Johan Cruyff
Johan
Cruyff, a man widely regarded as one of football’s greats has died aged 68.
Having never seen him or even a team he managed play live I am perhaps not best
qualified to talk about Cruyff’s life. Yet, he is, I believe, the modern games
most important exponant.
A
pioneering artist, philosopher and sportsmen, Cruyff’s legacy transcends just
football, especially in his native Holland and adopted Catalonia.
Johan was born in Amsterdam on the 25th of April 1947. In 1964 a 17year old Cruyff
scored on his Ajax debut.
In his
first stint with Ajax he won 6 Eredivisie titles, 4 Dutch Cups and 3 European
Cups before moving to FC Barcelona where he cultivated the brand of football
they have so famously advocated ever since. Between ’79 and ’81 he graced the
USA where he starred for LA Aztecs and Washington Dips. An unsuccessful spell
with Levante resulted in a move back to Holland with Ajax where he won another
two Eredivisie titles. However, in typical Cruyff fashion, after a falling out
with the Ajax board over a new contract he joined arch-rivals Feyenoord, where
he stuck it to his doubters by helping the Rotterdam club to the Dutch
Championship.
With Ajax
in the 60s, Cruyff embodied young liberal Amsterdam. Despite what many claim Cruyff
did not invent Total Football. It wasn’t even Ajax, Feyenoord won the European
Cup playing an early brand of the system in 1970. But it was Cruyff under the
steady hand of Rinus Michels who took Total Football to the world, mastering
the system and throughout the early 70s, dominating the game with their
idealistic style. Total Football was a philosophy.
It is an
ideology; functionalism through dimension and patterns. This, combined with
Cruyff’s balletic grace fused the conservative dogmatism of old Holland with
the emerging progressive ideas of postmodern Amsterdam. Total Football was high
brow, sexy and artistic. It was at the centre of the Dutch sexual revolution in
the 1960s and Cruyff was the poster boy. He was Holland’s answer to Lennon and
Dylan. Johan Cruyff was much more than just a talented footballer, he was the
youth idol of a formerly restrained country finding it’s voice.
His
symbolic status is equally as strong in Catalunya where Cruyff propelled FC
Barcelona to lasting footballing dominance. Leaving Ajax in the summer of 1973,
Cruyff rebuffed the advances of Real Madrid stating he could never join a side
“associated with Franco” and instantly making himself a figure of Catalan
resistance. Barca broke the world record to sign Cruyff. Catalan’s were
repressed under Franco, but now, they could be proud of their team; they had
the continents best player and in Cruyff’s first season won the La Liga for the
first time in 14 years. Additionally, in 1974 Cruyff named his newborn son
‘Jordi’, a Catalan name, cementing his place in the folklore of the region.
He would
return to Barcelona as manager eternally stamping the club with his brand of
football. Known as the ‘Dream team’ between 1988 and 1996 his Barca side
commanded European football winning all before them. The Messi, Xavi, Guadiola
Barca of recent years exists as a direct continuation of the Cruyff philosophy.
La Maisa, Barca’s famed academy is the brain child of the Dutchman who felt
Barca should imitate Ajax’s style of development. And it’s fairly safe to say
it’s proved a worthwhile project.
As a
manager and as a player Cruyff enjoyed amassed endless silverware at club level
however his very Dutch failure to win any trophies on the international stage
has seen him dismissed when compared to the games greatest. How can Cruyff be
as good as Pele and Maradona, he never won a World Cup? Be this as it may,
Cruyff came as close as it gets in ’74 when the Dutch seemed to self destruct
against the West Germans, preferring to humiliate their nemesis playing keep
ball than finish the job. They lost 2-1. And yet even in this bizarre
defiance, there is something poetic and artistic about Holland and Cruyffs
approach. Integrity for integrity’s sake.
This is a
defining characteristic of Cruyff, his self assurance never wavered and his
views were always outspoken. Unlike Pele for instance who was a player of
phenomenal technique but a man who at times appears all too keen to please, a
regular at FIFA black tie events. Both commercial giants, Cruyff carried
himself with principle, refusing interviews with publications he didn’t respect
and missing the 1978 World Cup to be with his wife and family.
Moreover,
Diego Maradona, also of brilliant footballing ability, was a man who spoke his
mind although, with far less of the wisdom Cruyff projected. Like Cruyff,
Maradona tried his hand at management. He needn’t have bothered, achieving
nothing of note. Pele and Maradona can arguably match Cruyff’s ability and
success but it is Cruyff’s vision and unique understanding of football that
make him, if not the games greatest player then the games greatest mind.
The great
sides of recent times; Barca, Bayern, Arsenal, Spain, all imitate the fluent
passing style Cruyff advocated. The world’s most successful youth development
programmes at Ajax and Barcelona live and die by the Cruyff manifesto. His
artistry inspired, his philosophy and principle revolutionized societies.
Cruyff’s symbolic significance make him one of the great Europeans of the last
100 years.
Johan
Cruyff’ has played a bigger role than anyone in constructing the modern game.
One of the finest on the pitch, he is the most influential visionary the game
has seen.
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