← Older revision
Revision as of 20:45, 18 November 2016
Line 18:
Line 18:
* It hurts me that Holland chose an ugly path to aim for the title.
* It hurts me that Holland chose an ugly path to aim for the title.
** ''BBC Sport'' (12 July 2010).
** ''BBC Sport'' (12 July 2010).
+
+
* Who am I supporting? I am Dutch but I support the football that Spain is playing. Spain's style is the style of Barcelona. Spain, a replica of Barça, is the best publicity for football.
+
** Cruyff wrote in his weekly column for the Barcelona-based newspaper ''El Periodico'', prior to the 2010 FIFA World Cup final match ([http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2890/world-cup-2010/2010/07/11/2018367/from-ajax-to-barcelona-holland-vs-spain-world-cup-2010-final ''Goal.com'', 11 July 2010]).
+
+
* We [Barça] are a unique club in the world, no one has kept their jersey intact throughout their history, yet have remained as competitive as they come. (...) We have sold this uniqueness for about six percent of our budget. I understand that we are currently losing more than we are earning. However, by selling the shirt it shows me that we are not being creative, and that we have become vulgar.
+
** Cruyff criticises club's shirt sponsorship deal with [[w:Qatar Foundation|Qatar Foundation]] ([http://www.goal.com/en/news/12/spanish-football/2011/04/22/2452965/qatar-foundation-deal-may-have-kept-messi-at-barcelona-but ''Goal.com'', 22 April 2011]).
* Because you play football with your head, and your legs are there to help you. If you don't use your head, using your feet won't be sufficient. Why does a player have to chase the ball? Because he started running too late. You have to pay attention, use your brain and find the right position. If you get to the ball late, it means you chose the wrong position. [[Dennis Bergkamp|Bergkamp]] was never late.
* Because you play football with your head, and your legs are there to help you. If you don't use your head, using your feet won't be sufficient. Why does a player have to chase the ball? Because he started running too late. You have to pay attention, use your brain and find the right position. If you get to the ball late, it means you chose the wrong position. [[Dennis Bergkamp|Bergkamp]] was never late.
Line 24:
Line 30:
* [[Louis van Gaal|Van Gaal]] has a good vision on football. But it's not mine. He wants to gel winning teams and has a militaristic way of working with his tactics. I don't. I want individuals to think for themselves and take the decision on the pitch that is best for the situation... I don't have anything against computers, but you judge football players intuitively and with your heart.
* [[Louis van Gaal|Van Gaal]] has a good vision on football. But it's not mine. He wants to gel winning teams and has a militaristic way of working with his tactics. I don't. I want individuals to think for themselves and take the decision on the pitch that is best for the situation... I don't have anything against computers, but you judge football players intuitively and with your heart.
** reported in Maarten Meijer (2014). ''Louis van Gaal: The Biography''.
** reported in Maarten Meijer (2014). ''Louis van Gaal: The Biography''.
+
+
* Football is now all about money. There are problems with the values within the game. And this is sad because football is the most beautiful game. We can play it in the street. We can play it everywhere. Everyone can play it but those values are being lost. We have to bring them back.
+
** [https://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/sep/12/johan-cruyff-louis-van-gaal-manchester-united In an interview with The Guardian's Donald McRae in September 2014].
+
+
*Right now, I have the feeling that I am 2-0 up in the first half of a match that has not finished yet. But I am sure that I will end up winning.
+
** [http://www.eurosport.com/football/liga/2015-2016/johan-cruyff-i-m-2-0-up-at-half-time-in-battle-against-lung-cancer_sto5174173/story.shtml ''Eurosport.com'', 13 February 2016].
* I haven't always been understood. As a footballer, as coach and also for what I did after all that. But OK, [[Rembrandt]] and [[Van Gogh]] weren't understood either. That's what you learn: people go on bothering you until you're a genius.
* I haven't always been understood. As a footballer, as coach and also for what I did after all that. But OK, [[Rembrandt]] and [[Van Gogh]] weren't understood either. That's what you learn: people go on bothering you until you're a genius.
Line 37:
Line 49:
* He [Cruyff] was pretty intelligent, too! A real football brain. He had superb control, he was inventive and he could perform magic with a ball to get himself out of trouble instinctively. He got a lot of goals, and although he was so skilful, he didn’t show off – he played to the strengths of the players around him. This side would really keep hold of the ball.
* He [Cruyff] was pretty intelligent, too! A real football brain. He had superb control, he was inventive and he could perform magic with a ball to get himself out of trouble instinctively. He got a lot of goals, and although he was so skilful, he didn’t show off – he played to the strengths of the players around him. This side would really keep hold of the ball.
