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Johan Cruijff
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Johan Cruyff (born Hendrik Johannes Cruijff) ( born 25 April 1947 in Amsterdam) is a former Dutch football player and manager. He was named European Footballer of the Year three times (1971, 1973, 1974) which is a record jointly held with Michel Platini and Marco van Basten. Cruyff was the most famous exponent of the football philosophy known as Total Football, explored by Rinus Michels.
After his retirement from playing in 1984, Cruyff became highly successful as manager of Ajax and later Barcelona; he remains an influential advisor to both clubs.
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Encyclopedia
Johan Cruyff (born Hendrik Johannes Cruijff) ( born 25 April 1947 in Amsterdam) is a former Dutch football player and manager. He was named European Footballer of the Year three times (1971, 1973, 1974) which is a record jointly held with Michel Platini and Marco van Basten. Cruyff was the most famous exponent of the football philosophy known as Total Football, explored by Rinus Michels.
After his retirement from playing in 1984, Cruyff became highly successful as manager of Ajax and later Barcelona; he remains an influential advisor to both clubs. His son, Jordi, also went on to play football professionally.
In 1999, Cruyff was voted European Player of the Century in an election held by the IFFHS, and came second, behind Pelé in their World Player of the Century poll. He came third in a vote organised by the French weekly magazine France Football consulting their former Ballon d'Or winners to elect their Football Player of the Century.
Style of play
Through his career Cruyff became synonymous with the playing style of "Total Football." It is a system where a player who moves out of his position is replaced by another from his team, thus allowing the team to retain their intended organizational structure. In this fluid system no footballer is fixed in his or her intended outfield role; anyone can be successively an attacker, a midfielder and a defender. The style was honed by Ajax coach Rinus Michels around the time Cruyff came to prominence.
Strictly speaking, Cruyff played centre forward in this system. But he would drop deep to confuse his markers or suddenly move to the wing with devastating effect. No one had seen a centre forward like that before. Due to the way Cruyff played his game he is still referred to as "the total footballer."
Cruyff was known for his technical ability, speed and acceleration, but his greatest quality was vision, based on an acute sense of his team-mates' positions as an attack unfolded. The sports writer David Miller believed Cruyff superior to any previous player in his ability to extract the most from others. He dubbed him "Pythagoras in boots" for the complexity and precision of his angled passes and wrote: "Few have been able to exact, both physically and mentally, such mesmeric control on a match from one penalty area to another."
Cruyff also perfected a move now known as the "Cruyff Turn". To do this move, Cruyff would look to pass or cross the ball. However, instead of kicking it, he would drag the ball behind his planted foot with the inside of his other foot and turn through 180 degrees and accelerate away outside a defender.
Playing career
Cruyff played for Ajax, Barcelona, Los Angeles Aztecs, Washington Diplomats, Levante and Feyenoord, and one match for the now defunct Scottish side, Airdrieonians.
Ajax
Cruyff joined Ajax youth system on his 10th birthday. He made his first team debut on 15 November 1964 in the Eredivisie, against Groningen, scoring the only goal for Ajax in a 3–1 defeat. That year Ajax finished in their lowest position since the establishment of professional football, 13th. Cruyff really started to make an impression in the 1965–66 season. Cruyff established himself as a regular first team player after scoring two goals against DWS in the Olympic stadion on 24 October 1965 (in a 2–0 victory). In the seven games that winter he scored eight times and in March 1966 he scored the first 3 goals in a league game against Telstar (6–2 win). Four days later, in a cup game against Veendam (7–0 win), he scored 4 goals. In total that season, Cruyff scored 25 goals in 23 games, and Ajax won the league championship.
In 1966-1967 Ajax again won the league championship, but also won the KNVB Cup, for Cruyff's first "double". Cruyff ended the season as the leading goalscorer in the Eredivisie with 33.
