Category Archives: Johan Cruyff

Cryuff Represented A Different Kind Of Football

We are here to talk about Johan Cruyff, who had a great impact on the football team of the Netherlands as well as in European football.

It is pertinent to talk about him in this context, especially at a time when the European league is underway and every country showcase their current skills as well as build on what they have achieved over the years. With Johan passing away the football world is in disbelief and it is also hard to believe that the Netherlands has been unable to clear their way into the European championships this time.

It is time to reminisce how the Dutch side was in the seventies. There was the concept of playing total football that is an alien concept today as well as Johan Cruyff, who leaves behind a legendary profile and a rich history of contributions to the world of football. The football acts that were enacted at that time were unique. Continue reading →

Southampton’s Ronald Koeman talks about the impact of Johan Cruyff

The late Johan Cruyff and the current coach of Southampton, Ronald Koeman worked together a few years ago when they met at Ajax and later at Barcelona.

It’s been a little over a year since Johan Cruyff passed away after losing his ongoing battle with lung cancer and Koeman has recently talked about how it was to lose one of his most important football figures.


‘I was sitting on a terrace in Nice when the call came. Then everything stopped. Johan’s death, it seemed impossible.Johan walks through my life. I went to the commemoration last week in Barcelona even though it did not suit me.I flew from Nice to Amsterdam to Southampton, and then had 20 minutes to pack some stuff, because I flew back to Amsterdam.’

‘It was beautiful, I am glad I was there. That’s how much respect and love there is for Johan. Everything was right, everyone was there and if you so look around you, you realize again what Johan meant. He was, is and remains the greatest. If Cruyff had played at this time, he would have still been the best.’ Southamptona’s Ronald Koeman said.

The impact and contributions that Johan Cruyff has made to football has been monumental as he helped create Barcelona to the club that they are today, it’s with his playing philosophies that has molded the Spanish club. Continue reading →

DAVID GINOLA: JOHAN CRUYFF TRIED TO SIGN ME

David Ginola in a tribute to the late Dutchman said Johan Cruyff tried signing him. Ginola ended up in Newcastle even though he was approached by Johan Cruyff and Sir Bobby Robson to sign for Barcelona. The winger played for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in face off against the Spanish giant in the 1994/1995 season. He was approached after the two-legged European as he impressed then Barcelona manager, Johan Cruyff. The Dutch legend tried the subsequent season to sign David Ginola but David couldn’t move to Nou Camp as the Catalan giant had too many foreign players.

Since the move couldn’t happen, David Ginola moved to Newcastle after being approached by the Magpies boss, Kevin Keegan.

David Ginola told TalkSport: ‘The last year I spent in Paris we played Barcelona in the qualifying round of the Champions and I played against (Albert) Ferrer, who (later) played for Chelsea, and I was fantastic (in) both games. We had a golf game and he (Cruyff) said: ‘I will sign you; you are my priority for next season.’ So I said, ‘OK’, and then we played this golf tournament and had a meeting in his house in Barcelona.’

David explained the extent the Late Barcelona boss went to sign him.

‘He said that the problem is because it wasn’t Bosman rules that they already had six foreigners in the team (at Barcelona) – and he said I need to get rid of two before I can ask the chairmen to sign you. Back in July (1995), right after that, they couldn’t find clubs for (Hristo) Stoichkov and (Gheorghe) Hagi. He (Cruyff) called me on July 14, how strange is that – it’s Independence Day in France. And he said: ‘Well David, I couldn’t get rid of the two players. I can’t sign you.’ So I had a phone call from Keegan and Terry McDermott after and so I signed at Newcastle.’ Continue reading →

Johan Cruyff is confident he will overcome lung cancer

Earlier in October of 2015, the former star of Barcelona Johan Cruyff was diagnosed with lung cancer. Cruyff is hailed as one of the best players that has ever emerged from Europe who played a key role in the: ‘Total Football’ philosophy or playing style which consists of having players performing in different positions in a same match.

This isn’t the first time that Johan Cruyff has had to deal with a medical problem as the former player and manager of Barcelona had to undergo a double heart bypass surgery back in 1991 during the time when he was when he was coaching the Spanish club.

After he went through his heart bypass surgery, Cruyff gave up his smoking habits and he replaced smoking with lollipops and former star of Barcelona could be seen in the sidelines chewing bubble gums or lollipops.

However, even though he did manage to give up on smoking, it seems like the damage has already been done as Cruyff will now have to get treatment but he has received the support of fans and footballers who have wished him luck in these difficult times. Continue reading →

Johan Cruyff is not sure if Barcelona actually needs Pogba

Paul Pogba is one of the most attracted summer targets in the world of football as all the top clubs have shown interest in signing the French star of Juventus and Barcelona has reportedly launched an offer of around £56 million in order to lure him to Camp Nou but Johan Cruyff is not sure if Barcelona actually has a real need to sign the 22 year old player.

The top European leagues have already kicked off in full force and the summer transfer window is still open, this gives the chance for clubs to continue on spending cash in reinforcing their respective squads and make last minute signings.

Barcelona has the task of not only defending the Spanish League trophy but also to protect their Champions League title and it order to accomplish this monumental feat, Rudi Garcia is still searching around the transfer market for another potential arrival and one of these players is Paul Pogba.