** [[w:Bobby Charlton|Bobby Charlton]]'s Perfect XI, [http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/bobby-charlton-perfect-xi ''[[w:FourFourTwo|FourFourTwo]]'' magazine (March 2007)].
** [[w:Bobby Charlton|Bobby Charlton]]'s Perfect XI, [http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/bobby-charlton-perfect-xi ''[[w:FourFourTwo|FourFourTwo]]'' magazine (March 2007)].
+
+
* As a player he [Cruyff] turned football into an art form. Johan came along and revolutionised everything. The modern-day Barça started with him, he is the expression of our identity, he brought us a style of football we love.
+
** [[w:Joan Laporta|Joan Laporta]], the former Barcelona president, in [http://arxiu.fcbarcelona.cat/web/english/noticies/club/temporada09-10/04/08/n100408110309.html ''Recognition of the man who created a style'' (fcbarcelona.cat, 08.04.2010)]
+
+
* He [Cruyff] changed the idiosyncrasy of the club ([[w:Barça|Barça]]). He introduced the philosophy to keep the ball, to play in triangles, to attack. That philosophy remains true to this day. We're all students of Cruyff and his school of thought.
+
** [[w:Xavi Hernández|Xavi Hernández]], ([http://www.thenational.ae/sport/football/barcas-xavi-were-playing-a-great-team-in-manchester-united ''TheNational.ae'', 26 May 2011]).
* There have been four kings of football – [[w:Afredo di Stéfano|Di Stéfano]], [[Pelé]], Cruyff and [[Diego Maradona|Maradona]] – and the fifth has not yet appeared. We are awaiting the fifth, and it is sure to be [[Lionel Messi|Messi]], but so far he is not among the kings. You can't give him the crown after five years.
* There have been four kings of football – [[w:Afredo di Stéfano|Di Stéfano]], [[Pelé]], Cruyff and [[Diego Maradona|Maradona]] – and the fifth has not yet appeared. We are awaiting the fifth, and it is sure to be [[Lionel Messi|Messi]], but so far he is not among the kings. You can't give him the crown after five years.
** [[w:César Luis Menotti|César Luis Menotti]], [http://deportes.elpais.com/deportes/2011/07/11/actualidad/1310368914_850215.html in an interview with Luis Martín of ''[[w:El País|El País]]'' (July 2011)].
** [[w:César Luis Menotti|César Luis Menotti]], [http://deportes.elpais.com/deportes/2011/07/11/actualidad/1310368914_850215.html in an interview with Luis Martín of ''[[w:El País|El País]]'' (July 2011)].
+
+
* We discussed space the whole time. Cruyff always talked about where people should run, where they should stand, where they should not be moving. It was all about making space and coming into space.
+
** Barry Hulshoff, the 1970s Ajax defendernwho played with Cruyff, reported in David Winner (2012). ''Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football''.
* Cruyff was the first player who understood that he was an artist, and the first who was able and willing to collectivise the art of sports.
* Cruyff was the first player who understood that he was an artist, and the first who was able and willing to collectivise the art of sports.
** reported in [[w:Jonathan Wilson (writer)|Jonathan Wilson]] (2013). ''Inverting the Pyramid: The History of Football Tactics''.
** reported in [[w:Jonathan Wilson (writer)|Jonathan Wilson]] (2013). ''Inverting the Pyramid: The History of Football Tactics''.
+
+
* Cruyff introduced some passing drills into Barça's ‘arterial’ system. And since then, the rondos have been not just a method but a symbol of the club's playing style: of dominating and never losing the ball. Cruyff blended several ideas and concepts and converted them into a philosophy – the seeds of which were planted throughout a club in urgent need of a footballing identity. Until then, the first team of Barcelona had been comfortably living in a world of excuses and enemies, content with their role as victims when faced with Real Madrid, an institution seen from Catalonia as the club of the Establishment.
+
** reported in [[w:Guillem Balagué|Guillem Balagué]] (2013). ''Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning. The Biography''.
+
+
* It is about creating one philosophy, one mentality, from the bottom of the club to the top. Cruyff is the one who started it all. He has been the club's most influential figure. We all have the ability to do certain things, but I would not have been able to build something from scratch like Cruyff did. I learned a lot of things from him. I cannot imagine the current Barcelona without Cruyff's work.
+
** Pep Segura, the former [[w:La Masia|La Masia]] technical director, said of Cruyff's influence on Barcelona's youth system [http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11833/8925645/football-philosopher (September 2013)].
