NETHERLANDS | AJAX | BARCALONA
Johan Cruyff (full name: Hendrik Johannes Cruijff) is often regarded by footballing experts as one of the greatest and most important players in the history of the game. He was a key element of the football philosophy known as Total Football.
1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1970 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984
1971, 1972, 1973
1971 | 1973 | 1974
RUNNER UP 1974
He was born on 25 April 1947 in Amsterdam, five minutes away from Ajax’s stadium. Johan was the second son of Hermanus Cornelis Cruijff and Petronella Bernarda Draaijer. He was from a humble, working-class background in east Amsterdam. He was encouraged as a youngster by his influential football-loving father.
Tragedy soon struck though and in 1959, his father died from a heart attack. Johan often recalled that is father’s death had a major impact on his mentality. He recalled:
“My father died when I was just 12 and he was 45. From that day the feeling crept stronger over me that I would die at the same age and when I had serious heart problems when I reached 45, I thought: ‘This is it.’ Only medical science, which was not available to help my father, kept me alive.”
Viewing a potential football career as a way of paying tribute to his father, the death is said to have inspired the strong-willed Cruyff, who frequently visited the grave of his father.
He joined the Ajax youth system on his tenth birthday. Cruyff and his friends would frequently visit a playground in their neighbourhood and Ajax youth coach Jany van der Veen, who lived close by, noticed Cruyff’s talent and offered him a place at Ajax without a formal trial.
Cruyff also showed talent both on the baseball pitcher’s mound and behind the plate, as a catcher, before being told to leave the club’s baseball side at age 15 to focus on his football.
He made his first-team debut on 15 November 1964 in the Eredivisie, against GVAV, scoring the only goal for Ajax in a 3–1 defeat. The 1964/1965 season saw Ajax finish in their lowest position of 13th.
Cruyff started to make an impression in the 1965–66 season and established himself as a regular first-team player. He went onto score eight times across seven games during the winter months. In a cup game against Veendam, Cruyff scored four times and helped Ajax to a 7-0 win. He scored 25 goals in 23 games as Ajax won the championship.
The following season, Cruyff won his first double, ending the season as top scorer with 33 league goals. Cruyff and Ajax won their third successive championship in 1967/1968. He also won Dutch footballer of the year.
During the 1969/1969 season, he played in his first European Cup final against Milan, but the Italian side won 4–1.
On 2 June 1971, in London, Ajax won their first European Cup by defeating Panathinaikos 2–0. He signed a seven-year contract at Ajax. At the end of the season, he was named the Dutch and European Footballer of the Year.
In 1972, Ajax won a second European Cup, beating Inter Milan 2–0 in the final, with Cruyff scoring both goals. This victory prompted Dutch newspapers to announce the demise of the Italian defensive tactics in the face of Total Football. This second European Cup victory was part of a Treble, Ajax went onto win the Eredivisie and KNVB Cup. Cruyff was again top scorer across the league with 25 goals. The following season, Cruyff’s Ajax side went onto win the Intercontinental Cup, beating Independiente of Argentina.
The 1972/1973 season concluded with another league championship victory and a third successive European Cup with a 1–0 win over Juventus in the final, with one news outlet stating Cruyff “inspired one of the greatest 20-minute spells of football ever seen.”
In 1973, Cruyff was sold to Barcelona for a then world-record transfer fee. He played the last game of his first spell at Ajax in August 1973. He finished on a high as they beat FC Amsterdam 6-1.
He immediately endeared himself to the politically charged Barca fans as he chose a Catalan name, Jordi, for his son. His popularity increased as he helped Barca win La Liga for the first time since 1960, defeating Real Madrid 5-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Thousands of fans who watched the match on television poured out of their homes to join street celebrations. A New York Times journalist made the argument that Cruyff had done more for the spirit of the Catalan people in 90 minutes than many politicians in years of struggle.
Football historian Jimmy Burns said:
With Cruyff, the team felt they couldn’t lose. He gave them speed, flexibility, and a sense of themselves.
In 1974 Cruyff was crowned European Footballer of the Year.
Cruyff briefly retired in 1978. Having lost most of his money due to a series of poor investments, including a pig farm. Cruyff and his family moved to the United States. He recalled: “I had lost millions in pig-farming and that was the reason I decided to become a footballer again.”
Cruyff later insisted that his decision to resume his playing career in the United States was pivotal in his career. “It was wrong, a mistake, to quit playing at 31 with the unique talent I possessed”, and adding that “Starting from zero in America, many miles away from my past, was one of the best decisions I made. There I learned how to develop my uncontrolled ambitions, to think as a coach and about sponsorship.”
At the age of 32, Cruyff signed a lucrative contract with the Los Angeles Aztecs of the North American Soccer League (NASL). It had previously been rumoured he would be joining the New York Cosmos but the deal didn’t materialise; although, he did play a few exhibition games for the Cosmos. He stayed at the Aztecs for one season and was voted NASL Player of the Year.
