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Johan Cruyff Quotes

Hendrik Johannes Cruijff OON was a Dutch professional football player and coach. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973, and 1974. Cruyff was an exponent of the football philosophy known as Total Football explored by Rinus Michels, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in football history. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Dutch football rose from obscurity to become a powerhouse in the sport. Cruyff led the Netherlands to the final of the 1974 FIFA World Cup and received the Golden Ball as player of the tournament. At the 1974 finals, he executed a feint that subsequently was named after him, the "Cruyff Turn", a move widely replicated in the modern game. Wearing the number 14 jersey, he set a trend for wearing shirt numbers outside the usual starting line-up numbers of one to eleven.At club level, Cruyff started his career at Ajax, where he won eight Eredivisie titles, three European Cups and one Intercontinental Cup. In 1973, he moved to Barcelona for a world record transfer fee, winning La Liga in his first season and was named European Footballer of the Year. After retiring from playing in 1984, Cruyff became highly successful as manager of Ajax and later Barcelona; he remained an influential advisor to both clubs. His son Jordi also played football professionally.

In 1999, Cruyff was voted European Player of the Century in an election held by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics, and came second behind Pelé in their World Player of the Century poll. He came third in a vote organised by the French magazine France Football consulting their former Ballon d'Or winners to elect their Football Player of the Century. He was chosen on the World Team of the 20th Century in 1998, the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in 2002, and in 2004 was named in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.Considered to be one of the most influential figures in football history, Cruyff's style of play and his football philosophy has influenced managers and players, including the likes of Arrigo Sacchi, Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsène Wenger, Quique Setién, Lucien Favre, Luis Enrique, Roberto Martínez, Pep Guardiola, Frank Rijkaard, Michael Laudrup, Eric Cantona, Peter Bosz, Óscar García Junyent, and Xavi. Ajax and Barcelona are among the clubs that have developed youth academies based on Cruyff's coaching methods. His coaching philosophy helped lay the foundations for the revival of Ajax's international successes in the 1990s. Spanish football's successes at both club and international level during the years 2008 to 2012 have been cited by many as evidence of Cruyff's impact on contemporary football. France Football ranked him at No. 4 on their list of the Top 50 football managers of all time. Wikipedia  

✵ 25. April 1947 – 24. March 2016
Johan Cruyff photo
Johan Cruyff: 25 quotes4 likes

Famous Johan Cruyff Quotes

“Right now, I have the feeling that I am 2-0 up in the first half of a match that has not finished yet. But I am sure that I will end up winning.”

Johan Cruyff

Eurosport.com, 13 February 2016 http://www.eurosport.com/football/liga/2015-2016/johan-cruyff-i-m-2-0-up-at-half-time-in-battle-against-lung-cancer_sto5174173/story.shtml.

“Van Gaal has a good vision on football. But it's not mine. He wants to gel winning teams and has a militaristic way of working with his tactics. I don't. I want individuals to think for themselves and take the decision on the pitch that is best for the situation… I don't have anything against computers, but you judge football players intuitively and with your heart.”

Johan Cruyff

reported in Maarten Meijer (2014). Louis van Gaal: The Biography.

“Football is now all about money. There are problems with the values within the game. And this is sad because football is the most beautiful game. We can play it in the street. We can play it everywhere. Everyone can play it but those values are being lost. We have to bring them back.”

Johan Cruyff

In an interview with The Guardian's Donald McRae in September 2014 https://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/sep/12/johan-cruyff-louis-van-gaal-manchester-united.

“4-5-1? Never. It was always 4-3-3 for me as a player and as manager, just like [Frank] Rijkaard at Barcelona. With 4-3-3, it's much easier to make combinations going forward. With only one forward, who is he going to pass to? Who is he going to make combinations with? Football is about having the best offensive play possible. I always like to play offensive football and nobody will convince me otherwise.”

Johan Cruyff

In an interview with Lawrence Donegan of The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/football/2005/oct/01/sport.comment6 (1 October 2005).

“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.”

Johan Cruyff

reported in David Winner (2012). Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football.

“You should know that I had problems at the end of my career as a player here and I don't know if you know that someone [put] a rifle at my head and tied me up and tied up my wife in front of the children at our flat in Barcelona. The children were going to school accompanied by the police. The police slept in our house for three or four months. I was going to matches with a bodyguard. All these things change your point of view towards many things. There are moments in life in which there are other values. We wanted to stop this and be a little more sensible. It was the moment to leave football and I couldn't play in the World Cup after this.”

Johan Cruyff

In an interview with Catalunya Radio (April 2008) https://www.theguardian.com/football/2008/apr/17/newsstory.sport, he said that the attempted kidnap (in 1977) was the reason he decided not to go to the 1978 World Cup in Argentina.

Johan Cruyff Quotes about football

“I like technical players who can also think in terms of the team's interests. I've already mentioned Iniesta and Xavi, who disprove entirely the theory that only physically strong footballers with a lot of running ability can play in their positions.”

Johan Cruyff

reported in Johan Cruyff (2016). My Turn: The Autobiography.

“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.”

Johan Cruyff

In They said It: Johan Cruyff ( FIFA.com, 25 April 2014 http://www.fifa.com/news/y=2014/m=4/news=they-said-it-johan-cruyff-2323958.html).

“I haven't always been understood. As a footballer, as coach and also for what I did after all that. But OK, Rembrandt and Van Gogh weren't understood either. That's what you learn: people go on bothering you until you're a genius.”

Johan Cruyff

reported in Johan Cruyff (2016). My Turn: The Autobiography.