* When players like [Gareth] [[w:Gareth Bale|Bale]] and [Cristiano] [[Cristiano Ronaldo|Ronaldo]] are worth around €100 million, Johan [Cruyff] would go in the billions.
* When players like [Gareth] [[w:Gareth Bale|Bale]] and [Cristiano] [[Cristiano Ronaldo|Ronaldo]] are worth around €100 million, Johan [Cruyff] would go in the billions.
** [[w:Franz Beckenbauer|Franz Beckenbauer]], [http://www.bild.de/sport/fussball/franz-beckenbauer/cruyff-barcelona-immer-groesser-als-bayern-37721032.bild.html in an interview with Henning Feindt of ''[[w:Bild.de|Bild.de]]'' (September 2014)].
** [[w:Franz Beckenbauer|Franz Beckenbauer]], [http://www.bild.de/sport/fussball/franz-beckenbauer/cruyff-barcelona-immer-groesser-als-bayern-37721032.bild.html in an interview with Henning Feindt of ''[[w:Bild.de|Bild.de]]'' (September 2014)].
+
+
* You really have to put things in their context and their historic moment. For me, my idol was always Johan Cruyff. For me he has always been the greatest, not just as a player but also as a person. (...) He has been a point of reference for me. It was his era, his moment - and he was the best in the world. For me, the best in history.
+
** [[w:Joan Laporta|Joan Laporta]], the former Barcelona president, in ''[http://www.goal.com/en/news/2466/goal-50/2015/11/27/17699912/laporta-like-cruyff-in-his-time-messi-is-the-best-in-history Like Cruyff in his time, Messi is the best in history]'', ''Goal.com'' (27 November 2015).
+
+
* We [Barça] have had great players before, from the days of [[w:László Kubala|László Kubala]] and [[w:Luis Suárez Miramontes|Luis Suárez]]. [Johan] Cruyff, as a player, made us relevant again and as a manager he put us on the map with the European Cup win in 1992. [[Ronaldinho]] made us global and Messi has made us universal.
+
** [[w:Josep Maria Bartomeu|Josep Maria Bartomeu]] told ''La Repubblica'', ([http://www.goal.com/en/news/722/la-liga/2016/01/11/19234612/ronaldinho-made-barcelona-global-and-messi-has-made-us-universal- ''Goal.com'', 11 January 2016])
* Cruyff, the great [[w:ideologue|ideologue]] of [[w:FC Barcelona|the Catalan club]], its [[w:philosopher king|philosopher king]],
* Cruyff, the great [[w:ideologue|ideologue]] of [[w:FC Barcelona|the Catalan club]], its [[w:philosopher king|philosopher king]],
Line 52:
Line 85:
* I consider him [Cruyff] the ideological father of the football; the one I try to play like and the one I look to learn from as a spectator whenever I watch a game. The intelligent use of the ball and the spaces, the importance of talent over the physical condition and the understanding of football as a team sport are concepts that I definitely endorse.
* I consider him [Cruyff] the ideological father of the football; the one I try to play like and the one I look to learn from as a spectator whenever I watch a game. The intelligent use of the ball and the spaces, the importance of talent over the physical condition and the understanding of football as a team sport are concepts that I definitely endorse.
** [[w:Juan Mata|Juan Mata]], [http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features/Features/2016/Mar/Juan-Mata-blogs-about-the-late-johan-cruyff-and-international-duty-with-spain.aspx in his weekly blog for ''Kicca.com'' (March 2016)].
** [[w:Juan Mata|Juan Mata]], [http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features/Features/2016/Mar/Juan-Mata-blogs-about-the-late-johan-cruyff-and-international-duty-with-spain.aspx in his weekly blog for ''Kicca.com'' (March 2016)].
+
+
* With Cruyff we [Barça] began to play differently, breaking new ground and innovating. With him, both as a player and coach, we established our own style on the field, what is traditionally known as 'total football,' the Barça style everyone admires. The arrival of Cruyff altered the history of Barça. He contributed decisively to a change of mentality. He got us to keep our heads up and to see that no opponent was invincible, that we could attain what we were aiming for. Cruyff was an icon who explained, better than anyone, that Barça is more than a club. He did it simply and based in reality, and always moving forward. Without Cruyff's unabashed and non-conformist spirit, we quite possibly wouldn't have become the greatest club in the world. So, again, thank you, Johan. Thanks to the man who was admired, thanks to the social icon, thanks to the football superstar.