Cruyff won the league for the third successive year in the 1967–68 season. He was also named Dutch footballer of the year for the second successive time, a feat he would repeat in 1969. On 28 May 1969, Cruyff played in his first European Cup final against Milan, but the Italian team ended up winning 4-1.
In the 1969–70 season Cruyff won his second league and cup "double", but at the beginning of the 1970-1971 season Cruyff suffered a long-term groin injury. He made his comeback on 30 October 1970 against PSV Eindhoven. In this game he did not wear his usual number 9 which was in use by Gerrie Mühren, but instead used number 14. Ajax won the game 1–0. Although it was very uncommon in those days for the starters of a game not to play with numbers 1 to 11, from that moment onwards Cruyff's number was 14, even using the number with the Dutch national team. There has even been a documentary on Cruyff titled Nummer 14 Johan Cruyff and in his native Holland there is a magazine by Voetbal International titled "Nummer 14".
In a league game against AZ '67 on 29 November 1970 Cruyff scored no less than six goals in an 8–1 victory. After winning a replayed KNVB Cup final against Sparta Rotterdam (2–1), Ajax won in Europe for the first time. On 2 June 1971, in London, they won the European Cup by defeating Panathinaikos 2–0. In spite of speculation that Cruyff would move to another club (Feyenoord and Barcelona were interested) on 12 July 1971, he signed a seven-year contract at Ajax. At the end of the season, he became not only the Dutch, but also the European Footballer of the Year for 1971.
1972 was a particular successful year for Ajax and Cruyff. Ajax won a second European Cup, beating Internazionale 2–0 in the final, with Cruyff scoring both goals. This victory prompted Dutch newspapers to announce the demise of the Italian style of defensive football in the face of Total Football. Soccer: The Ultimate Encyclopaedia says: "Single-handed, Cruyff not only pulled Internazionale of Italy apart in the 1972 European Cup Final, but scored both goals in Ajax's 2–0 win." Cruyff also scored in the 3–2 victory over Den Haag in the KNVB Cup final. In the league Cruyff was the topscorer with 25 goals as Ajax became champions. In the autumn Ajax won the Intercontinental Cup beating Argentina's Independiente (1–1 and 3–0) and then in January 1973 they won the European Super Cup by beating Rangers 3–1 away and 3–2 in Amsterdam. Curiously Cruyff's only own goal came on 20 August 1972 against Amsterdam. A week later against Go Ahead Eagles (6–0) Cruyff scored four times for Ajax. The 1972–73 season was concluded with the another league championship victory and a third successive Europe Cup (Ajax-Juventus 1–0).
In the summer of 1973 Cruyff was sold to Barcelona for 6 million guilder (approx. US$ 2 million, c.1973). On 19 August 1973, he played his last match for Ajax (Ajax-Amsterdam 6–1), the 2nd match of the 1973–74 season.
Barcelona
At Barcelona, Cruyff quickly won over the Barça fans when he told the European press he chose Barça over Real Madrid because he could not play for a club associated with Franco. He further endeared himself when he chose a Catalan name, Jordi, for his son. He helped the club win La Liga for the first time since 1960, along the way defeating Real Madrid 5–0 at their home of Bernabéu. He was also crowned European Footballer of the Year.
During his time at Barcelona Cruyff scored one of his most famous goals, The 'Phantom' Goal. In a game against Atlético Madrid Cruyff leapt into the air, twisted his body so he was facing away from the goal and kicked the ball past Miguel Reina in the Atlético Madrid goal with his right heel (the ball was at about neck height and had already traveled past the far post), the goal was featured in the documentary in which fans of Cruyff attempted to recreate that moment, the goal has been dubbed (Cruyff's impossible goal).
United States
At the age of 32, he signed a lucrative deal with the Los Angeles Aztecs of the North American Soccer League (NASL). He had previously been rumored to be joining the New York Cosmos but the deal did not materialize. However, he did play exhibition games for the Cosmos. He stayed at the Aztecs for only one season, but was voted NASL Player of the Year in that time. The following season he moved to play for the Washington Diplomats; he played the whole 1980 campaign for Washington, leaving soon after the start of the 1981 season.
