Johan Cruyff: The Journey | OneFootball

Born in Amsterdam in 1974, the journey of Johan Cruyff saw him have a revolutionary impact on institutions like Ajax, Holland and Barcelona. We review his trajectory as a player, manager, and teacher and advisor.

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Do you like football? Do you not like football? In any case, you have definitely heard the name of this man. No matter how related to his figure one is, no one can deny the impact Johan Cruyff had on Barcelona. That is why he will forever be known as the most influential figure in the history of Barça. He has influenced the Catalans in not one or two, but three different roles. As a Player, As a Coach and as an Advisor to Joan Laporta. This article is an in-depth study of all three facets of the Dutch genius.

Cruyff: The Player

Being a very well known and loved sensation as the star player of Ajax in the Netherlands, a young yet mature Cruyff was bemused when his club sold him to Real Madrid. But Johan clearly had his sights set on another Spainsh based club called FC Barcelona. Cruyff threatened to retire if his transfer to Los Blancos was not cancelled and he was not transferred to Barça as he had already given his word to the officials there. He was eventually signed by the blaugranas for 2 million euros, the first ever multi-million euro signing in history and the most expensive of that time. It was the greatest ever investment put on by Barcelona. He became instantly popular and had an immediate impact. The opposition fans would boo their own team if they made a tackle on Cruyff because they were honoured to have a player like that playing infront of them. Kids copied his hair. His Phantom goal remains as one of the wonders of the world of football. All was good.

Johan Cruyff, a total footballer, undoubtedly was one of the best footballers in history | Photo by Imago

Barcelona were 16th when he played his first match in October due to legal reasons, but the Catalans ended the season without a single loss in the games in which he featured. Barça were set to win their first La Liga title in 13 years. But then came the possible league decider against Madrid, who were locked in a fierce title race with the culés. The birth of Cruyff’s first son, Jordi, was supposed to be on the day of the Clásico and Cruyff was stuck in a dilemma. He knew Barça could lose without him, so he made the decision of playing. And what a decision it turned out to be. Barcelona thumped Real Madrid 5–0 for the first but no the last time in their history. The league was won and El Flaco became a legend at the club. He left 4 years later with his mark left on the club. But that was just the beginning.

Cruyff: The Manager

Cruyff started his managerial career at Ajax and developed a new philosophy, but in 1988 he decided to depart just as his ideas started to take root. History was to be made. Johan was appointed by Barcelona as the first team manager and boy did he have an impact. One of the earliest contributions he made is not very well known, though it was very important for the future. Particularly at the academy, Cruyff wanted to debunk the myth that no player could succeed was he shorter than 6 feet. To him, the measure of a footballer’s value was not his talent nor his height, but his intelligence. That was proven right by the likes of Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and even Pedro, all of whom were very small. They all emerged from La Masía, which Cruyff himself had created as Barça’s official youth academy. La Masía was first set up in an abandoned farmhouse near the Camp Nou, despite it would only serve as an athletes’ residence.

The Dutchman’s impact does not stop there. A disciple from Rinus Michels, he perfected the Total Football, later evolving it into the Juego de Posición, and deployed it on his troops. He ordered that it should be applied on every youth level until it became their system. Cruyff was known to be arrogant and stated that he would rather fail with his own ideas than succeed with someone else’s. He also made another vital change. He made the teams train in tight spaces. That is why, whenever you see the Barcelona players on the big field, it’s like they are playing in tight spaces. Credit is to be given where credit is due, and Cruyff had a very good youth coach who helped him in his task a lot. That man was Laureano Ruiz, the inventor of the rondo.

Coach Cruyff alongside his first team assistant Carles Rexach | Photo by Clive Brunskill/Allsport via Getty Images

The first ever graduate of La Masía, Pep Guardiola, legendary player and future legendary coach, played a vital part in Cruyff’s renowned Dream Team. Johan was said to be crazy when he deployed 3 defenders and made his side make over a 1000 passes a game, but he got results. The culés won the league again and again – in fact, for 4 years in a row. But even though Barça were playing good football and winning, one thing eluded them from being part of the elite. The European Cup. However, in 1992, After Koeman’s incredible free-kick in extra time against Sampdoria, Barça became European champions for the first of 5 times in their history. Yet so much success can give you a big head, and that’s exactly what happened to the Núñez-led board. They sacked Johan Cruyff on 18 May 1996, marking the definitive end of the Dream Team.

Cruyff: The Advisor

You would think that this would cut Cruyff’s ties with the club, but Johan and Barcelona will be linked forever. When the Catalan lawyer Joan Laporta won the president elections, he brought with him a revamp and the most successful era behind him. The man behind the curtains was none other than Cruyff. Laporta has himself said that behind his most fortunate decisions was Cruyff, and he would take advice from him on everything. Johan was in favour of the election of Rijkaard as coach and that brought two league titles and Barça’s second ever Champions League. When the board decided to end Rijkaard’s tenure after his fourth year, Cruyff still had faith in him and was against it. But, when the directives made the choice, Johan was the one who suggested Guardiola’s name as the new boss, even if Pep had only been coaching Barça B for one year. Guardiola would become immensely successful, as we all know.

But that is where the problem rose. In 2010, Laporta decided to end his tenure. He left and Sandro Rosell was elected. Rosell was never a follower of Cruyff and his principles and even chose to have a vote on whether he should keep his position as Honorary President of the club, an honour bestowed on Johan by Laporta. The Dutchman was angered and threw the trophy and band that gave him that honour inside Rosell’s office as he did not want to be associated with the institution as long as Rosell was there. After Cruyff’s departure, Pep also got unhappy with the board because of this and was one of the reasons of his departure.

Joan Laporta naming Johan Cruyff honorary president in 2010 | Photo by Cordon Press/Miguelez Sports via Imago

“Rosell pushed Cruyff out of the club. He was here when we needed him, but he won’t be here when we need him the most”. These words by Graham Hunter sum up Cruyff’s journey perfectly. Johan sadly passed away on 24 March 2016, and we need him again. Even so, despite Bartomeu’s contrary way of doing things, Johan Cruyff’s legacy will live forever.