Former star of Barcelona, Johan Cruyff said: ‘In my opinion he is a great player. ‘But if you are a coach, you sign a player to make the other players and the team better.Now, we must see if Pogba is the player who Barcelona needs, or not’

Johan Cruyff continued on voicing his thoughts about the current situation of Barcelona as the Dutchman added on: ‘Barcelona has a great reputation in the world of football. However, the club has seven open legal trials It is damaging the image and the reputation of the club and in my opinion this is unacceptablea’ Continue reading →

Johan Cruyff labels Real Madrid as ‘Ridiculous’

The former star of Barcelona, Johan Cruyff has emerged from the shadows and the Dutch retired player turned Real Madrid into his main talking point as he called the Spanish club to be: ‘unacceptable and ridiculous’.

 

Since May of 2010, Real Madrid has had 3 different managers taking charge of the club. In 2010 it was Jose Mourinho but the Portuguese manager was sacked after only managing to lift La Liga, Copa del Rey and the Spanish Supercup titles in 3 years.

Carlo Ancelotti replaced Mourinho and the Italian coach did significantly better as he was able to push the team to a Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Copa del Rey and FIFA Club World Cup pieces of silverware all of which were snatched during his debut season in charge of the Spanish club.

Ancelotti was unable to replicate his success in his 2nd managerial career at the Santiago Bernabeu and was sacked and replaced by Rafael Benitez.

All of these changes within the managerial staff of Real Madrid has caused the team to not find their rhythm and Johan Cruyff took his chance to bash the Spanish club who have not managed to win La Liga since the 2011-12 season. Continue reading →

Mario Melchiot says that the national team are too reliant on Arjen Robben

Former Dutch defender Mario Melchiot says that the national team are too reliant on Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben and this could force them into missing out on a place in the Euro 2016 finals.

The national team has been encountering a wretched run of form since the World Cup 2014 came to an end on a high after the team finished in the third place by beating Brazil. This tournament also witnessed the departure of Louis van Gaal and the return of Guus Hiddink for yet another term in charge of the national team.

Even though they have managed two wins and a draw from the last three matches, they have been poor up until now and this is close to sending them out of the Euro 2016 finals. Netherlands are already third in the group and they have to make up a five-point deficit in order to catch Iceland. Leaders Czech Republic have another point advantage in the group where only the top two teams qualify for the finals automatically with the third placed team having to play in a tough play-off. Regarded as one of the top teams in the world, it would be a major disaster to see Netherlands crash out andMelchiot thinks it is a real possibility now. Continue reading →

Barcelona won their 23rd La Liga title

A few days ago on March 22, Barcelona took a huge step in their journey of winning their 23rd La Liga title as the team of Luis Enrique claimed a 2-1 victory over their rivals Real Madrid and now all they have to do is secure positive results in the upcoming matches in the Spanish League which will be reaching ita��s end in around 2 months.

Jeremy Mathieu kicked off the match for Barcelona as he scored at the 19th minute but C.Ronaldo tied the match up 1-1 before the half reached ita��s end as both sides went on to their respective dressing rooms well aware that the next goal could seal all 3 points and it was scored by Luis Suarez.

Real Madrid appeared to be the better team in the first half and during a significant part of the 2nd half as well but a splendid performance from Claudio Bravo was enough for Barcelona to only concede one goal throughout the entirety of the match.

This victory could be the difference between winning the Spanish League title of the current season and not being able to win by just a few points and even though Barcelona did not dominate the match as they usually do, it still was a victory.

The former coach and player of Barcelona Johan Cruyff who won the Spanish title on 4 successive years as the manager of the Spanish team is well aware that the club he used to be in charge of was the weaker team throughout a large part of the match but he stated his happiness in seeing that his team was still able to come out on top with the crucial triumph and all 3 points. Continue reading →

Louis Van Gaal stopped Criticising Fixtures

Dutch legend Johan Cruyffhas said that it is time that the Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal stopped criticising about the fixture pileup during the Christmas period in England. Van Gaal has been experiencing the Christmas tradition in England for first-time.

This involves playing in a lot of matches over a very short period of time. Despite not being involved in any cup competitions, United found themselves playing against Tottenham at White Hart Lane less than 48 hours of playing Newcastle United on Boxing Day. A number of stars have responded to Van Gaala��s constant moaning of the fixture pileup.

Cruyff is the latest to voice his opinions and he says that the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager has enough experience in game to be able to cope with the short turnaround times between matches. Hence, he should stop trying to bring excuses to the table. Continue reading →

Cruyff or Messi – The Bigger Icon Of Barcelona

The debate over who is the bigger Barcelona icon has been going around for a long time. Some base their opinions on their impact while some on their lasting legacy.

John Cruyff is a man that is synonymous with both clubs and is also a former star of Netherlands. He has been a great player as well as a coach and came out as a legendary figure at the Amsterdam arena and Camp Nou. Argentine Lionel Messi is the current star of Barcelona. At the age of 27 he is just two goals away from making a new record of La Ligaa��s all time record goal scorer.

It has been said that though Lionel Messi is a great player and shall remain one that has ever played for Barcelona, however the legacy of the man Cruyff always surpasses him. Cruyff has always been very inspiring and had inspired his team Barcelona to take part in the championship. The game has always been a very memorable one where they had won 5-0. He has always been capturing the hearts and minds of most of the people and has left a mark always in his career.

He has been a very important entity to shape the cluba��s constitution and to ensure that it becomes a well known institution of football someday. And we all are well aware of the name Barcelona has now achieved. Cruyff has been the man behind shaping and cultivating a lot of youngsters. La Masia housing was a thing that had been his foresight itself. It was the very place where the inborn talents and skills of Messi were schooled and polished. What Messi is now is somewhere down the line partly because of the man Cruyff who had started it all. The best way to put it would be to say that Messi is the idol while Cruyff is the icon.