Back in the Netherlands
After his spell in the USA and a short-lived stay at Levante in Spain, Cruyff returned to play in his homeland, rejoining Ajax 30 November 1980 as "technical advisor" of trainer Leo Beenhakker, Ajax being 8th in the ranking of the table of the Dutch League then after 13 games. Ajax would finish 2nd in 1980–81 in June 1981 after 34 games. March 1981 Cruyff started to play for Levante Union Deportiva Valencia, a Spanish 2nd Division club. The club did not keep the financial agreements however. May 1981 Cruyff played as a guest player for Milan, in a tournament, getting injured. As a result he missed almost the entire American soccer season thereafter. In December 1981 Cruyff signed a new contract as player for Ajax. His already since November 1980 expected return was on December 6 1981 against Haarlem (4–1 home win), Cruyff scored the first goal. In the seasons 1981–82 and 1982–83 Ajax with Cruyff became league champions, 1982–83 Ajax also won the Dutch Cup (KNVB-Beker). One notable incident from this era was a famous goal he scored against Helmond Sport in 1982 while playing for Ajax. Cruyff scored a penalty the same way Rik Coppens had already done it 25 years earlier . He put the ball down as for a routine penalty kick, but instead of shooting at goal, Cruyff nudged the ball sideways to his Ajax teammate Jesper Olsen who in return passed it back to Cruyff who tapped the ball into the empty net, as Otto Versfeld, the bemused Helmond goalkeeper, looked on. At the end of the 1982–83 season Ajax decided not to offer Cruyff a new contract. This angered Cruyff, who responded by signing for Ajax's archrivals Feyenoord. Cruyff's season at Feyenoord was a successful one, in which the club won the Eredivisie for the first time in a decade, part of a league and cup double.
International football
As a Dutch international he played 48 matches, scoring 33 goals. In his second Dutch national team match, a friendly against Czechoslovakia, Cruyff was the first Dutch international to receive a red card. He received a one-year suspension from the Dutch KNVB.
Accusations of Cruyff's 'aloofness' were not rebuffed by his habit of wearing a shirt with only two black stripes along the sleeves, as opposed to Adidas' usual design feature of three, worn by all the other Dutch players. Cruyff, however, had a separate sponsorship deal with Puma.
Cruyff led the Netherlands to a runners-up medal in the 1974 FIFA World Cup and was named the player of the tournament. Thanks to his team's mastery of Total Football, they coasted all the way to the final, knocking out Argentina (4–0), East Germany (2–0) and Brazil (2–0) along the way. Cruyff himself scored twice against Argentina in one of his team's most dominating performances, then he scored the second goal against Brazil to knock out the defending champions. The Netherlands faced hosts West Germany in the final. Cruyff kicked off and the ball was passed around the Oranje team thirteen times before returning to Cruyff, who then went on a rush that eluded Berti Vogts and ended when he was fouled by Uli Hoeneß inside the box. Teammate Johan Neeskens scored from the spot kick to give the Netherlands a 1–0 lead, and the Germans had not even touched the ball. Only during the latter half of the final was his playmaking influence stifled by the effective marking of Berti Vogts, while Franz Beckenbauer, Uli Hoeneß and Wolfgang Overath dominated the midfield, enabling West Germany to win 2–1. Cruyff received a yellow card during half time for talking to the referee.
Cruyff retired from international football in October 1977, having helped the national team qualify for the upcoming World Cup. Without him, the Netherlands finished runners-up in the World Cup again. Initially the reason given for missing the 1978 FIFA World Cup were political reasons given a military dictatorship was in power in Argentina at that time. In 2008, however, Cruyff stated to Catalunya Ràdio that he and his family were involved in a kidnap attempt in Barcelona a year before the tournament, and that this had caused his retirement. "To play a World Cup you have to be 200%, there are moments when there are other values in life."
