"I’m ex-player, ex-technical director, ex-coach, ex-manager, ex-honorary president. A nice list that once again shows that everything comes to an end." - Johann Cruyff
It is a rarity for one man's importance to exceed that of the collective group, rarer still for that to be the case when talking about teams of the magnitude of Ajax, Barcelona and the Netherlands. But the mark that Johan Cruyff left on these teams, and indeed football as a whole, is so significant it could be argued he was football's greatest ever ambassador.
We're one week removed from Cruyff's death and during stages of grieving and reflection, I still can't quiet equate just how big a blow this is to the world of football. Although Cruyff weaved his magic on the pitch generations before I was even born, thanks to this YouTube age, his was a character I became enamoured with. His style, philosophy, desire & steadfast approach all combined with his unequaled innovation & creativity not just revolutionised the game but reinvented it.
Breaking onto the scene at his hometown club Ajax, he brought both club and country out of the footballing wilderness and onto the peak of world football. Always to be a man of firsts, Cruyff combined with his mentor and coach Rinus Michels to gift to the world a footballing philosophy of pure beauty - total-football. This ethos transformed football from a sport into an art-form. There was method in the beauty too, as Cruyff's master-strokes spearheaded Ajax into a period of unrepeated success. During his first stint in the Dutch capital, he led Ajax to six Eredivise titles and three European Cups.
But while the romantic in us all appreciate a one club man, Cruyff left Ajax to join a team club which encapsulated Cruyff - Barcelona. At 6 million guilder he may have been the world's most expensive player, but Cruyff was worth every penny. While the marriage of club and player did not yield the European glory he found in Holland, he did help end a La Liga drought which had lasted for 14 years.
Success followed and after a stint in America, he returned to where it all began, Ajax. Where Cruyff went success followed and his home-coming was no different, his return yielded back-to-back Eredivise titles for the club, before he controversially left for rivals Feyenoord. True to form, the Eredivise title followed him to Feyenoord for his one and only season with the club.
On an international level, he'll forever be remembered for that turn, but he also guided Netherlands to the final of the 1974 final against West Germany. There was to be no World Cup in Cruyff's extensive trophy case however, as despite an early lead the Dutch let the German's slip in and steal the title. Although Cruyff being Cruyff, he has another take on matters...
"Maybe we were the real winners in 1975. The world remembers our team more." - Johann Cruyff
.... and who am I to say that he's wrong?Despite having a trick or two up his sleeve, he always made the game look simple, this could very well have been his biggest trick of all. But whatever the secret of his success, his individual brilliance hasn't gone unnoticed and he became the first ever three time Ballon D'or winner, while also being named European player of the twentieth century.
“Football is simple. But nothing is more difficult than playing simple football.” - Johann Cruyff
As the father of a footballing philosophy, it only seemed natural that the mercurial Dutchman tried his hand at coaching. And who'd have guessed it? He was as much of a natural on the sidelines as he was on the pitch. Three years as Ajax coach resulted in a Cup Winners Cup and two Dutch Cups & while he may have never quiet tasted Eredivise success as Ajax boss, his side never broke the cardinal sin of boring football, scoring a total of 120 league goals in the 85-86 season.
Much like his playing days, Ajax led to Barcelona. During his 8 year spell on the Catalan bench, Barca became a force of football winning not only 4 league titles, a Cup Winners Cup & Coppa del Rey, but the clubs first ever European Cup - thanks to a Ronald Koeman freekick against Sampdoria in Wembley. Considering their success since Cruyff's victory in 91, It is strange to think that the 5 times winners had to wait so long for their first victory in the competition, but it was because of Cruyff that they became so successful. The total football of Rijkaard and tiki-taka of Guardiola all blossomed from the club's adaptation of Cruyff's methods. In his 8 years as Barcelona coach, he laid the ground-work for the next 10-20-50+ years. Few men excel on the pitch, even fewer manage to excel on the sidelines too, but Cruyff stands alone as a man who managed both these feats while creating a footballing dynasty and ethos which would dominate for generations.
The loss of such an artisan is amplified in the current footballing climate in which the sport's ugly side seems to be on constant display. Indeed if ever there was one man who exemplified the the term 'the beautiful game' it was Johan Cruyff. May he rest in peace.
"In a way I'm probably Immortal." - Johann Cruyff
I know no tribute can accurately sum up just how significant a contribution Cruyff's was on the sport, but out of his numerous quotes one summed the man up perfectly:
"Quality without results is pointless, but results without quality is boring" - Johann Cruyff
I guess it is fair to surmise, that Cruyff was in no danger of ever becoming either pointless or boring.
For more information on Cruyff, check out this Podcast from the Football Ramble.
Or this video from Sky Sports:
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