“Who am I supporting? I am Dutch but I support the football that Spain is playing. Spain's style is the style of Barcelona. Spain, a replica of Barça, is the best publicity for football.”

Johan Cruyff

Cruyff wrote in his weekly column for the Barcelona-based newspaper El Periodico, prior to the 2010 FIFA World Cup final match ( Goal.com, 11 July 2010 http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2890/world-cup-2010/2010/07/11/2018367/from-ajax-to-barcelona-holland-vs-spain-world-cup-2010-final).

“Sadly, they played very dirty. This ugly, vulgar, hard, hermetic, hardly eye-catching, hardly football style… If with this they got satisfaction, fine, but they lost.”

Johan Cruyff

Criticising the Dutch team's play in the 2010 World Cup final, in BBC Sport (12 July 2010) http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8812484.stm.

“There is no medal better than being acclaimed for your style. As a coach, my teams might have won more games if we’d played in a less adventurous way. Maybe I’d have earned a little more and the bonuses would have been bigger, but if people say that Barcelona were playing the nicest football in the world with me as coach, what more can I ask for? If you’re appearing in the World Cup final it may be the biggest occasion of your life, so why be sad and fearful? Be happy, express yourself and play. Make it special for you and for everyone watching. For the good of football, we need a team of invention, attacking ideas and style to emerge. Even if it doesn't win, it will inspire footballers of all ages everywhere. That is the greatest reward.”

Johan Cruyff

reported in David Winner (2012). Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football.

Johan Cruyff Quotes

“It hurts me that Holland chose an ugly path to aim for the title.”

Johan Cruyff

BBC Sport (12 July 2010).

“Every disadvantage has its advantage.”

Johan Cruyff

In They said It: Johan Cruyff ( FIFA.com, 25 April 2014 http://www.fifa.com/news/y=2014/m=4/news=they-said-it-johan-cruyff-2323958.html).

“We [Barça] are a unique club in the world, no one has kept their jersey intact throughout their history, yet have remained as competitive as they come. (…) We have sold this uniqueness for about six percent of our budget. I understand that we are currently losing more than we are earning. However, by selling the shirt it shows me that we are not being creative, and that we have become vulgar.”

Johan Cruyff

Cruyff criticises club's shirt sponsorship deal with Qatar Foundation ( Goal.com, 22 April 2011 http://www.goal.com/en/news/12/spanish-football/2011/04/22/2452965/qatar-foundation-deal-may-have-kept-messi-at-barcelona-but).

“In my teams, the goalie is the first attacker, and the striker the first defender.”

Johan Cruyff

reported in Ramón Calderón's Newsweek.com column http://www.newsweek.com/johan-cruyff-ramon-calderon-barcelona-real-madrid-440545 (24 March 2016).

“Winning is an important thing, but to have your own style, to have people copy you, to admire you, that is the greatest gift.”

Johan Cruyff

reported in Jonathan Wilson (Eurosport, 24 March 2016), Johan Cruyff's legacy? The whole of modern football http://www.eurosport.co.uk/football/johan-cruyff-s-legacy-the-whole-of-modern-football_sto5368491/story.shtml.

“Quality without results is pointless. Results without quality is boring.”

Johan Cruyff

reported in Leo Messi's Twitter page https://twitter.com/messi10stats/status/713002758203310080 (24 March 2016).

“When it was clear that I was leaving Ajax [in 1973], I was sent all kinds of poisonous messages and lots more of that kind of nonsense. But the worst thing for me was that Ajax gave my mother, who had always done her best for the club, an inferior seat in the stadium. Behind a pole. That absolutely crushed me.”

Johan Cruyff

reported in Johan Cruyff (2016). My Turn: The Autobiography.

“If you can't win, make sure you don't lose.”

Johan Cruyff

In They said It: Johan Cruyff ( FIFA.com, 25 April 2014 http://www.fifa.com/news/y=2014/m=4/news=they-said-it-johan-cruyff-2323958.html).

“That December [1992], we [Barça] lost the Intercontinental Cup match against São Paulo 2–1. It was one of the few times that I had no problems with a defeat. I've always admired the Brazilian coach Telê Santana for his vision, because it always displayed a genuine love of football.”

Johan Cruyff

reported in Johan Cruyff (2016). My Turn: The Autobiography.

“The main problem in Britain is that there are too many competitions and too many games. There is no time to prepare properly for Europe or to introduce new ideas because there is far too much emphasis on domestic football.”

Johan Cruyff

International Football Hall of Fame http://www.ifhof.com/hof/cruyff.asp.

“Because you play football with your head, and your legs are there to help you. If you don't use your head, using your feet won't be sufficient. Why does a player have to chase the ball? Because he started running too late. You have to pay attention, use your brain and find the right position. If you get to the ball late, it means you chose the wrong position. Bergkamp was never late.”

Johan Cruyff

reported in Dennis Bergkamp (2013). Stillness and Speed: My Story.

“Barça wanted to get rid of him [Guardiola]. They considered him scrawny, bad defensively and ineffective in the air. What nobody saw was that he had the basic qualities to go far: he had game intelligence, speed in his execution, technique. If I hadn't been at Barcelona, for sure he would have been sold to a Segunda Division club.”

Johan Cruyff

Goal.com, 3 October 2016 http://www.goal.com/en/news/1862/premier-league/2016/10/03/28138802/how-cruyff-saved-guardiola-from-barcelona-axe.

“Players today can only shoot with their laces. I could shoot with the inside, laces, and outside of both feet. In other words, I was six times better than today’s players.”

Johan Cruyff

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