Johan Cruyff was a Dutch footballer and football manager, who is often regarded as one of the finest footballers and managers that has ever been involved with the game.
Background
Hendrik Johannes Cruijff, better known as Johan Cruyff, was born on 25 April, 1947 in Amsterdam, Netherlands to Hermanus Cornelis Cruijff and his wife Petronella Bernarda Draaijer. The family had modest means but Cruyff’s father was a keen follower of football and encouraged him to play as much football as he could.
Johan was an enthusiastic footballer right from his childhood and played with his school friends. His father died when he was only 12, and he wanted to become a footballer in memory of his father.
Education
Johan entered the Ajax youth ranks as a 10 year old. He progressed pretty quickly.
Career
Johan was 17 when he made his debut with the senior team. After helping Ajax win six league titles, four national cups, and three European Champion Clubs’ Cups (now known as the UEFA [Union of European Football Associations] Champions League), he was transferred to FC Barcelona in 1973. Captained by Cruyff, Barcelona won the Spanish League championship in 1974 and was runner-up in 1976 and 1977.
The temperamental Cruyff, along with Franz Beckenbauer of West Germany, was regarded as the world’s finest player in an era when the European game was dominated by “total football,” a style of play developed by Dutch coach Rinus Michels that emphasized all-around skill, versatility, and creativity. Cruyff debuted with the Dutch national team when he was 19 and went on to score 33 goals in 48 international matches. In the 1974 World Cup tournament, the Dutch team, led by Cruyff and including Johan Neeskens and Ruud Krol, put on a memorable display of total football that earned them the nickname “Clockwork Orange” (a name borrowed from the novel but inspired by the team’s orange jerseys). Although the Netherlands lost to West Germany in the championship match, Cruyff’s individual brilliance won him the tournament’s Golden Ball (Most Valuable Player) award.
From 1979 to 1980 Cruyff played with several American teams, including the Los Angeles Aztecs and the Washington Diplomats, and he was named the North American Soccer League’s Most Valuable Player in 1979. He returned to Ajax in 1981, but two years later he joined rival team Feyenoord after a contract dispute. There he won his ninth Dutch championship and fifth national cup. After retiring as a player in 1984, Cruyff coached both Ajax (1987) and Barcelona (1989) to the European Cup Winners’ Cup. In 1992 he guided Barcelona to both the European Champion Clubs’ Cup and the UEFA Super Cup, but he was fired in 1996. He returned to the sidelines in 2009 to manage the Catalonian national team, a position he held until 2013.
He had a profound effect on modern football throughout his career as a top level professional. Johan Cruyff will surely be remembered as one of the greatest footballers and football tacticians to have ever graced the game.
Johan Cruyff won the Ballon D’Or in 1971.
He won the Ballon D’Or in 1973 for the 2nd time and followed it up with his 3rd win in the following year.
He was named the player of the tournament in the FIFA World Cup 1974.
On 25 October 2017, the Amsterdam Arena was renamed Johan Cruyff Arena.
Quotations:
"Every trainer talks about movement, about running a lot. I say don't run so much. Football is a game you play with your brain. You have to be in the right place at the right moment, not too early, not too late."
"We showed the world you could enjoy being a footballer; you could laugh and have a fantastic time. I represent the era which proved that attractive football was enjoyable and successful, and good fun to play too."
"In my teams, the goalie is the first attacker, and the striker the first defender."
"Quality without results is pointless. Results without quality is boring."
"Winning is an important thing, but to have your own style, to have people copy you, to admire you, that is the greatest gift."
Personality
Physical Characteristics:
His height was 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in).
Quotes from others about the person
"Johan Cruyff's miracles in Amsterdam were many. He and his coach Rinus Michels (a sort of John the Baptist figure) raised Ajax from obscurity. More important, they invented a new way of playing. Cruyff became the greatest exponent and teacher of 'totaalvoetbal' [Total Football]. His vision of perfect movement and harmony on the field was rooted in the same sublime ordering of space that one sees in the pictures of Vermeer or church painter Pieter Jansz Saenredam. It was the music of the spheres on grass."
— David Winner, the author of Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football
Interests
Cruyff was also involved in philanthropy. He founded both a nonprofit organization to encourage children to participate in sports and the Johan Cruyff Institute, which provides an education in sports management.
Connections
Johan got married to Danny Coster on 2 December, 1968. The couple has two daughters - Chantal and Susila and a son - Jordi. Jordi Cruyff went on to become a professional footballer.
