Category Archives: Johan Cruyff

BARCELONA RETURN TO WINNING WAYS

Barcelona are back to winning ways at home after the 2-1 win over Real Mallorca. The Catalan giants have had a recent poor record at the Nou Camp before the Mallorca game. Barcelona had lost their last three games at home in all competitions before the visit of Real Mallorca last weekend.

Xavi Hernandez and his Barcelona players were heavy favourites to win the Europa League title, but they could not fulfil the status after they were beaten at home by German Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Frankfurt at the start of the poor run at home. The Catalans were beaten 3-2 at home by 10-man Frankfurt for a 4-3 aggregate defeat after the first leg in Frankfurt ended in a 1-1 draw. Continue reading →

Cruyff backed France to win world cup

Former Dutch legend Johan Cruyff said that France deserves to win the World Cup in Russia and that they were the best team in the tournament. He said that France has some good players with not only the skills but also the experience to win such a demanding tournament.

Johan Cruyff said that France has had some excellent player development program in place for quite some time now and that they are now reaping the benefits. He said that France players are not only good technically but also physically which makes it quite difficult to play against.
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Johan Cruyff dies at 68

The Netherlands football hero Johan Cruyff departed the world through cancer at the age of 68.

The Dutchman, who won Ballon d’Or three times, guided Netherlands to the World Cup final in 1974 and as a manager he spent eight years in charge of Barcelona.

On March 24 2016 Johan Cruyff (68) died peacefully in Spain, surrounded by his family after a hard struggle with cancer.

“It’s with tears that we plead you to respect the family’s privacy during their time of grief’ read a statement on the World of Johan Cruyff website.

‘With sadness the death of Johan Cruyff has taught one or two lessons. Words are not enough’ wrote the Dutch football federation on Twitter.

Cruyff, who was a heavy smoker until undergoing heart surgery in 1991, made his illness publicized. He was regarded as one of the game’s greatest players. Continue reading →

MALAYSIA WANT CLUB BRUGGE PLAYER COOLS

Malaysia are interested in Belgian-Malaysian defender Dion ‘Johana’ Cools, according to reports.

The 21-year old was named by his parents after former football greats Dion Dublin and Johan Cruyff. The national coach NeloVingada has offered the player the opportunity to play for their national side.

Cools features currently for Club Brugge KV where he lines as a defender for the Belgian multiple time league winners. He has a mature profile at Club Brugge where he featured in 30 games last term. He has Champions League experience as well as Malaysia want him.

However, Cools has featured in various youth levels for Belgium. He was in the Under 22 Belgium Young Players’ Team of the Season last term.

Vngada said he has contacted the player and hoping he agrees to the request. The coach says he and his team have been investigating players that are eligible for Malaysian passport in a bid to boost the player pool for the national team. Continue reading →

Dick Advocaat is going to be in charge of the Dutch national soccer

Dick Advocaat is going to be in charge of the Dutch national soccer squad for the rest of their World Cup qualifying campaign.

The qualifying chances of the Dutch are hanging by a thin thread at the moment as they are far away from the first two spots in the points table of Group A.

It’s only if they are at no. 1 or no. 2 in the standings at the completion of the first round, they will have any chance of going to Russia, otherwise, they will have to suffer the embarrassment of not featuring in another big competition.

They had failed to secure their spot in the Euro Cup as well which had taken place the previous year.

The qualifying scenario for World Cup is such that if Netherlands manage to end up being the no. 1 in their group, they will qualify straightaway and won’t have to play any further games in that situation.

A no. 2 finish will send them to the playoffs where they will have to compete with the no. 2s of other groups. Continue reading →

IS BARCELONA THE MOST DRAINING SIDE TO MANAGE?

Spanish giant Barcelona have been very dominant in European club for many decades.

The legacies of the club speak for it. Managing the club comes with such high expectations that cold claim a life. Is the managerial role of Blaugrana the most draining in football?

After three years in charge, a successful Luis Enrique is set to leave the club. He leaves the side like every other manager: severely drained. During the 5-0 rout of Celta Vigo, the fans chanted: ‘Lucho, we love you, please stay’ but it was more of a farewell message as it had been established that he was leaving.

