There are many types of players in the football world, some rely on speed and physical fitness to win, and break through like a knife on the field; There are also those who are based on strength, and the powerful and powerful shots are heavy, and the body that is difficult to be restrained by several people is encircled; Some players are born with big hearts, and the more important moments of the game, the calmer they become, and the more they play in the face of adversity.
And there is one player whose style is unique in world football. The soccer skills are good enough to compare to any superstar in the history of football without falling behind. What's more, whenever he gets the ball, his imagination and creativity are like magic, and he can perform in an instant.
His name is Johan Cruyff, and he is a talented player who has elevated football into an art.
Born in Amsterdam in 1947, Cruyff was introduced to football at an early age due to the proximity of his home to the home of Ajax Football Club and the fact that his father was a football fan. But when Cruyff was 12 years old, his father died of a heart attack, and the bad news not only did not knock Cruyff down, but strengthened his determination to become a footballer.
In order to make ends meet and to help her son achieve his dream of football, Cruyff's mother chose to work at Ajax Football Club and chose to marry the club's stadium manager for the second time. And this choice, in the end, affected Cruyff's life.
Soon, Cruyff's talent potential was discovered by the club. At just 17 years old, he was selected for the first team, playing for Ajax and even scoring in his debut. As a striker, he not only has a high scoring rate, but his wide attacking vision and ability to read the game allow him to pass a lot of good balls and create attacking opportunities for his teammates.
After Cruyff arrived, the team also began to show dominance. Cruyff's Ajax won three consecutive Eredivisie titles in 1965-68 and reached their first Champions League final in 1969. Although they lost 4-1 to AC Milan, they have become a new force to be reckoned with. As for Cruyff personally, he also returned with a lot of honors. He was selected for the national team at the age of 19 and won the Netherlands Player of the Year for the three years 1967-69. At the time, both the team and Cruyff had a bright future.
Ajax's coach at the time was Rinus Michels, who was also the team's main striker as a player. Influenced by his previous coach, Michels developed an all-round football system. It's a style of play where there is no fixed position, and all 10 people on the field are responsible for attacking and defending. Since every player needs to be involved in attack and defense, the movement of positions on the pitch has become more frequent, and the offensive and defensive systems have become more three-dimensional and diverse. But again, the system needs to be supported by good players to work. And in this excellent system, Cruyff belongs to the most important core position.
In the team, Cruyff will need to play a commanding role on the pitch, not only scoring himself, but also dropping back to create opportunities for the team to open up space. It turned the game upside down and made Ajax unbeatable in Europe. In 1971, they reached the Champions League final again, and this time, Ajax came out on top. In the two years since, Ajax has continued to complete three consecutive titles. In 1971-74, Cruyff won the player's highest honor, the Ballon d'Or, three times, becoming the best footballer in the world at that time.
In 1971, Coach Michels was invited to Barcelona to coach the team. Two years later, Cruyff joined Barcelona for what was then a record-breaking transfer fee of $2 million. Cruyff continued to excel in his new squad, helping Barcelona to the La Liga title after a 14-year absence, and humiliating Real Madrid 5-0 in the national derby. In the same season against Madrid, Cruyff smashed the net with the outside of his right foot in an almost straight horse position in the air. The goal was dubbed "The Phantom Goal" and has been enjoyed by Barcelona fans to this day.
In 1974, the same year the World Cup was ushered in, when Netherlands chose Michels as the team manager, and he moved Ajax's all-round system directly to the national team. Once again, the Netherlands team has amazed the world with their style of play. They beat Argentina 4-0, East Germany 2-0 and defending champions Brazil to reach the final. The final was against West Germany, led by Franz Beckenbauer, who was known as the "Emperor of Football" at the time, and the two best players in the world faced each other head-to-head.
The game started with Netherlands getting off to a dream start. After a few passes, the ball came to Cruyff's feet. He dribbled into the box and was tripped by opposition player Hoeness, and the referee awarded a penalty. Teammate Neskens took a 1-0 lead. In the opening period, the German players were in a backward situation without even having a chance to touch the ball. But soon, Germany were also awarded a penalty opportunity, and left-back Breitner equalised the score. Before the break, Germany took the lead thanks to Muller's goal and eventually held the score until the end.
Although the game was invincible, it was the crucial final step, as Netherlands missed out on the world title and Cruyff lost the chance to become the top of the ball. But the football philosophy they brought with them changed the understanding of football tactics in later generations, and also opened up the expectations of the younger generation of players for the future of football.
After the final final, Cruyff's career began to go downhill. In 1977, Cruyff chose to retire from the national team due to family factors, a decision that directly caused Netherlands to fall before the Hercules Cup the following year. In 1978 he retired briefly, but the following year he was invited to play at the New York Cosmos in United States. After two years in the United States, he returned to Europe, first with La Liga side Levante, then back to Netherlands to join Ajax, and finally unexpectedly joined arch-rivals Feyenoord, where he finally chose to end his career, ending his 20-year career as a player.
After officially retiring from football, Cruyff moved to coach the team, and thanks to his excellent ability to read the game, he still had a very good performance in the coaching position. In 1985, he helped the team win the 1987 European Cup Winner's Cup at Ajax, and brought out Van Basten, Rijkaard, Danny Blind, Bergkamp and many other good players. In 1988, he chose to switch to Barcelona, and in just a few years he built a strong team for Barcelona.
In his eight-year managerial career, Cruyff led Barcelona to 11 titles, including a Champions League, a Cup Winners' Cup and four consecutive La Liga titles. Off the pitch, the most well-known is the La Masia Academy, which was set up at the suggestion of Cruyff. The players who train here play in a special mode from an early age, which also allows them to get familiar with the team's style of play more quickly and move up to the first team more easily. It is this all-round system from Cruyff that not only allowed Barcelona to emerge in an endless stream of new forces, but also made Barcelona the most successful football club in Europe in the next two decades, indirectly changing the pattern of world football.
Back to Cruyff, he had a great addiction to smoking. He started smoking cigarettes when he was a player, and when he was the coach of Barcelona, he even smoked 20 cigarettes a day. With such a big addiction to smoking, combined with the pressure of being the coach of the team, he soon had problems with his body.
In February 1991, Cruyff developed a heart attack and managed to save his life after undergoing timely heart surgery. This illness also made Cruyff determined to quit smoking, and during this period, he also cooperated with the government's anti-tobacco organization to actively shoot advertisements to promote the dangers of cigarettes. But perhaps because his past addiction to cigarettes had already overdrawn his body, Cruyff was finally diagnosed with lung cancer in October 2015. Although his condition improved after treatment, he passed away in March of the following year.
This non-stop flying Netherlands legend, this immortal term of "all attack and defense", his dashing and heroic appearance when playing, his influence on future football, I think he has so many things worth recalling! Remember! John Cruyff!