+
** [https://www.fcbarcelona.com/club/news/2015-2016/letter-from-the-presidents-of-fc-barcelona-to-johan-cruyff An open letter signed by Barcelona's eight (living) current and previous presidents], FC Barcelona's official website (fcbarcelona.com), 24 March 2016.
+
+
* If you look at the greatest players in history, most of them couldn’t coach. If you look at the greatest coaches in history, most of them were not great players. Johan Cruyff did both – and in such an exhilarating style.
+
** [[w:Johan Neeskens|Johan Neeskens]], the former Dutch international, in ''[http://www.fifa.com/news/y=2016/m=3/news=farewell-to-football-s-thriller-incomparable-2772199.html Farewell to football's thriller incomparable]'', FIFA.com (24 March 2016).
+
+
* As a player and as a manager he [Cruyff] won a lot of titles, but that's not his legacy. The titles only help. Johan has changed two clubs. Not only did he change [[w:Ajax Amsterdam|Ajax]], but also [[w:FC Barcelona|Barcelona]] – and then the Dutch and Spanish national teams, too. Forget the titles. I've won more titles than him. Messi, for example, is someone runs less and in that he's the best of Cruyff's alumni. (...) I would not have been capable of doing what he did at Barcelona. He changed everything. He did it all. What Cruyff's done for football cannot be compared. The statue thing is superficial. He has made us love this sport so openly that there's no way we can forget him.
+
** [[w:Pep Guardiola|Pep Guardiola]], in ''[http://www.sport-english.com/en/news/barca/pep-guardiola-cruyffs-legacy-infinite-5003949 Cruyff's legacy is infinite, we will never forget him]'', SPORT.es (25 March 2016).
+
+
* More than an athlete, Cruyff was also a great thinker, someone who reinvented the sport (...) Cruyff has left us now, but his vision and philosophy will hopefully live forever. You can see it in the way Barcelona—one of two clubs Cruyff revolutionized, along with Ajax—still plays every week. It's a style that has admirers around the world. I think a lot of people share that [philosophy] with him. You want to see this type of game, where you set the tone, you control the game, you make it fast, you make it attractive and attacking. He's always been famous for his version of the 4–3–3 with the wide wingers, all technically highly gifted and fast. This is his mark."
+
** [[w:Jürgen Klinsmann|Jürgen Klinsmann]], the head coach of the United States national team ([http://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2016/03/24/jurgen-klinsmann-usmnt-world-cup-qualifying-johan-cruyff ''SI.com'', 24 March 2016]).
+
+
* He [Cruyff] has been inspirational to me along my career. When I was giving my first steps as a footballer he was a myth, an icon to follow. Afterwards, when I became a football manager, Cruyff was one of my references.
+
** [[Rafael Benítez]], Spanish football manager, in ''[http://www.rafabenitez.com/web/in/whats-on/farewell-to-legend-rip-johan-cruyff/190/ Farewell to a Legend: R.I.P. Johan Cruyff]'', Rafa Benitez Official Website (24 March 2016).
+
+
* He [Cruyff] can be seen as a revolutionary, a dreamer, a visionary, and an innovator who changed the idea of a game in which strength was the primary consideration to another one based, and focused, on ability and technique, giving birth to what has been called “tiki-taka.” He used to say that football should be played with the brain. (...) He would always talk about football in the same way he did when he was playing and coaching—with plenty of passion and excitement. A legend has gone but he has left an important legacy.
+
** [[w:Ramón Calderón|Ramón Calderón]], the former [[w:Real Madrid|Real Madrid]] president, [http://www.newsweek.com/johan-cruyff-ramon-calderon-barcelona-real-madrid-440545 pays tribute to Cruyff], ''Newsweek.com'', 24 March 2016.
* I have a big respect in general for the [[w:Dutch football|Dutch school]], and Johan Cruyff especially, because let's not forget he is the product of a school in Holland which was around before him. People like [[w:Rinus Michels|Rinus Michels]], who influenced his players too, because this is not an isolated way of thinking. Johan Cruyff had it too - that personality, the character to say 'yes, I believe in this game, and I'm strong and brave enough to apply it on the pitch.' That's what I admired.
* I have a big respect in general for the [[w:Dutch football|Dutch school]], and Johan Cruyff especially, because let's not forget he is the product of a school in Holland which was around before him. People like [[w:Rinus Michels|Rinus Michels]], who influenced his players too, because this is not an isolated way of thinking. Johan Cruyff had it too - that personality, the character to say 'yes, I believe in this game, and I'm strong and brave enough to apply it on the pitch.' That's what I admired.