Johan Cruyff

Lore & Background

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Dutch football rose from a semi-professional and obscure level to become a powerhouse in the sport. The Netherlands qualified for the 1974 FIFA World Cup, their first appearance in the competition in 36 years. With three goals and three assists, Cruyff led the Netherlands to the final, where they lost to West Germany; nonetheless, he received the Golden Ball as player of the tournament. After finishing third in UEFA Euro 1976, Cruyff refused to play in the 1978 FIFA World Cup after a kidnapping attempt targeting him and his family in their Barcelona home led to his retirement from international football. At club level, Cruyff started his career at Ajax in 1964, where he won six Eredivisie titles, three European Cups, and one Intercontinental Cup. He moved to FC Barcelona in 1973, winning the La Liga title in 1973–74, the club's first in 14 years, and the Copa del Rey once. After stints at the Los Angeles Aztecs and the Washington Diplomats in the United States and at Levante in Spain, Cruyff returned to Ajax in 1981, winning two further Eredivisie titles. As the club refused to extend his contract, Cruyff moved to main rivals Feyenoord in 1983, where he won the double (Eredivisie and KNVB Cup) in his first and only season at the club. After retiring from playing in 1984, Cruyff became a highly successful manager of Ajax and Barcelona, winning the 1987 European Cup Winners' Cup at Ajax, and four La Liga titles and one European Cup at Barcelona. After his dismissal in 1996, he remained an advisor to both Ajax and Barcelona. His son Jordi also played football professionally for Barcelona.

In Their Own Story

The dressing room at the Olympic Stadium in Munich, 1974, smelled of sweat and liniment. Cruyff sat on the bench, his boots laced, his mind already three moves ahead of the West German defence. Michels had whispered something before the final—something about the ball belonging to the team, not to him. In that half, Cruyff would drift into space where no one expected, receive a pass that seemed to arrive before he asked for it, and release it to a teammate who was already running into the gap. The final score would hurt for decades. But in that dressing room, in the quiet after the whistle, a generation of Dutch players understood that what they had shown the world was not a tactic. It was a way of thinking. And it would not die with the tournament.

Reader's Guide

Cruyff founded the Johan Cruyff Foundation in 1997, which is intended to help disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs. In addition, he is the originator of several catchphrases and aphorisms, known as Cruijffiaans, that have entered everyday language, especially in the Netherlands and to some extent in Spain. 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.

Did You Know?

• Cruyff anglicised his last name; in the Netherlands he is known as Cruijff, but the anglicised version is used elsewhere.
• His father died of a heart attack in 1959, which drove Cruyff to accumulate money quickly to support his family.
• Cruyff was shaped by Calvinism and later experimented with spiritualistic practices to contact his deceased father.
• He quit secondary education without a diploma after staying down twice.
• Cruyff preferred baseball until age fifteen, when he quit at the urging of his coaches.