While it seems the club’s ideologies are waning, the part that the coaching role drains you to the last holds still. Only two managers have stayed at the club more than four years since the 1950s. Johan Cruyff – who changed football at the club – did eight years but he did not live long after. Frank Rijkaard spent five years and he is yet to recover.

The fans own the Spanish club – they decide who stays on as coach, who becomes the president and the extent they want to reach each term. Continue reading →

MESSI DONATES BOOT TO JORDI CRUYFF

The Barcelona forward has given his new footwear to the former Netherlands international, who played at Camp Nou in the 1990s.

The 29-year old has given new shoes for the son of the former Netherlands legend Johan Cruyff.

December is usually the time for gift giving and helping out those in need. So to keep up with tradition, Lionel Messi has donated his new boots to former Barcelona forward Jordi Cruyff.

Cruyff, who is now the sports director at Maccabi Tel Aviv, spent three seasons at Barcelona and four at Manchester United, but never quote lived up to his billing as the son of legendary Netherlands international Johan Cruyff.

The attacker scored just eight goals during his time at Old Trafford, failing to find the net during the 1997/1998 season, and later had spells in Ukraine and Malta despite a strong start to his playing career.

Conversely, Messi has scored over 500 goals for club and country, winning five Ballon d’Or trophies, and is rated as one of the best players of all time. Messi has made the former player a special present which he shared on Twitter with his followers. Continue reading →

Pep Guardiola Lauds ‘unique’ Johan Cruyff as the Best

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has lauded his former boss Johan Cruyff as the main reason why he has been hugely successful as a player and as a manager.

Guardiola managed to achieve a lot of success while being the captain of the Barcelona team. He has gone on to achieve an equal level of success as a manager. In his managerial career, Guardiola has won numerous league titles and Champions League medals. More importantly, he is seen as a coach with a vision of playing the game and being able to apply that on the pitch.

It is one of the main reasons for coaches around the world trying to replicate the Guardiola style of football. In many ways, Guardiola says that he is just trying to replicate what Johan Cruyff taught him on the pitch. As a teenager coming through the Barcelona youth ranks,Cruyff picked him up and put him into the first-team. Barcelona were under the ethos of total football during the time of the Dutchman. However, they achieved huge success with this philosophy only during the time of Guardiola. For a period of four years, Barcelona the best team in the planet by a long distance and they managed to amass several titles. Continue reading →

Carragher: Guardiola Can Revolutionise City like Cruyff at Barcelona

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher reckons that Manchester City have done a Barcelona by appointing Pep Guardiola, as he believes that this appointment is similar to the decision taken by Barcelona with Johan Cruyff in 1988.

The Dutchman is widely credited for changing the entire face of the club. He brought about the total football concept to Catalonia. While the younger generation lauds the team under Guardiola, it would not have been possible without the presence ofCruyff. The Dutchman groomed players like Guardiola when they were coming through the youth teams.

Carragher says that City have the ability to go on and have a similar period with Guardiola at the helm. The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager moved to City after resisting offers from the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea. Widely seen as one of the best managers in the world, Guardiola will be transforming everything at the club from the youth system. Since he wants his youth teams to be playing in a similar way to the senior team, the transformation made by the manager will be evident in the next decade or more according to Carragher. A product of the Liverpool system, Carragher enjoyed a remarkably successful career and made about 700 appearances for the Merseyside club before retiring a few years ago.
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Cryuff Remains A Mentor For Many

Players become mentors for future players as well as coaches. This instance is carried out well by Johan Cruyff.

He has become an inspiration for Pep Guardiola, the coach for Manchester City. The new coach credits Johan to be his mentor. He states that Johan has been his inspiration for a long time. The former boss of Bayern Munich and Barcelona credits Johan to be his mentor and for the inspiration he has on him. The new job has come to Premier League team and it involves a contract for three years. In Barca he has helped two Champions Leagues to be won as well as three titles from La Liga. There are three titles from Bundesliga that he is credited with. He states, however, that Cruyff provided advice that has helped him to put together teams that have won these matches. The influence that Johan has had on him is incredible. He feels that Johan has influenced other coaches in a similar way.
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