsterdam, he finds himself balancing the superior ‘technical’ qualities of the Rangers winger against the insatiable desire of Celtic’s free-scoring number ten.
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Rangers’ Vaclav Cerny ‘technically better’ than Celtic star Nicolas Kuhn
“Vaclav joined us when he was 14,” Stam recalls, speaking to the Daily Record. “Vaclav, he followed our academy. He was a real Ajax player. He was used to playing our system, with the 4-3-3,.
“Nicolas came out of a system, which was more of a 4-4-2, as one of the two strikers. It was a little bit difficult for him to adapt.”
Cerny would go on to play 16 Eredivisie games in Ajax colours. Former boss Erik ten Hag labelled Cerny a ‘special’ talent at one point, the Czech Republic international now showcasing those ‘qualities’ to a Rangers fanbase who have belatedly fallen in love with his lethal left boot after a difficult start to life in Scotland.
Kuhn, though, would leave Ajax to join Bayern Munich’s reserves in 2020 having failed to make even a single league appearance. In contrast to Verny, a footballer very much steeped in Ajax DNA, Kuhn always felt like a bit of an awkward fit.
“Both players were very skilful but completely different,” Stam recalls. “Vaclav can play in a smaller space, Nicolas needs a little bit more. Vaclav, I think, is technically better but that also has to do with how he was developed at the Ajax academy.
“They are both skilful players, nice guys, and they are performing well. I am really happy for them. I am really happy for them, especially with this Celtic vs Rangers game. It’s the biggest game of the year.”
“They deserve it.”
Cerny and Kuhn go head to head in Scottish League Cup final
Kuhn has exploded this term, putting a slow start behind him to register 11 goals and 11 assists across 22 appearances.
Cerny’s record is not quite so stellar – nine goals and five assists from 24 games – but the Wolfsburg loanee is starting to look more and more like the right-winger Rangers have needed arguably since the Daniel Candeias era.
“Vaclav can be a left or right winger, easily, because he is more natural. And Nicolas, he has to work hard for it. That’s what I see when I watch them both play,” Stam adds, delighted to see Cerny bounce back at Rangers following an underwhelming stint in Germany.
“I am not surprised that Vaclav is doing well, to be honest. I am a little disappointed it didn’t work out at Wolfsburg and he is on loan now. I am really surprised it didn’t work out in Germany.”
According to Czech publication iSport, Rangers could secure Vaclav Cerny on a permanent basis for just shy of £4 million.
