Edgar Davids: 'Ajax have great opportunity in Europa League'

Former Netherlands international Edgar Davids has said that Ajax have "a great opportunity" to win the Europa League.

Ajax will take on Manchester United in the final of the European competition on Wednesday night, with the victor earning a spot in the group stages of next season's Champions League.

Davids was part of the Ajax side that won the Champions League title in 1995, and the 44-year-old has claimed that the fact the pressure is off the Amsterdam outfit will stand them in good stead.

"It's a great opportunity because if they were playing against a lesser known team and lost, then people would not rate them as highly," Davids told Goal.com.

"It will change their lives if they win, but if they play well and don't win, their future will still be bright.

"Ajax play mostly 4-3-3, that is different to many other systems. It's very attacking, when you play for Ajax you are under a lot of pressure, because the Ajax way is not only about winning but the way you win, you have to win in style, with attacking football, attractive football.

"That's hard because you cannot buy certain players, you have to really develop them. Sometimes you are lucky and can buy players, but most of the time the players that can play at that level are not there or are very expensive. So that's why you have to have young players that you can mould or develop for those positions."

Davids spent five years in the first team at Ajax before joining AC Milan.