Managerial career
Ajax
After retiring from playing, Cruyff followed in the footsteps of his mentor Rinus Michels, coaching a young Ajax side to victory in the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1987 (final: Ajax-Lokomotiv Leipzig 1–0, goal: Marco van Basten). May/June 1985 Cruyff returned to Ajax again. In the season 1985–86 the league title is lost to PSV, despite Ajax having a goal difference of +85 (120-35). In the seasons 1985–86 and 1986–87 Ajax won the Dutch Cup (KNVB-Beker). In 1988 Cruyff returned to Barcelona as manager.
It was during this period as manager that Cruyff was able to implement his favoured team formation. 3 mobile centre halves plus 1 covering space, almost a holding midfielder rather than sweeper (from Boeve, Blind, Silooy, Spelbos). 2 controlling midfielders (from Winter, Wouters, Mühren, Witschge) with responsibilities to feed the attack-minded players. 1 shadow striker (Bosman, Scholten). 2 touchline-hugging wingers (from Bergkamp, van 't Schip, De Wit, Dick) and 1 all-round centre forward (Van Basten). So successful was this system that Ajax won the Champions League in 1995 playing Cruyff's system. Terry Venables as England manager was an advocate of this system, based on free-flowing football and intelligent and incisive individuals carrying out seemingly simple functions, in the Euro '96 semi-final versus Germany, England used this system effectively.
Barcelona
At Barcelona Cruyff brought in players such as Josep Guardiola, José Mari Bakero, Txiki Beguiristáin, Goikoetxea, Ronald Koeman, Michael Laudrup, Romário, Gheorghe Hagi and Hristo Stoichkov. Under Cruyff, Barcelona won La Liga four times between 1991 and 1994, and beat Sampdoria in both the 1989 European Cup Winners' Cup final and the 1992 European Cup final at Wembley. They also won a Copa del Rey in 1990, the European Super Cup in 1992 and three Supercopa de España.
Cruyff used to smoke 20 cigarettes a day prior to undergoing double heart bypass surgery in 1991 while he was the coach of FC Barcelona, after which he gave up smoking. He also led the anti-smoking campaign developed by the Health Department of the Catalan autonomous government. And Cruyff juggled a cigarette pack 16 times in an anti-tobacco video sponsored by the Catalan Department of Health.
With 11 trophies, Cruyff has been Barcelona's most successful manager to date as he had more trophies to show for his tenure, as well as being the club's longest serving manager. However, in his final two seasons, he failed to win any trophies, and fell out with chairman Josep Lluís Núñez; this resulted in his departure from the club, and he vowed never to coach again.
While at Barcelona, he was in negotiations with the KNVB to manage the national team for the 1994 World Cup finals, but talks broke off at the last minute.
His open support helped candidate Joan Laporta to victory in Barcelona's latest presidential elections. He continues to be an adviser for him, although he holds no official post at Barcelona.
Cruyff is revered at Camp Nou as “El Salvador” (The Saviour) for his successful career as player and coach. Known as a player's coach with deep convictions with regard to his philosophy of the game, he is considered a visionary and his presence at Barcelona was said to have changed many things and his was the beginning of what is known as the 'Dutch influence' at Barcelona.
Proposed return to Ajax
On 20 February 2008, in the wake of a major research on the ten-year-mismanagement, it was announced that Johan Cruyff would be the new technical director at his boyhood club Ajax—this would be his fourth stint at the Amsterdam club. However, Cruyff announced in March that he is pulling out of his planned return to Ajax because of "professional difference of opinion" between him and Ajax's new manager, Marco van Basten. Van Basten said that Cruyff's plans were "going too fast", because he was "not so dissatisfied with how things are going now".
