Soccer Superstars Codexery

Johan Cruyff

Dutch football legend and architect of Total Football.

Last updated

He won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973, and 1974.[1]

Life and work

Cruyff grew up in the Betondorp neighbourhood of Amsterdam, five minutes from Ajax's stadium.[2][3] His father died from a heart attack on 8 July 1959, and his mother later worked as a cleaner at Ajax.[4][5] Cruyff joined the Ajax youth system on his tenth birthday and initially preferred baseball until age fifteen.[6][7] Cruyff scored both goals in Ajax's 2–0 win over Inter Milan in the 1972 European Cup final.[4][8]

He began his managerial career in 1985 at Ajax and later managed Barcelona, where his "Dream Team" won the 1992 European Cup.[9] On 15 November 1964, Cruyff played his first match for Ajax Amsterdam's first team, a 1–3 loss to GVAV Groningen.[10] Because of a kidnapping attempt that targeted him and his family at their home in Barcelona, Cruyff chose not to participate in the 1978 World Cup.[11][12]

What the cited sources add

The Guardian article reports that Cruyff told Radio Cataluyna the kidnap attempt occurred in Barcelona in 1977.[12] The same source says sports writer David Miller believed Cruyff superior to any previous player in extracting the most from others.[8] The Independent article notes that Cruyff joined Barcelona for 6 million guilder, a record fee at the time.[7] According to the SI article, a well-known story says that in his first week as Barcelona's coach in 1988, Cruyff changed a teenage Pep Guardiola's position from winger to central midfielder.[9]

The International Football Hall of Fame account reports that English coach Vic Buckingham advised the club to sign Cruyff to a contract, and that Cruyff made his senior debut at age 17.[8] The Independent article reports that the Netherlands never lost a game in which Cruyff scored a goal.[7]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Johan Cruyff" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Johan Cruyff: The Creator of the Barcelona Dream Team's All-Time Best XI", SI, 2019-08-09 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Johan Cruyff" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Johan Cruyff", www.britannica.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Johan Cruyff" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kok 2022; Bollen 2021 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Johan Cruyff" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kok 2022 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Johan Cruyff" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kuper 2022 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Johan Cruyff" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ramesh, Priya, "Johan Cruijff: A mortal with the potential of a superman", Benefoot.net, 1 April 2016; "Profiel: De jonge jaren van Johan Cruijff", 24 March 2016; Stevens, "14 things you didn't know about Dutch legend Cruyff", The Independent, 24 March 2016; "Profiel: De jonge jaren van Johan Cruijff", 24 March 2016 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Stevens, "14 things you didn't know about Dutch legend Cruyff", The Independent, 24 March 2016. facts only, no text reused. independent.co.uk
  8. "Johan Cruyff – Hall of Fame", International Football Hall of Fame. facts only, no text reused. ifhof.com
  9. "Johan Cruyff: The Creator of the Barcelona Dream Team's All-Time Best XI", SI, 2019-08-09. facts only, no text reused. si.com
  10. Wikipedia, "Johan Cruyff" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Winner 2008; Winner 2008 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Johan Cruyff" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Doyle, "Kidnappers made Cruyff miss World Cup", The Guardian, 2008-04-16 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Doyle, "Kidnappers made Cruyff miss World Cup", The Guardian, 2008-04-16. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Johan Cruyff (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Career statistics and honours

Club

ClubSeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Ajax1964–65Eredivisie10400——104
1965–66Eredivisie191649——2325
1966–67Eredivisie30335563—4141
1967–68Eredivisie33275621—4034
1968–69Eredivisie292433106114334
1969–70Eredivisie33235684—4633
1970–71Eredivisie25216561—3727
1971–72Eredivisie32254395—4533
1972–73Eredivisie32170063434223
1973–74Eredivisie2300000023
Total2451933237472354329257
Barcelona1973–74261612800—3824
1974–75La Liga30712780—5014
1975–76La Liga29610392—4811
1976–77La Liga30149675—4625
1977–78La Liga28571105—4511
Total1434850253412—22785
Los Angeles Aztecs1979NASL2214——412615
Washington Diplomats1980NASL2410——202610
Levante1980–8110200——102
Washington Diplomats1981NASL52———52
Ajax1981–82Eredivisie1571000—167
1982–83Eredivisie2177220—309
Total36148220—4616
Feyenoord1983–84Eredivisie33117141—4413
Career total51829497658736115713400

International

National teamYearAppsGoals
Netherlands196621
196731
196810
196931
197022
197146
197255
197366
1974128
197520
197642
197741
Total4833

International

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
17 September 1966Rotterdam, NetherlandsHUN2–02–2UEFA Euro 1968 qualifying
213 September 1967Amsterdam, NetherlandsGDR1–01–0
326 March 1969Rotterdam, NetherlandsLUX1–04–01970 FIFA World Cup qualification
42 December 1970Amsterdam, NetherlandsROU1–02–0Friendly
52–0
624 February 1971Rotterdam, NetherlandsLUX3–06–0UEFA Euro 1972 qualifying
74–0
817 November 1971Eindhoven, NetherlandsLUX1–08–0
97–0
108–0
111 December 1971Amsterdam, NetherlandsSCO1–02–1Friendly
1216 February 1972Athens, GreeceGRE3–05–0
135–0
1430 August 1972Prague, CzechoslovakiaTCH1–02–1
151 November 1972Rotterdam, NetherlandsNOR4–09–01974 FIFA World Cup qualification
168–0
172 May 1973Amsterdam, NetherlandsESP3–23–2Friendly
1822 August 1973Amsterdam, NetherlandsISL2–05–01974 FIFA World Cup qualification
195–0
2029 August 1973Deventer, NetherlandsISL2–08–1
214–0
2212 September 1973Oslo, NorwayNOR1–02–1
2326 June 1974Gelsenkirchen, West GermanyARG1–04–01974 FIFA World Cup
244–0
253 July 1974Dortmund, GermanyBRA2–02–0
264 September 1974SWE1–05–1Friendly
2725 September 1974Helsinki, FinlandFIN1–13–1UEFA Euro 1976 qualifying
282–1
2920 November 1974Rotterdam, NetherlandsITA2–13–1
303–1
3122 May 1976BEL2–12–1
3213 October 1976Rotterdam, NetherlandsNIR2–12–21978 FIFA World Cup qualification
3326 March 1977BEL2–02–0

Tables copied from the source article, totals included as the source gives them: Wikipedia: Johan Cruyff (CC BY-SA 4.0). Wide tables scroll sideways.

Related entries

Named in this entry

Eredivisie

Ranked in

Tallest footballers

More in Soccer Superstars

Lionel MessiMichel PlatiniMia HammNeymarPeleRonaldoRonaldinhoZinedine ZidaneEbenezer Cobb MorleyLev YashinMegan RapinoePelé

Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. In what year did Johan Cruyff die?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 2016.

2. In what year was Johan Cruyff born?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1947.

3. In which place was Johan Cruyff born?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Answers checked against the source article

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

Spotted an error? Know more?

Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced

Comments

Loading…
Open in the interactive codex →