Johan Cruijff

Johan Cruijff
Hendrik Johannes "Johan" Cruijff OON, anglicised to Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and coach. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was one of the most famous exponents of the football philosophy known as Total Football explored by Rinus Michels, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in football history. In the 1970s, Dutch football rose from near obscurity...
inspirational motivational soccer
Soccer is simple, but it is difficult to play simple.
team europe people
There's not one club in Europe with an anthem like You'll Never Walk Alone. There's not one club in the world so united with their fans. I sat there watching the Liverpool fans and they sent shivers down my spine. A mass of 40,000 people became one force behind their team. That's something not many teams have. For that I admire Liverpool more than anything.
too-late moments late
There’s only one moment in which you can arrive in time. If you’re not there, you’re either too early or too late.
sports disadvantages advantage
Every disadvantage has its advantage.
player games giving
The hardest thing about an easy match is making a weak opponent play poor. A poor player isn't poor because he tends to kick the ball in his own goal. It's because when you put intense pressure on him, he loses control. So you have to increase the tempo of the game and he'll automatically give the ball away.
soccer disadvantages advantage
Every advantage has its disadvantage.
mistake loss counter-attack
A counter-attack can only arise when you make a mistake. That's why there are rules. A horizontal pass? Prohibited. In my line-up there are as many lines as possible. Because you must have the option to pass the ball forward, even if it's a meter. Because then I can still make up for the loss of possession. After a horizontal pass this is impossible.
football simple netherlands
Playing football is very simple, but playing simple football is the hardest thing there is.
running player two
If my forward arrives in a one vs one situation, I always say: 'let him work it out.' Then my players say: But we can help him!'. My reply is: First, there's a good chance you'll only run in his way, and as a second attacker you're drawing a second defender with you, and two vs two is harder than one vs one.'
differences five
The difference between right and wrong is often not more than five metres.
football mistake winning
Football is a game of mistakes. Whoever makes the fewest mistakes wins.
soccer team hard-work
Playing against 10 is harder than playing against 11 players. You know why? The team with 11 will think "ok, we can take it easy now", while the team with 10 will think "We really have to work hard now."
winning cant-win ifs
If you can't win, make sure you don't lose.
score
You have got to shoot, otherwise you can't score.