Honours
As player
Ajax
- Eredivisie: 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970. 1972, 1973, 1982, 1983
- KNVB Cup: 1967, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1983
- European Cup: 1971, 1972, 1973
- Intercontinental Cup: 1972
- UEFA Super Cup: 1972, 1973
FC Barcelona
Feyenoord
As manager
Ajax
FC Barcelona
Individual
Statistics
|-
|1964-65||rowspan="10"|Ajax||rowspan="10"|Eredivisie||10||4||0||0||0||0||10||4
|-
|1965-66||19||16||4||9||0||0||23||25
|-
|1966-67||30||33||5||5||6||3||41||41
|-
|1967-68||33||25||5||6||3||2||41||33
|-
|1968-69||29||24||3||3||10||6||42||33
|-
|1969-70||33||23||5||6||8||4||46||33
|-
|1970-71||25||21||6||5||6||1||37||27
|-
|1971-72||32||25||4||3||9||5||45||33
|-
|1972-73||26||16||0||0||6||3||32||19
|-
|1973-74||2||3||0||0||0||0||2||3
|-
|1973-74||rowspan="5"|FC Barcelona||rowspan="5"|La Liga||26||16||0||0||0||0||26||16
|-
|1974-75||30||7||0||0||8||0||38||7
|-
|1975-76||29||6||0||0||9||2||38||8
|-
|1976-77||30||14||0||0||7||5||37||19
|-
|1977-78||28||5||7||1||10||5||45||11
|-
|1979||Los Angeles Aztecs||NASL||27||16||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||27||16
|-
|1980||Washington Diplomats||NASL||27||10||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||27||10
|-
|1980-81||Levante||Segunda División||10||2||0||0||0||0||10||2
|-
|1981||Washington Diplomats||NASL||5||2||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||5||2
|-
|1981-82||rowspan="2"|Ajax||rowspan="2"|Eredivisie||15||7||1||0||0||0||16||7
|-
|1982-83||21||7||7||2||2||0||30||9
|-
|1983-84||Feyenoord||Eredivisie||33||11||7||1||4||1||44||13
308||215||48||40||54||25||410||280
153||50||7||1||34||12||184||63
59||28||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||59||28
520||293||55||41||88||37||663||371
|}
Further honours
- In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, he was selected as the Golden Player of the Netherlands by the KNVB as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years.
- On 22 May 2006, Cruyff was presented a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to football by Laureus in their annual World Sports Awards.
- Cruyff received a lifetime achievement award from the KNVB in August 2006.
- In 2006, Cruyff played in Dennis Bergkamp's Testimonial as a second-half substitute with Ajax.
- On April 18 2007, Ajax decided to retire the number 14 shirt in honour of Johan Cruyff and in celebration of his birthday.
Outside football
Trivia
In November 2003, Cruyff invoked legal proceedings against the publisher Tirion Uitgevers, over its photo book Johan Cruyff de Ajacied, which used photographs by Guus de Jong. Cruyff was working on another book, also using De Jong's photographs, and claimed unsuccessfully that Tirion's book violated his trademark and portrait rights.
In 2004 he ended sixth place in the election of De Grootste Nederlander (The Greatest Dutchman).
In 2004, a documentary film was made about Cruyff's life, entitled Johan Cruijff - En un momento dado.
Johan Cruyff has a small hit (No 21 in the charts) in the Netherlands with 'Oei Oei Oei (Dat Was Me Weer een Loei). Upon arriving in Barcelona, the Spanish branch of Polydor decided to release the single in Spain as well, where it was rather popular.
The artistic beauty and elegance of Johan Cruyff inspired Dutch and English
Family
On 2 December 1968, Cruyff married Danny Coster. Johan and Danny have 3 children: Chantal (16 November 1970), Susila (27 January 1972) and Jordi (9 February 1974). The family lives in Barcelona.
His son, Jordi, has played for teams such as Barcelona (while his father was manager), Manchester United and Alavés. Interestingly, the younger Cruyff sports "Jordi" on his shirt to distinguish himself from his famous father, which also reflects the common Spanish practice of referring to players by given names alone or by nicknames. It is also related to the commercial claim of "name and fame" of his father to the name Cruyff-Cruijff.
External links
- — Cruyff's official shoe brand
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