The following season, he moved to play for the Washington Diplomats. He played the whole 1980 campaign for the club, even as the team was in dire financial trouble.
In May 1981, Cruyff played as a guest player for Milan in a tournament but was injured. As a result, he missed the beginning of the 1981 NASL soccer season, which ultimately led to Cruyff leaving the team. Cruyff hated playing on the artificial surfaces, a common feature of ‘soccer’ across the United States at the time
Cruyff was soon back in Europe and wanted to extend his playing career. In January 1981, he played three friendly matches for FC Dordrecht. It was at a similar time that Leicester City tried to sign him. Despite discussions lasting three weeks and Cruyff actively expressing an interest in signing for the club, a deal could not be reached. He eventually agreed on a deal with Spanish Segunda División side Levante.
In March 1981, Cruyff took the field for the first time for Levante. Injuries and disagreements with the administration blighted his spell in the Segunda División. During his time, he only made ten appearances, scoring two goals. Having failed to secure promotion to the first division, a longer-term deal with Levante fell through.
Cruyff eventually re-joined Ajax on 30 November 1980. Ajax were eighth in the table at the time after 13 games. His return to the club sparked an upturn in form, and they would eventually finish the season in second place. Following a successful 12 months back at Ajax, Cruyff signed a contract extension with the club and played an important role in his side winning the Eredivisie in 1982 and 1983.
Following the conclusion of the 1982/1983 season, Ajax decided not to offer Cruyff a new contract. The player was angered by this and he responded by signing for Ajax’s rivals Feyenoord. His time was a success and they won the Eredivisie for the first time in a decade, part of a league and cup double.
Cruyff made 48 appearances for his country, scoring 33 goals. They never lost a game in which he scored. He was also the first Dutch international to receive a red card. The Dutch Football Association controversially banned him for Ajax games but not from any internationals.
From 1970 onwards, Cruyff wore the number 14. This ultimately started a trend for players wearing shirt numbers outside the usual starting line-up numbers of 1 to 11.
His most successful tournament for the Netherlands came during the 1974 World Cup. He led the Dutch side to a runner up spot, after narrowly losing to West Germany in the final. Cruyff was named player of the tournament after he scored 3 times.
After retiring from playing, he returned to Ajax as a coach. They won the KNVB Cup in 1986 and 1987. His most memorable moment as manager came in the 1987 European Cup Winners Cup, as they beat FC Lokomotive Leipzig 1-0 in the final.
They were perhaps unlucky not to win the league during the 1985/1986 season, despite scoring 120 goals in a single campaign Ajax finished second behind PSV.
His legacy ultimately lasted far beyond his spell as manager. He created a system of play that was integral to Ajax winning the European Cup in 1995, seven years after his departure.
In terms of trophies and major honours, his most successful period came when he took over as Barcelona manager. In the space of five years from 1989, he led the club to four European finals (two European Cup Winners’ Cup finals and two Champions League finals).
His overall record at Barca includes one European Cup, four Liga championships, one Cup Winners’ Cup and one Copa Del Rey.
As with his time at Ajax, Cruyff’s legacy was not only about the trophies won. He brought in players such as Pep Guardiola, José Mari Bakero, Txiki Begiristain, Andoni Goikoetxea, Ronald Koeman, Michael Laudrup, Romário, Gheorghe Hagi and Hristo Stoichkov. It is said that his time at Barcelona gave the side a winning mentality and footballing ideology that runs through the club till this day.
It has been said by some people that Johan Cruyff invented modern football. An article on the Eurosport website looked at his legacy and argued: “He was a beautiful, brilliant and inspirational player and that alone would have placed him firmly in the pantheon, but what he did as a coach is unparalleled.”
When he took over Barcelona in 1988, they had won two league titles in 28 years. Crisis had followed crisis. In the 27 years after, they went onto won 13 league titles and five Champions Leagues.
In 1999, he helped establish the Johan Cruyff Institute. This is an educational institution, founded by Cruyff, aimed at educating athletes, sport, and business professionals in the field of sport management.
Cruyff famously used to smoke 20 cigarettes a day prior to undergoing double heart bypass surgery in 1991 while he was the coach of Barcelona, after which he gave up smoking.
He went onto lead an anti-smoking campaign developed by the Health Department of the Catalan autonomous government. Cruyff performed keepy-uppies with a pack of cigarettes by juggling it 16 times – using feet, thighs, knees, heel, chest, shoulder, and head like holding up a ball – in an anti-tobacco video sponsored by the Catalan Department of Health.
Outside football, Cruyff’s favourite sport (and hobby) was golf. In the 1970s, Cruyff loved to also collect cars. Around this time, Cruyff said: “I like to drive for the 20 km that separate the training camp from my house, it relaxes me. I love cars.”
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